After a record-breaking season, the St. John’s basketball team will have much bigger expectations on its shoulders entering 2025-26 and some of those goals are coming from its biggest booster, Mike Repole.
“It’s Final Four or bust for the next five years with me, that’s what we’re here to do,” Repole said on Up & Adams on Tuesday.
The multibillionaire is preparing for the Kentucky Derby this week as his stable’s entry, Grande, opened at 20-1 on the morning line odds.
Despite his busy schedule, Repole has kept close tabs on the offseason moves of the Johnnies that has landed the program the top ranked transfer portal class in the country, headlined by North Carolina guard Ian Jackson.
The Red Storm also landed commitments from Arizona State guard Joson Sanon, Providence forward Bryce Hopkins, Stanford guard Oziyah Sellers, Cincinnati forward Dillon Mitchell, Idaho State guard Dylan Darling, and NAIA transfer Handje Tamba.
“I’ve always wanted them to go primetime,” Repole explained of his St. John’s fandom, which dates back to his time as a student in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
“I’m all in this year… It’s not just for St. John’s, it’s for all of New York, and Madison Sqaure Garden.”
Mike Repole was a fixture at many Red Storm games this season, sitting courtside at The Garden as the Johnnies won its first Big East Tournament since 2000 and was alongside for its NCAA Tournament run, which ended in the Round of 32.
“I’m going to do everything I can to make sure you don’t fail,” he recalled of his conversation with Rick Pitino shortly after he was hired by the school.
It’s been a great paring thus far but now St. John’s must deal with the expectations of being a National Championship contender while trying to get an entire new roster on the same page quickly as the team is anticipated to make a very challenging non-conference schedule.
However, St. John’s will continue to be a major story and factor in the landscape of college basketball as long as Rick Pitino and Mike Repole in the fold.