The Red Storm were dealt another blow to its depth on Tuesday. The program announced that guard Casper Pohto will undergo season-ending surgery to repair a chronic hip injury, and recovery is expected
to take 6 to 8 months.
Committing to St. John’s in June, the 6-foot-3 guard from Stockholm, Sweden, only played in six games off the bench this season, recording no more than nine minutes in any of his appearances. He scored his first collegiate basket in the Red Storm’s 97-49 win over Bucknell on November 20.
Pohto had experience representing Sweden in the 2024 U-18 EuroBasket Tournament and averaged 13.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. He spent time at Hamilton Heights Christian Academy in Tennessee, St. Benedict’s Prep in New Jersey, and finished his high school career at Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas. His brother Kenny played college basketball for three seasons at Wichita State and one year at UC Santa Barbara from 2021 to 2025, averaging 8.8 points and 5.2 rebounds in his collegiate career.
St. John’s is now down to 13 healthy players, as Pohto is the second Red Storm freshman to have his season cut short due to injury. Austrian forward Imran Suljanovic suffered a dislocated patella during a mid-October practice.
The Johnnies will next play the Iona Gaels (7-3) this Saturday at Madison Square Garden. Tip-off is scheduled for 12 p.m., and the game can be watched on TNT or streamed on HBO Max.
