St. John's basketball stars Jordan Dingle, Chris Ledlum denied extra year by judge

The St. John's basketball team has exhausted all their options as Chris Ledlum and Jordan Dingle have exhausted all of its eligibility.

A Queens judge made the final ruling on the court hearing Tuesday morning that neither Ledlum or Dingle will recieve another year of eligibility and be able to suit up for the Johnnies this season.

The duo was looking for injunctive relief that would allow them to play during the 2024-25 season after being forced to not play during the 2020-21 season based on the Ivy League's COVID-19 regulations.

"The Court notes that because the plaintiffs are currently ineligible to participate in the 2024- 2025 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, their request for relief would not maintain the status quo, but rather, would substantially disturb it," court documents show that were released on Wednesday morning.

"On this point, the plaintiffs' application which in essence is for mandatory injunctive relief is effectively an impermissible effort to obtain the ultimate relief to which they would be entitled in a final judgment," the documents continued.

Each player still saw four years of eligibility during their college careers but were looking for the extra year that the rest of the country received.

St. John's first put in a waiver asking the NCAA to grant Chris Ledlum and Jordan Dingle another season and brought upon a lawsuit after the waiver was denied.

It felt like the chances of the Red Storm getting the ruling of the lawsuit in its favor was a long shot, but a step the program needed to take for its roster construction and continuity.

"The plaintiffs' initial moving papers are devoid of any substantive discussion on their Donnelly Act, Human Rights Law, or Education Law claims," judge Marguerite A. Grays ruled.

Ledlum entered the NBA Draft as well as the transfer portal while Dingle made no announcement on his future. He will now try and carve out a professional career either in the NBA or overseas.

Both players would have had a major role on this year's version of St. John's, specifically Ledlum, as the team still looks for a power forward in the transfer portal. The Harvard transfer averaged 9.5 points and 6.9 rebounds in his only season in Queens.

Jordan Dingle would have joined Seton Hall transfer Kadary Richmond and Utah transfer Devion Smith in the starting backcourt for the Johnnies, which have already been pegged by some as the best in the conference.

Now a bigger role will be expected of rising sophomore Simeon Wilcher, who averaged just 9.1 minutes per game last season.

St. John's has one scholarship remaining to use this offseason.

All of the court documents pertaining to the case can be found here.