Former St. John's star RJ Luis signs to play at LSU and return to college basketball

RJ Luis, the 2025 Big East Player of the Year at St. John’s, has signed with LSU out of the NCAA Transfer Portal, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.

Luis went undrafted last year after forgoing his final year of eligibility to enter the NBA Draft. He was signed to a two-way contract by the Utah Jazz in June before being traded to the Boston Celtics in August as part of a package for forward Georges Niang.

He was later waived by the Celtics in October and ended up signing an Exhibit 10 contract with the team’s G-League affiliate. He didn’t appear in any G-League games though, and is now looking to reboot his college career after a handful of other players who went undrafted have returned to the college level.

According to On3’s Pete Nakos, Luis is not currently considered eligible to play at the college level and will likely file a lawsuit in an attempt to receive a waiver.

Earlier this spring, Texas A&M signed G League guard Bryson Warren, who skipped college entirely to play for Overtime Elite. Warren averaged 19.8 points and 5.0 assists for the Westchester Knicks before committing to the Aggies.

Luis, who was a second-team All-American in 2025, is hoping to take a similar path back to the college level after a disappointing start to his pro career. He did enter his name into the transfer portal last spring while going through the draft process, and is heading to LSU in the midst of a wave of eligibility uncertainty in college hoops.

Luis currently not eligible to play at the college level

Multiple former professional players, who either didn’t attend college or did not exhaust their eligibility, have already attempted similar comebacks. James Nnaji, who was an early second-round pick by Detroit in the 2023 draft, played 18 games for Baylor this season after playing overseas since 2019. He entered the transfer portal last month, but has yet to sign with a new school.

Charles Bediako, who also entered the 2023 draft and went undrafted, attempted to play at Alabama this season. He did appear in five games but was later ruled ineligible.

The NCAA’s Board of Directors is currently deliberating over a rule change to make athletes eligible for a five-year window that begins either with their high school graduation or their 19th birthday. However, it’s not currently expected that will apply retroactively, which would like cause a wave of lawsuits from players who exhausted their eligibility this season.

Luis spent three years at the college level, starring first at UMass before transferring to play for Rick Pitino and the Red Storm. He has a solid sophomore campaign in 2023-24 before exploding onto the national scene as a junior. Across 35 games, he led the Red Storm with 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per game.

His addition — if it sticks — would be a huge one for Will Wade and Co., who currently only have five players on the roster for next year. UTSA guard Austin Nunez committed earlier this week to the Tigers, who have also signed Michigan State transfer Divine Ugochukwu, Abdi Bashir Jr. from Kansas State, ex-Kentucky and Alabama forward Mouhamed Dioubate, and international center Marcio Santos.

With the majority of top transfers already off the board, the Tigers are expected to add even more international flavor to their roster to fill it out.