There will be no shortage of European flair for the Red Storm this upcoming season.
On Tuesday morning, 18-year-old Serbian center Lazar Stojković is reportedly committing to St. John’s next season. The news was first reported by Zach Braziller of The New York Post.
Stojković becomes the third overseas player to declare he is playing for the Johnnies this offseason, joining English point guard Quinn Ellis and Montenegrin forward Djordije Jovanović. In total, there will now be seven European players
on next season’s roster, including returners Ruben Prey from Portugal, Casper Pohto from Sweden, and Fotis Konstantinidis and Lefteris Liotopoulos from Greece — the latter had announced he is withdrawing from the portal and returning for his junior year.
A 7-foot-1 center from Belgrade, Stojković most recently played for KK Crvena Zvezda, leading the Serbian top-division basketball league KLS in block percentage and ranking third overall in blocks per game with 1.3 rejections. Through 15 league games this season, Stojković is averaging 5.9 points and 2.8 blocks on 43.4% shooting and 35.0% from three.
During last summer’s EuroBasket, Stojković also put up 4.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game, representing Serbia in seven games. His best game of the tournament came in a 106-36 blowout of Belgium in the round of 16, posting 11 points on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting with a triple.
Stojković carries a very intriguing stretch big toolset that could open space on the floor for the Red Storm, and he’s shown potential in operating as the screener out of the pick-and-roll. Similar to Ruben Prey when he first arrived at St. John’s, the Serbian center is still pretty raw and may only play a handful of minutes per game as a freshman, allowing him to focus on developing his skills and bulking up his frame.
With Stojkovic’s commitment, St. John’s has nine scholarship players on their 2026-27 roster. They’ll hope to fill their remaining spots in the coming weeks after the portal closed on Tuesday.
