St. John's University Athletics
Rick Pitino Named NABC Regional Coach of the Year; Four Johnnies Earn All-District Honors
3/17/2026 11:06:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dylan Darling, Zuby Ejiofor, Bryce Hopkins, Dillon Mitchell tabbed NABC North Atlantic Region All-District Team
QUEENS, N.Y.- St. John's Men's Basketball Head Coach Rick Pitino and four Red Storm players garnered National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District honors, the organization announced on Tuesday morning.
Pitino was named the North Atlantic District Coach of the Year, while Zuby Ejiofor (First Team), Bryce Hopkins (First Team), Dylan Darling (Second Team) and Dillon Mitchell (Second Team) were tabbed all-district selections. The awards were voted by NABC-member coaches across NCAA Division I.
In his third season in Queens, Pitino has engineered an incredible turnaround at St. John's owning a 79-24 (.767) overall record with the Red Storm, including a 59-11 (.843) mark over the last two campaigns. After winning three of the four major National Coach of the Year awards in 2024-25, Pitino followed it up with another memorable season in the Big Apple. St. John's became the first program in BIG EAST history to win back-to-back outright regular season and tournament championships. The Red Storm rolled to three double-digit victories in the 2026 BIG EAST Tournament to earn Pitino's fifth BIG EAST Championship and 16th overall conference tournament title.
The Hall of Famer further cemented his name among the all-time great coaches moving into third all-time in career on-court victories with 913, reaching the 900-win mark on Jan. 24 at Xavier, 88-83. Pitino will enter his 25th NCAA Tournament this week holding a 55-22 (.714) overall record in the Big Dance, the fourth highest win total among active coaches. The New York native has advanced to seven Final Fours with three different schools and won two National Championships at Kentucky (1996) and Louisville (2013).
Ejiofor adds to his lengthy list of accolades as the big man solidifies his legacy as one of St. John's all-time greats. The 6-foot-9 forward became the first player in league history to win BIG EAST Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the Dave Gavitt Trophy for the BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player in the same season. Additionally, he was a unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team and All-Defensive Team selection, a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year finalist and a Naismith Trophy Player and Defensive Player of the Year Late-Season Team honoree.
On the floor, Ejiofor has put up monster numbers pacing the Red Storm to a 19-1 record over its last 20 games and a 28-6 overall mark. The Garland, Texas native leads the team and ranks top-10 in the BIG EAST in scoring (16.3 PPG), rebounding (7.1 RPG), assists (3.5 APG) and blocks (2.1 BPG).
Hopkins has made a huge impact in his final collegiate season after transferring in from Providence. The graduate student ranks top-15 in scoring (13.5 PPG), rebounding (6.2 RPG) and made free throws (125). The Oak Park Ill., native was an All-BIG EAST Second Team Selection and a BIG EAST All-Tournament Team honoree after averaging 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game during the title run.
A versatile forward, Mitchell garners NABC All-District Second Team honors impacting the game in a plethora of ways as the Red Storm's Swiss-army knife on the floor. The high-flying big man has recorded 8.2 points on 54.8% shooting, 7.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists per game and four double-doubles. The Tampa native racked up league honors earning a spot on the All-BIG EAST Third Team, All-Defensive Team and All-Tournament Team.
A crafty guard who has come up clutch time and time again for the Johnnies, Darling takes home second team honors. After winning the 2024-25 Big Sky Player of the Year Award at Idaho State, the redshirt junior has improved immensely during the year. The Spokane, Wash., native averages 7.0 points, 2.5 assists and a team-high 1.4 steals per contest.
Fifth-seeded St. John's will open up the 2026 NCAA Tournament East Region First Round on Friday when it meets 12th-seeded Northern Iowa at 7:10 p.m. ET in San Diego. The action from Viejas Arena will be nationally televised on CBS.
NABC All-North Atlantic District Teams
First Team
Jalen Cox, Colgate
Cruz Davis, Hofstra
Gavin Doty, Siena
Zuby Ejiofor, St. John's
Donnie Freeman, Syracuse
Robert Hinton, Harvard
Bryce Hopkins, St. John's
Kevair Kennedy, Merrimack
Frank Mitchell, St. Bonaventure
Dejour Reaves, Fordham
Second Team
Leonardo Bettiol, Massachusetts
Dylan Darling, St. John's
Daniel Freitag, Buffalo
Jamal Fuller, LIU Brooklyn
Dillon Mitchell, St. John's
Cooper Noard, Cornell
Fred Payne, Boston College
Erik Pratt, Stony Brook
Darryl Simmons, St. Bonaventure
Gus Yalden, Vermont
Coach of the Year: Rick Pitino, St. John's
Pitino was named the North Atlantic District Coach of the Year, while Zuby Ejiofor (First Team), Bryce Hopkins (First Team), Dylan Darling (Second Team) and Dillon Mitchell (Second Team) were tabbed all-district selections. The awards were voted by NABC-member coaches across NCAA Division I.
