The former top-30 high school recruit brings an outside scoring touch the Johnnies badly need
Rick Pitino and his staff went right to work on building next season’s roster after St. John’s season came to an abrupt close with a second-round upset loss to 10-seed Arkansas in the NCAA Tournament.
After the transfer portal officially opened on Monday morning, the Johnnies already have their first addition for the 2025-26 roster with an eye on correcting the dismal outside shooting issues that ended their season.
Arizona State transfer guard and former high four-star recruit Joson Sanon announced his commitment to St. John’s on Wednesday, according to Jonathan Givony.
NEWS: Arizona State transfer Joson Sanon — a five-star recruit in 2024 — has committed to St. John’s, he told ESPN. Early portal score for Rick Pitino and the Big East champions.
STORY: https://t.co/wjYJNdqND1 pic.twitter.com/kPxUigXQJz
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) March 26, 2025
Standing at 6-foot-5, Sanon is a gifted movement shooter who is comfortable scoring with a hand in his face. Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley went as far as to call Sanon the best shooter he’s ever coached. Sanon started in nine of his 27 games played as a freshman for the Sun Devils, averaging 11.9 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game, shooting 42.2% from the floor, 36.9% from three, and 71.4% from the free throw line. He was ranked 24th by 247Sports in the 2024 high school class.
The Fall River, Massachusetts native had an up-and-down debut season in college basketball. In his first nine games, Sanon played pop-a-shot, averaging 15.9 points while firing 52.1% from the field and a blistering 54.3% from three (25-of-46), but he quickly cooled off by hitting a combined 22 percent (4-of-18) in his next two games versus Florida and UMass.
Sanon suffered a high ankle sprain versus BYU on New Year’s Eve, forcing him out of action for five games and hampering him for a while once he returned. Between January 11 and February 23, Sanon only scored 6.6 points per game and shot 29.1% from the field and 24.4% from three. However, he got healthier and closed the season strong, averaging 18.8 points and shooting 47.3% from the floor and 30.4% from deep in his final five games.
With Sanon’s commitment, St. John’s has two available scholarship spots for the 2025-26 season as of March 26.