Highly-coveted transfer forward Bryce Hopkins commits to surprising school
Rick Pitino and the St. John’s Red Storm had one of the most successful seasons in school history come to a screeching halt this year in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. And unfortunately, with the reality of the transfer portal, he’s had to retool his roster for the 2025-2026 campaign, like plenty of coaches across college basketball. And he landed another big prospect on Sunday night. On3’s Joe Tipton reported that Providence forward Bryce Hopkins has committed to St. John’s.
Hopkins has a very complete player profile, pouring in 17 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game, and 3.0 assists per game this season, while shooting 40.0% from the field. As a three-point shooter Hopkins drilled 40.0% from beyond-the-arc this year for the Friars. Providence struggled to a 12-20 record this year, but they only had him out there in three games. On January 18th, he suffered a knee injury, forcing him to miss the remainder of the 2024-2025 college basketball season.
In the 2023-2024 campaign, Hopkins averaged 15.5 points, 8.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game, once again showcasing what a complete player he is. His three-point percentage numbers dipped a bit to 18.9%. Much like the previous season, Hopkins once again suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Providence-Seton Hall matchup on January 3rd, 2024. Before going down with the injury, he played in 14 games, all of which he started.
In the 2022-2023 campaign, Hopkins exploded onto the scene for the Friars, earning first team All-Big East honors after he stuffed the stat sheet with 15.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game. He did that while playing in 33 games. The 33 games are the most he’s played in his college basketball career thus far.
Hopkins spent the last three years with the Friars, but before joining Providence, he enrolled with the Kentucky Wildcats, where he averaged 2.1 points and 1.4 rebounds per game, while connecting on 31.3% of his shots from beyond-the-arc. He played in 28 games for UK, while averaging 6.4 minutes per outing.
Before college, Hopkins was a four-star recruit, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. He was the No. 8 power forward in the 2021 recruiting class, and No. 2 player from the state of Illinois. One of the most coveted players in the 2021 cycle, Hopkins was selected to the 2021 Jordan Brand Classic.
Mar 5, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats directs his team against the Florida Gators during the first half at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Will McLelland-Imagn Images
With coaching searches come coaching rumors. One recently has revolved around Nate Oats and the Maryland Terrapins not too long after Kevin Willard left for Villanova. However, Jeff Goodman reported on Monday that Oats has no interest in leaving Alabama for College Park.
Even further confirmation came later in the day via Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne. He ended any kind of speculation regarding Oats and Maryland when directly asked about the situation.
“I can absolutely tell you there’s no truth to that,” Byrne said.
Oats just wrapped up his sixth season with the Crimson Tide, another successful one. Alabama made the Elite Eight for the second consecutive year before losing to Duke on Saturday night. Three straight Sweet Sixteen programs is a program first as well.
SEC championships have come to Tuscaloosa under Oats, too. Two regular season titles have been won before also cutting down the nets in the SEC Tournament. Not too many programs inside the conference have found the same level of achievement since Oats took over.
Maryland just wrapped up their own campaign after making the NCAA Tournament’s second weekend. Willard got them to the Sweet Sixteen but lost out West to the one-seed, Florida. A buzzer-beater win against Colorado State in the second-round is a moment fans will remember for a long time.