In his third season in Queens, Pitino has engineered an incredible turnaround at St. John's owning a 79-24 (.767) overall record with the Red Storm, including a 59-11 (.843) mark over the last two campaigns. After winning three of the four major National Coach of the Year awards in 2024-25, Pitino followed it up with another memorable season in the Big Apple. St. John's became the first program in BIG EAST history to win back-to-back outright regular season and tournament championships. The Red Storm rolled to three double-digit victories in the 2026 BIG EAST Tournament to earn Pitino's fifth BIG EAST Championship and 16th overall conference tournament title.
The Hall of Famer further cemented his name among the all-time great coaches moving into third all-time in career on-court victories with 913, reaching the 900-win mark on Jan. 24 at Xavier, 88-83. Pitino will enter his 25th NCAA Tournament this week holding a 55-22 (.714) overall record in the Big Dance, the fourth highest win total among active coaches. The New York native has advanced to seven Final Fours with three different schools and won two National Championships at Kentucky (1996) and Louisville (2013).
Ejiofor adds to his lengthy list of accolades as the big man solidifies his legacy as one of St. John's all-time greats. The 6-foot-9 forward became the first player in league history to win BIG EAST Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Scholar-Athlete of the Year and the Dave Gavitt Trophy for the BIG EAST Tournament Most Outstanding Player in the same season. Additionally, he was a unanimous All-BIG EAST First Team and All-Defensive Team selection, a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year finalist and a Naismith Trophy Player and Defensive Player of the Year Late-Season Team honoree.
On the floor, Ejiofor has put up monster numbers pacing the Red Storm to a 19-1 record over its last 20 games and a 28-6 overall mark. The Garland, Texas native leads the team and ranks top-10 in the BIG EAST in scoring (16.3 PPG), rebounding (7.1 RPG), assists (3.5 APG) and blocks (2.1 BPG).
Hopkins has made a huge impact in his final collegiate season after transferring in from Providence. The graduate student ranks top-15 in scoring (13.5 PPG), rebounding (6.2 RPG) and made free throws (125). The Oak Park Ill., native was an All-BIG EAST Second Team Selection and a BIG EAST All-Tournament Team honoree after averaging 15.0 points and 8.3 rebounds per game during the title run.
A versatile forward, Mitchell garners NABC All-District Second Team honors impacting the game in a plethora of ways as the Red Storm's Swiss-army knife on the floor. The high-flying big man has recorded 8.2 points on 54.8% shooting, 7.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists per game and four double-doubles. The Tampa native racked up league honors earning a spot on the All-BIG EAST Third Team, All-Defensive Team and All-Tournament Team.
A crafty guard who has come up clutch time and time again for the Johnnies, Darling takes home second team honors. After winning the 2024-25 Big Sky Player of the Year Award at Idaho State, the redshirt junior has improved immensely during the year. The Spokane, Wash., native averages 7.0 points, 2.5 assists and a team-high 1.4 steals per contest.
Fifth-seeded St. John's will open up the 2026 NCAA Tournament East Region First Round on Friday when it meets 12th-seeded Northern Iowa at 7:10 p.m. ET in San Diego. The action from Viejas Arena will be nationally televised on CBS.
NABC All-North Atlantic District Teams
First Team
Jalen Cox, Colgate
Cruz Davis, Hofstra
Gavin Doty, Siena
Zuby Ejiofor, St. John's
Donnie Freeman, Syracuse
Robert Hinton, Harvard
Bryce Hopkins, St. John's
Kevair Kennedy, Merrimack
Frank Mitchell, St. Bonaventure
Dejour Reaves, Fordham
Second Team
Leonardo Bettiol, Massachusetts
Dylan Darling, St. John's
Daniel Freitag, Buffalo
Jamal Fuller, LIU Brooklyn
Dillon Mitchell, St. John's
Cooper Noard, Cornell
Fred Payne, Boston College
Erik Pratt, Stony Brook
Darryl Simmons, St. Bonaventure
Gus Yalden, Vermont
Coach of the Year: Rick Pitino, St. John's
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
Forward
/ Men's Basketball
Forward/ Guard
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Forward
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