The St. John’s roster is set to look different next season.
But there shouldn’t be as much turnover as there was going into Rick Pitino’s first and second years as head coach.
“Next year, we’ll have about six or seven players returning, and that’ll be a major benefit,” Pitino said last week ahead of the NCAA Tournament. “First year I took over, we had 14 new players, and this year we have four new starters.”
The 2025-26 roster becomes the focus after the resurgent Red Storm’s storybook season ended in disappointment with Saturday’s upset loss to Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament’s second round.
Kadary Richmond, Aaron Scott and Deivon Smith are each out of NCAA eligibility and will need to be replaced.
But RJ Luis Jr., Zuby Ejiofor and Simeon Wilcher are eligible to return after they helped lead the Johnnies to a 31-5 record and to Big East regular-season and conference tournament championships this year.
The future of Luis is the biggest question mark.
The 6-7 guard just averaged 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game as a junior and was named the Big East Player of the Year and the conference tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
His breakout season ended on the bench, however, as Pitino sat Luis for the final 4:56 of the 75-66 loss to Arkansas after he shot just 3-of-17 from the field, including 0-of-3 on 3-point attempts, in 30 minutes.
Last month, Pitino acknowledged Luis could be headed for the NBA Draft.
“There is a possibility RJ is going to come back, so he’ll test the waters, and if he’s a first-rounder or a guaranteed contract, he should go,” Pitino said on Feb. 28. “If he’s not, he should think about staying. Obviously, I hope he stays, but I also hope he goes, because we think he’s a pro. We think he’ll do great at the NBA level.”
ESPN has Luis at No. 80 on its big board of draft-eligible players, while The Athletic ranks him No. 88. There are 59 picks in this year’s draft, as the Knicks forfeited their 2025 second-rounder following a tampering investigation into their 2022 signing of Jalen Brunson.
If NBA teams agree with those outlets’ assessments, Luis would stand to benefit from returning for his senior season.
Ejiofor, meanwhile, seems poised to return after he averaged 14.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game as a junior in his first season as a full-time starter. The 6-9 power forward led college basketball with 4.4 offensive rebounds per game and was the Big East’s Most Improved Player.
Pitino said in late February that Wilcher, a 6-4 guard from Plainfield, N.J., was looking into his draft stock. But Wilcher did not crack the ESPN or The Athletic big boards after averaging 8.0 points and shooting 29.7% on 3-pointers in 36 games, including 27 starts, as a sophomore.
Regardless, Pitino has work to do in the transfer portal. He has said he is not recruiting from the class of 2025 because Richmond, Scott and Smith cannot be replaced by high-school kids.
The biggest loss of that bunch is Richmond, a do-it-all point guard who led St. John’s in assists per game (5.3) and steals (2.0) while ranking third in scoring (12.4) and rebounding (6.4).
Pitino has had success adding point guards through the portal, first bringing Daniss Jenkins with him from Iona in 2023-2024 and then getting Richmond from Seton Hall and Smith from Utah last offseason.
St. John’s stands to benefit from the “House v. NCAA” proposed settlement that would bring revenue-sharing to college athletics, starting with 2025-26. Most Division I schools would prioritize football under that model, but St. John’s doesn’t have a football team, meaning more money from the expected $21 million pool would go to basketball.
“I’ve always said I don’t mind the NIL,” Pitino said last week. “I don’t mind the portal. The thing that’s difficult for a coach is to get players connected offensively, defensively and bonded, because they’re all new to each other. It takes time.”
Others eligible to return include Brady Dunlap, who appeared in only 10 games this season before undergoing abdominal surgery. The Johnnies missed the sophomore forward’s 3-point prowess, particularly against Arkansas when they shot just 2-of-22 from behind the arc.
Junior guard Sadiku Ibine Ayo has spent each of his three college seasons under Pitino, first at Iona and then at St. John’s.
And then there are junior Vince Iwuchukwu, a 7-1 center who transferred last offseason from USC; and freshmen Ruben Prey, a 6-10 forward from Portugal, and Lefteris “Lefty” Liotopoulos, a 6-4 guard from Greece.
Iwuchukwu, Prey and Liotopoulos did not play much this season, but Luis, Ejiofor and Wilcher all saw increased roles in their second years under Pitino.
“I see tremendous improvement in Ruben Prey, in Vince and in Lefty,” Pitino said last week. “That’s exciting for me to see. Those guys that don’t get all the publicity [are] really improving and getting a lot better.”
