Just moments after a New York court ruled that Keyshawn Hall’s temporary restraining order will remain in place, Rick Pitino and the Red Storm received even more good news, this time in another eligibility battle.
Multiple reports say the NCAA ruled former EuroLeague point guard Quinn Ellis eligible to play for St. John’s in the 2026-27 season. Ellis immediately becomes one of college basketball’s top point guards and raises the Red Storm’s tournament ceiling.
Ellis spent the past seven years competing
professionally in Italy and developed into one of Europe’s finest young point guards. The 6-foot-4 guard from Sheffield, United Kingdom won back-to-back Italian Cups with Aquila Trento and Olimpia Milano over the last two seasons, and he also helped Olimpia Milano win the Lega Serie A title in 2026. During last season’s EuroLeague, Ellis averaged 8.2 points, 4.5 assists, and 2.9 rebounds on 49.1% shooting, 37.7% from three, and 81.9% from the free-throw line.
Under the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility model, the 23-year-old guard will have only one season of eligibility.
This ruling is the first of four major eligibility hurdles St. John’s were hoping to clear ahead of the new season. Babacar Sane, Keyshawn Hall, and Reed Bailey still haven’t received eligibility decisions. Still, they all have temporary restraining orders and can play in Wednesday night’s preseason opener against Drexel (6 p.m., ESPN+).
Sane has a second hearing scheduled for Monday, November 9, which will make him eligible for all three preseason exhibitions and the Red Storm’s first two regular-season games against Monmouth and Iona. No timetable exists for Hall’s next hearing, so he can suit up for the Red Storm until the court schedules another hearing.
With Ellis fully cleared, the Red Storm will have an experienced conductor who can create plenty of looks for scoring threats Ian Jackson, Tounde Yessoufou, and Keyshawn Hall (assuming he gets cleared), and a bigger guard who won’t get pushed around defending along the perimeter.
