St. John's lands former Auburn forward Keyshawn Hall but eligibility won't be determined until September
Keyshawn Hall dribbles the ball up court for the Miami Heat during a NBA Summer League game against the San Antonio Spurs on July 3, 2026 in San Francisco, Calif. Credit: Getty Images/Thearon W. Henderson
St. John’s may have landed the last piece of the puzzle on Tuesday in what would be coach Rick Pitino’s best team in four seasons at the Red Storm helm.
Keyshawn Hall, a 6-7 forward who averaged 19.3 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists last season at Auburn, announced that he had committed to St. John’s and Pitino on social media.
Hall is one of the many players in a legal battle with the NCAA to get a fifth year of eligibility after a new rule it enacted after the 2025-26 school year that allows a player to play five seasons in five years. The NCAA did not grandfather in those whose eligibility expired at the end of 2025-26 under the previous rule and a spate of lawsuits have followed.
Hall was not drafted, but played five games for Miami in the NBA Summer League. A Summer League invitation doesn't necessarily involve signing an NBA contract, which would make a player ineligible.
He was party to a case in his home state of Ohio that granted him another year of eligibility on July 9. The NCAA was granted a stay (or pause) on the decision and its full appeal is scheduled to be heard in September. While the stay is in place, Hall is technically still ineligible to play in 2026-27.
Hall opted for the Red Storm over Kentucky, though Florida and Indiana were also reportedly involved with him. He played one season each at UNLV, George Mason and UCF before he transferred to Auburn.
If eligible, Hall is one of the highest-impact transfers of this offseason. He joins a St. John’s rotation that includes junior returners Ian Jackson and Ruben Prey, Baylor transfer Tounde Yessoufou and former European pros Quinn Ellis and Babacar Sane.
The spot on the Storm roster opened up when Montenegrin swingman Djordije Jovanovic wasn’t able to obtain a visa and opted to continue playing professionally in Europe. Hall closes a major gap that was left when 6-10 Syracuse transfer Donnie Freeman suffered an Achilles injury and was ruled out for the 2026-27 season.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
