Zuby Ejiofor transfer, explained: Why St. John's star left Bill Self, Kansas to join Rick Pitino's Red Storm

Zuby Ejiofor has blossomed into one of college basketball's finest talents across his four-year career.

The St. John's big man has come to prominence as a member of the Red Storm, collecting two All-Big East appearances and, in 2026, Big East Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Such performances seemed unlikely during his freshman season. Before Ejiofor hit depth-defying heights in Queens, he was a sparingly-played reserve for Kansas.

Suffice to say, Ejiofor found life under Rick Pitino. But just what brought him to Lawrence? And why did he opt to trade jerseys partway through his scholastic career? Here's what you need to go.

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Why did Zuby Ejiofor transfer from Kansas?

Ejiofor swapped Jayhawks colors for St. John's following the end of his freshman year. The choice wasn't entirely his, Ejiofor said. Bill Self reportedly sanctioned his departure, telling Ejiofor that he was unlikely to get a chance at Phog Allen.

"He [was] pretty crystal clear on, he's going into the portal to recruit some guys that are able to come into the team and just create a successful season right away," Ejiofor told reporters ahead of St. John's Round of 32 tilt with St. John's. "So he was brutally honest with me and alongside Ernest as well. So why I respect him a lot. He told me early on that he was going to recruit. Hunter ultimately made his decision. And then after that, my pops came down. We had the talk and it was a good conversation. But we were able to find ourselves in the portal."

One-time Michigan big Hunter Dickinson arrived at Lawrence ahead of the 2023-24 season. With veteran big Ernest Udeh set to return to Kansas for the season, Ejiofor entered the transfer portal. Self maintains that he yearned for Ejiofor to return to the Jayhawks for his sophomore season.

Ejiofor set his sights on St. John's following his Kansas exit. He underwent a grueling workout with Rick Pitino's side, attempting more threes than he was used to. It made an impression on him. He committed to join St. John's 10 days later.

"It starts with the workout that he put me through," Ejiofor said, according to 247 Sports. "He said that was kind of the workout that I was going to be going through on a daily basis here. So I was excited for that. He talked to me about the vision, the culture that we were trying to build at St. John's."

Zuby Ejiofor career timeline

Ejiofor committed to join the Jayhawks in 2021, arriving in Lawrence after garnering four-star billing as a teenager at Garland High School (TX).

His maiden year in the college ranks was unspectacular; Ejiofor averaged just five minutes a night, failing to make much of an impact in Phog Allen. Following the year, Ejiofor entered the transfer portal. He landed in St. John's ahead of the 2023-24 season, pairing with newly-minted Red Storm boss Rick Pitino.

Ejiofor played sparingly as a sophomore. His junior and senior seasons were a different story. He was twice named to the All-Big East team. He earned Big East Player of the Year and Big East Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2025-26, leading the Red Storm to their second-straight conference title.

Zuby Ejiofor stats

Here's a look at Ejiofor's per-game numbers over the years: