Rick Pitino is hoping to land a few more big-time transfers after the end of the Final Four dead period
While Red Storm star center Zuby Ejiofor tossed a strike over home plate before the start of Wednesday afternoon’s Marlins-Mets game at Citi Field, Rick Pitino was preparing to deliver his own effective pitch this weekend.
According to multiple reports, St. John’s is set to invite multiple key transfer targets to campus this weekend after a week-long recruiting dead period lapsed. The visitors are former McDonald’s All-American and New York City native Ian Jackson from North Carolina, former consensus five-star recruit Dillon Mitchell from Cincinnati, and Oziyah Sellers from Stanford.
Rick Pitino and his staff are also trying to bring Princeton’s Xaivian Lee, considered one of the top point guards in the transfer portal, onto campus for a visit. St. John’s is one of the schools Lee is considering alongside North Carolina, Florida, BYU, and several others.
Hailing from The Bronx, Ian Jackson entered his freshman season with NBA Draft lottery pick expectations, and he looked the part during his first seventeen games with the Tar Heels, averaging 15.7 points and 3.7 rebounds while shooting 51.1% from the floor and 41.8% from three. However, his production chilled, and he was demoted from the starting lineup by mid-February, scoring 8.6 points and 38.6% from the floor in his final 19 games, but he remained strong from long-range by hitting 37.0% from deep in this closing stretch.
Another blue-chip recruit out of high school looking to impress pro scouts, Dillon Mitchell initially caught the Red Storm’s interest during last year’s transfer portal window when he departed Texas. In two solid seasons with the Longhorns, the hyperathletic combo forward started all but one of his 72 games played and helped them reach two NCAA Tournaments, including one Elite Eight. Mitchell eventually committed to Cincinnati, where he averaged 9.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists while hitting 61% of his shots.
The Red Storm is also searching for one more deep-range shooter and Oziyah Sellers fits the bill. The native of Hayward, California spent three seasons in the Golden State, two as a guard off the bench with USC and his latest as a starting shooting guard with Stanford. After limited playing time with the Trojans, Sellers broke out this season with their old Pac-12 rival. The 6-foot-5 sharpshooter ranked second on the Cardinal with 13.7 points and shooting 45.1% from the floor, 40.1% from deep, and 89.7% from the free throw line.
St. John’s has ten scholarship players on their roster for the 2025-26 season. Arizona State sophomore Joson Sanon and Providence redshirt senior Bryce Hopkins committed to the Red Storm earlier this cycle. According to 247Sports, St. John’s has the 18th-best transfer class in the country, with a rating of 28.21.