St. John’s on Saturday announced the signing of four-star prospect Eli Wright, who will transfer to the Red Storm from Mississippi State.
Wright committed on Thursday.A 6-foot-4 guard, Wright appeared in 64 games over his two seasons with the Bulldogs. Wright must complete one full academic year of residency before competing for the Red Storm per NCAA transfer requirements.
“Eli is a tremendous addition to our basketball program,” said head coach Chris Mullin. “He is an athletic guard with high major experience and a solid skill set. Eli can thrive in our system because he has good shooting range, he can distribute the ball and he is active on the defensive side of the court.”
Wright averaged 13.8 minutes per game last season at Mississippi State, registering 3.0 points and 2.2 rebounds in 34 contests. A consensus top-100 prospect coming out of high school, Wright played in all 18 SEC games and shot 48.7 percent from the field against league competition. Wright logged minutes in each of the Bulldogs’ four postseason games during their run to the National Invitation Tournament semifinals at Madison Square Garden.
“I’m very excited to start this new journey,” said Wright. “St. John’s, New York City and Coach Mullin are exactly what I was looking for. I feel like this is the right place to continue developing my game and bring it to the next level.”
As a freshman at Mississippi State, Wright made 30 appearances, including one start against Northwestern State. The Owensboro, Ky., native averaged 3.5 points, 1.6 rebounds and made 11 steals during his rookie campaign. Wright elevated his scoring average in SEC play, posting 4.1 points per outing in 17 conference games.
Rated as high as No. 50 in the Class of 2016, Wright was a high school teammate of current St. John’s forward Sedee Keita at 22 Feet Academy in Greenville, S.C., where he averaged 23.6 points as a senior. His two standout games came against Christ School and Oak Hill Academy at the Phenom National Showcase Breakout, scoring 28 and 20 points, respectively.
