Rick Pitino Set to Lose March Madness Hero After Just One Season at St. John's

After an early NCAA Tournament exit a year ago, the 2025–26 season was supposed to mark the full return of St. John's as a national force in college basketball.

And in many ways, it did.

Rick Pitino's group stormed through the Big East, captured both the regular-season and conference tournament titles, and made its deepest tournament run in decades, reaching the Sweet 16 before falling to Duke.

But just weeks after that resurgence, the narrative around the program has shifted dramatically.

Dylan Darling, the unlikely March Madness hero of that run, has entered the NCAA transfer portal.

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Dylan Darling entered college as one of the most prolific high school scorers in the country.

At Central Valley High School in Spokane, Washington, he averaged 33.2 points, 8.5 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 4.4 steals as a senior, earning state player of the year honors while breaking multiple Greater Spokane League scoring records, including a 58-point game.

Despite that production, Darling wasn't a blue-chip national recruit and chose Washington State, his father's alma mater, as a developmental landing spot.

His first two seasons, though, didn't go as planned.

As a freshman (2022–23), he played sparingly, averaging just 1.7 points in 12.0 minutes across 25 games in a limited reserve role.

His sophomore campaign never got off the ground, appearing in only a few games before suffering a season-ending injury, ultimately taking a medical redshirt.

However, that all set the stage for the breakout that followed at Idaho State.

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After barely seeing the floor at Washington State, Darling became one of the most productive guards in the country at Idaho State, averaging 19.8 points and 5.7 assists per game while starting all 28 contests.

He ranked inside the top 30 nationally in both scoring and assists, shot efficiently (44.1% from the field, 35.6% from three), and recorded 20+ points 14 times.

As a result, he was named Big Sky Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and received first-team All-Conference honors, firmly putting him on the high-major radar before eventually transferring to St. John's.

At St. John's in 2025–26, Darling transitioned into a complementary role on a loaded roster, averaging just 6.9 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 2.6 assists in 21.3 minutes per game, often coming off the bench.

While his usage dipped, his impact didn't, delivering key plays in Big East action and cementing his legacy with a buzzer-beating game-winner against Kansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The moment that instantly became one of the biggest shots in program history.

Now, he's gone after just one season, seeking his fourth program in as many years.

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This story was originally published April 14, 2026 at 4:48 PM.