St. John's Red Storm Get Good News Regarding Babacar Sane's Eligibility (For Now)

The St. John's Red Storm will continue to have Babacar Sane eligible for the time being.

Nov 2, 2026; Queens, New York, USA; St. John's Red Storm forward Babacar Sane (0) dunks in the second half against the Monmouth Hawks at Carnesecca Arena. Mandatory Credit: Wendell Cruz-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The St. John’s Red Storm have got off to a really strong start to the season, but on Monday, all attention was back on eligibility. 

Even though the college basketball season has started, there are still a ton of eligibility questions regarding some players. The Red Storm have been one of the teams dealing with it, and it has been a complete mess for the sport. 

Despite eligibility being a major question mark, it hasn’t impacted the team on the court. The Red Storm are 2-0, and on Sunday, it was an impressive showing against Iona. 

St. John’s was able to score 104 points, and their starters didn’t play nearly the amount of minutes that they usually do. Tounde Yessoufou led the team in scoring, but it was once again Quinn Ellis who was the straw that stirred the drink. 

The talented point guard had 11 assists in the game and just one turnover. So far, he has been living up to the hype and is the engine that gets this team going. 

However, while a lot of players got to see the court and score, one player who was out for the team was Babacar Sane. The Red Storm ruled him out with an ankle injury, and on Monday he was back in court for his eligibility hearing. 

Sane Remains Eligible on TRO

Sane can continue to play under the TRO. There will be more court business next month in the case. #sjubb

— Roger Rubin (@RogRubin) November 9, 2026

As one of the team captains and most liked players on the roster, he got an incredible amount of support with all of his teammates showing up to the hearing. This has been going on for a while now and Monday didn't resolve too much.

Sane’s eligibility has been in question like many others because of his links to an Exhibit 10 contract. Rick Pitino has been pretty confident that he was going to be deemed eligible, and has even talked about him being part of the team for next year as well.   

On Monday, it was a long day in court with both sides making their case and arguments. However, once again no decision was made. 

Sane is going to remain eligible for the time being for St. John’s, though the TRO. This case continuing to play out feels like it is a good thing for the Red Storm, but ultimately it is anyone’s guess. 

Now, while he did miss Monday’s game, the hope will be, from a health perspective, that Sane is back on the court for Wednesday against Colgate.