Bryce Hopkins, a former Kentucky basketball player, will join Rick Pitino’s St. John’s team for the 2025-26 season. Hopkins, a 6-foot-7 forward from the Chicago area, played his first year at Kentucky during the 2021-22 season but struggled to secure a regular spot in the lineup due to the presence of experienced players like Oscar Tshiebwe, Keion Brooks, and Jacob Toppin. Despite his promising start in practices, he averaged only 2.1 points and 1.4 rebounds in 6.4 minutes per game. He didn’t play in the Wildcats’ overtime loss to Saint Peter’s in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and later transferred to Providence.
At Providence, Hopkins quickly became a standout, averaging 15.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game as a sophomore, earning first-team All-Big East honors. Providence made the 2023 NCAA Tournament but was defeated by Kentucky. Although Providence’s coach Ed Cooley moved to Georgetown, Hopkins opted to stay and play for Cooley’s successor, Kim English. His junior year saw him average 15.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Unfortunately, a torn ACL in January limited him to just 14 games, and he was further sidelined by a bone bruise later in the season. Despite these injuries, he posted impressive numbers of 17.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists over those few appearances.
