While the Transfer Portal has only been open for a few days, a significant domino has already fallen this week. Just 24 hours after entering the Portal, former Arizona State freshman guard Joson Sanon has announced that he’ll transfer to St. John’s for his sophomore season.
A 6’5 guard from Massachusetts, Sanon was a Top 25 recruit from the Class of 2024. The 5-star guard originally reclassified from the Class of 2025 after exhibiting himself at the high school level in both Massachusetts and Vermont. His initial commitment was actually to Arizona before flipping to Arizona State before this season.
St. John’s wastes no time in the portal, picking up a commitment from Arizona State transfer Joson Sanon. 6-foot-5 guard averaged 11.9 PPG + 3.4 RPG in his freshman season while shooting 42% FG and 37% from 3. A scoring wing with upside who can create shots in a variety of ways.
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) March 26, 2025
Sanon was part of a prominent recruiting class for Bobby Hurley and Arizona State, though the Sun Devils didn’t exactly have the season that many were expecting. Buried as new members in a tough Big 12, Arizona State finished the season 13-19, with just four wins and a 15th place finish in the Big 12 standings. However, Sanon himself had a pretty notable freshman campaign.
He’s far from a finished work, but Sanon’s freshman season saw him average 11.9 points and 3.4 rebounds per game for the Sun Devils. He was a starter at the beginning of the season before settling into a sixth-man type role, before again starting late in the season. Regardless, he had a certain impact for the Sun Devils, even with some shaky performances during league play.
Sanon had six straight games scoring at least 18 points during a stretch in November and December, including great efforts in wins over New Mexico and Saint Mary’s, two teams that made the second round of the NCAA Tournament. After struggling in January, he found his footing again in the season’s final weeks, including a career-high 28-point performance at Utah in early March.
The focus now turns to St. John’s, a program that will certainly benefit from Sanon’s offensive capabilities. We haven’t seen much from his as a defensive player, and that was certainly Rick Pitino’s backbone for the Red Storm as they won the Big East title this past season. However, Sanon made 37% of his 3-pointer and adds a key shooting touch to St. John’s new lineup.
We’re still very early into the Transfer Portal season and it’s hard to say just who will surround Sanon in this St. John’s lineup, but Pitino and his staff nabbed one of the young shooters with high potential off the market. The allure of Madison Square Garden and Big East basketball brings Sanon much closer to home, eager to put even greater figures with a step forward as a sophomore.