St. John's University Athletics
St. John’s Signs 7-Foot-1 Center Lazar Stojkovic
4/24/2026 1:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Pitino adds Serbian big man to 2026-27 roster
QUEENS, N.Y.- St. John's men's basketball team signed 7-foot-1 center Lazar Stojkovic (pronounced luh-ZAR STIKE-oh-VICH) out of Serbia to its 2026-27 roster, Head Coach Rick Pitino announced on Friday.
"What we search for with all recruits is people with an incredible work-ethic, passion and desire to reach their potential and no one serves that better than Lazar," said Pitino. "He has all the tools, shooting, touch around the basket and 3-point shooting, to be an outstanding basketball player and we are super excited to have him."
Stojkovic, is an 18-year old native of Belgrade, Serbia, will arrive in Queens with four years of eligibility remaining. The big man most recently played for BKK Radnicki in the Serbia KLS League, the country's top flight of basketball, and competed for the national team during the FIBA U18 EuroBasket in the summer of 2025.
This past season for BKK Radnicki, Stojkovic made 17 appearances, averaging 5.4 points on 36.4% shooting from 3-point range. He also pulled down 2.6 rebounds and blocked 1.6 shots per game. Additionally in 2025-26, he appeared in four contests for Crvena Zvezda, logging 15.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 3.0 steals per game. The elite rim protector averaged 1.2 swats per contest, which ranked third-best in the Serbia KLS.
Last summer, the teenage standout played for the U18 Serbian National Team in the FIBA U18 EuroBasket in Belgrade. Stojkovic guided his home country to a fifth-place finish at the tournament, averaging 4.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game across seven games, the latter of which ranked fifth best at EuroBasket.
Stojkovic spent an additional three seasons with BKK Radnicki from 2022-25, competing with both the club's junior and senior teams. In 2024-25, the post presence played 21 contests with the club's U19 team, averaging 11.1 points and 8.5 rebounds game. He was tabbed to the 2025 EuroBasket All-Serbian Junior League Third Team. The season prior, he was a EuroBasket All-Serbian Junior League Second Team selection after averaging 14.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per contest during the 2023-24 campaign. Over those two seasons, he made 22 appearances with the senior team, registering 4.0 points and 2.6 boards per outing.
Stojkovic will join a global Red Storm roster in The World's Borough that currently has five players from Europe- Ruben Prey(Portugal), Casper Pohto (Sweden), Lefteris Liotopoulos (Greece), Fotis Konstantinidis (Greece) and now Stojkovic (Serbia).
The Red Storm boasts a 61-12 record over the last two seasons, has won back-to-back BIG EAST Regular Season and Tournament Championships and reached the Sweet 16 this past year for the first time since 1999. Place a deposit for season tickets by clicking here and support the program's efforts by donating to Mike Repole's Red Storm Legacy Investment Fund Match Campaign through April 29. For more information on the match campaign, click here.
"What we search for with all recruits is people with an incredible work-ethic, passion and desire to reach their potential and no one serves that better than Lazar," said Pitino. "He has all the tools, shooting, touch around the basket and 3-point shooting, to be an outstanding basketball player and we are super excited to have him."
Stojkovic, is an 18-year old native of Belgrade, Serbia, will arrive in Queens with four years of eligibility remaining. The big man most recently played for BKK Radnicki in the Serbia KLS League, the country's top flight of basketball, and competed for the national team during the FIBA U18 EuroBasket in the summer of 2025.
This past season for BKK Radnicki, Stojkovic made 17 appearances, averaging 5.4 points on 36.4% shooting from 3-point range. He also pulled down 2.6 rebounds and blocked 1.6 shots per game. Additionally in 2025-26, he appeared in four contests for Crvena Zvezda, logging 15.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 3.0 steals per game. The elite rim protector averaged 1.2 swats per contest, which ranked third-best in the Serbia KLS.
Last summer, the teenage standout played for the U18 Serbian National Team in the FIBA U18 EuroBasket in Belgrade. Stojkovic guided his home country to a fifth-place finish at the tournament, averaging 4.7 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game across seven games, the latter of which ranked fifth best at EuroBasket.
Stojkovic spent an additional three seasons with BKK Radnicki from 2022-25, competing with both the club's junior and senior teams. In 2024-25, the post presence played 21 contests with the club's U19 team, averaging 11.1 points and 8.5 rebounds game. He was tabbed to the 2025 EuroBasket All-Serbian Junior League Third Team. The season prior, he was a EuroBasket All-Serbian Junior League Second Team selection after averaging 14.2 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.9 blocks per contest during the 2023-24 campaign. Over those two seasons, he made 22 appearances with the senior team, registering 4.0 points and 2.6 boards per outing.
Stojkovic will join a global Red Storm roster in The World's Borough that currently has five players from Europe- Ruben Prey(Portugal), Casper Pohto (Sweden), Lefteris Liotopoulos (Greece), Fotis Konstantinidis (Greece) and now Stojkovic (Serbia).
The Red Storm boasts a 61-12 record over the last two seasons, has won back-to-back BIG EAST Regular Season and Tournament Championships and reached the Sweet 16 this past year for the first time since 1999. Place a deposit for season tickets by clicking here and support the program's efforts by donating to Mike Repole's Red Storm Legacy Investment Fund Match Campaign through April 29. For more information on the match campaign, click here.
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