St. John’s basketball has stunned the college hoops world with an unprecedented transfer portal haul that has basketball insiders buzzing. Prominent college basketball analyst Jon Rothstein declared the Red Storm will enter the 2025-26 season with “the most talented roster in college basketball.”
The remarkable rise comes after St. John’s finally broke through last season, capturing their first outright Big East regular season title since 1985 and first Big East tournament championship since 2000. Billionaire donor Mike Repole has matched up to $1 million in NIL donations, fueling this transformation.
Transfer Portal Dominance Reshapes Red Storm Roster
The Red Storm’s transfer portal class stands as “unequivocally the best in college basketball,” according to Rothstein.
St. John’s will enter the 2025-26 season with the most talented roster in college basketball. pic.twitter.com/q2Pm73pOE4
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 1, 2025
North Carolina’s Ian Jackson, Arizona State’s Joson Sanon, and Stanford’s Oziyah Sellers headline the impressive haul that has college basketball experts raving.
Cincinnati’s Dillon Mitchell and Providence standout Bryce Hopkins add even more firepower to an already stacked roster. Two highly-rated JUCO additions in Abdul Bashir and Emeka Opurum further bolster the team’s depth and talent level.
Pitino has already identified Jackson, who is projected as a potential lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, as the primary ball handler despite some concerns about the point guard position.
“Rick Pitino has openly said that Ian Jackson, a potential lottery pick in 2026, is the main person he’s going to use at that position,” Rothstein noted.
This approach comes as the program adjusts after losing Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis Jr. and several other key contributors from last season’s breakthrough squad. The roster turnover hasn’t dampened expectations. It’s actually elevated them.
NIL Reality Transforms Program Trajectory
The transformation at St. John’s represents college basketball’s new NIL-driven reality, where programs with substantial financial backing can rapidly reshape their fortunes. Reports suggest St. John’s will exceed $10 million in NIL commitments for 2025, placing it among college basketball’s top spenders.
What insiders describe as “Power 4” level NIL spending applied to a Big East school has allowed the Red Storm to compete for talent with the biggest programs in the country. This approach has yielded 247Sports‘ top-ranked transfer portal class in the nation.
Despite the obvious financial advantages, Pitino pushes back against the notion that money alone built his program. “NIL didn’t get us this team. You build a team by making sure you understand the whole puzzle of what goes into it” the Hall of Fame coach insists.
“People just mischaracterize the NIL and why St. John’s has been built. St. John’s didn’t get built by the NIL. St. John’s got built with the character of the players,” Pitino continues emphasizing culture alongside recruitment prowess.
KEEP READING: 2025 Men’s College Basketball Transfer Portal Tracker
The expectations now reach far beyond just making the NCAA Tournament. With their transfer class and returning core, St. John’s is projected as a potential top five defensive unit with championship aspirations.
As Rothstein emphatically concluded about the program’s meteoric rise: “Man for man player for player unequivocally now without hesitation the most talented roster in college basketball resides in Queens and is the St. John’s Red Storm.”
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