NEW YORK — St. John's forward Donnie Freeman will miss the 2026-27 college basketball season after suffering a torn Achilles tendon during a workout. Freeman underwent successful surgery for the injury on Wednesday, July 1, 2026.

St. John's head coach Rick Pitino announced Freeman's injury and surgery via a social media post Wednesday evening. "Donnie Freeman had successful Achilles tendon surgery performed by Dr Martin O'Malley," Pitino said. "Donnie had a non contact injury in a workout and will miss the season."

Freeman, a 6-foot-9 forward, transferred to St. John's from Syracuse in April 2026. He chose St. John's over Kentucky after entering the transfer portal.

Freeman played his first two collegiate seasons at Syracuse. During the 2025-26 season, he started 21 games, averaging 16.5 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. He also received an All-ACC honorable mention award for that season. In his freshman year at Syracuse, he averaged 13.4 points and 7.9 rebounds per game across 14 appearances; he missed games that season due to a fracture in his right foot. Freeman missed a total of 28 games over two seasons at Syracuse due to multiple lower-leg injuries.

247Sports ranked Freeman as the 15th-best prospect in the 2026 transfer portal. He was also rated one of the nation's top recruits in the high school class of 2024. St. John's transfer portal class also includes Tounde Yessoufou from Baylor, Kyle Cuffe Jr. from Mercer, and Avery Brown from Columbia.

St. John's finished the 2025-26 regular season with a 28-6 record. The team was a No. 5 seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, reaching the Sweet 16 before being eliminated by Duke. Prior to the 2026-27 season, St. John's won consecutive Big East regular-season and tournament championships. ESPN's 2026-27 Way-Too-Early Top 25 Rankings listed St. John's eighth nationally.

Why It Matters

Donnie Freeman's injury is a setback for St. John's ahead of the 2026-27 season, for which the team was ranked eighth nationally in ESPN's Way-Too-Early Top 25. Freeman was an addition to the roster, having been considered a top-15 transfer prospect and showing strong performance in his previous season at Syracuse, where he earned an All-ACC honorable mention. His absence will impact a team that recently saw three frontcourt players, Zuby Ejiofor, Dillon Mitchell, and Bryce Hopkins, selected in the NBA draft, with Ejiofor having been named Big East Player of the Year last season.