St. John's lands commitment from top high school recruit Theo Edema
St. John's coach Rick Pitino looks on prior to a game against the Duke Blue Devils in the Sweet 16 of the 2026 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament on March 27 in Washington, D.C. Credit: Getty Images/Emilee Chinn
St. John’s has dipped into the high school ranks and scored another coveted recruit to help on its front line in 6-11 blue-chipper Theo Edema of Cushing Academy in Massachusetts.
The high-ceiling big man announced his decision in a live video on YouTube at 6 p.m. Sunday by unzipping his sweatshirt to reveal a St. John’s jersey. He picked the Red Storm over Maryland, BYU and Stanford. According to the recruiting site 247sports.com, Edema is a top 50 prospect and the seventh-ranked center in the Class of 2027, but he would be reclassifying to the Class of 2026 and arrive in Queens as a true freshman.
Maryland reportedly was the front-runner to land Edema since his visit to the College Park campus last fall. St. John’s got into the conversation in recent weeks and hosted him for an official visit on May 4. He posted photos of himself inside Carnesecca Arena donning a Storm uniform soon after his visit.
While St. John’s coach Rick Pitino has typically favored older players as mainstays in his first three seasons with the Storm, Edema could potentially earn a rotation role. Right now, 6-11 junior Ruben Prey appears to be the starting center on the depth chart.
The Storm have added 7-foot Serbian center Lazar Stojkovic and Edema to the depth chart.
He joins a recruiting class that includes 6-4 British point guard Quinn Ellis from the EuroLeague, 6-8 forward Babacar Sane from the top professional league in Germany, 6-9 Syracuse transfer Donnie Freeman, 6-7 Montenegrin forward Djordije Jovanovic and 6-4 Columbia transfer Avery Brown.
St. John’s has three open spots on its roster and is still expected to bring in at least one more high-impact player, possibly one who withdraws his name from the NBA draft and opts to return to college.
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.
