AJ Storr commits to UNLV, his 5th college in 5 years

Following the implementation of the 5-in-5 rule in college basketball this offseason has been a nightmare, and the high school class of 2022 filing lawsuits in numerous states makes it all the more difficult. 

One 2022 high school graduate has embraced the 5-in-5 rule like no other. AJ Storr was a freshman at St. John’s in 2022-23 and, following stops at Wisconsin, Kansas and Ole Miss, will finish his storied — for better or worse — college career at the first mid-major program of his career.

Storr, who as of now is eligible to play in 2026-27, committed to UNLV on Tuesday, marking the fifth program he will suit up for in his five-season collegiate career.

The trend of playing for a new school every year dates back even further for Storr, who also made four different stops in high school, spending a season at each of Kankakee (Ill.), Bishop Gorman (Nev.), AZ Compass Prep (Ariz.), and IMG Academy (Fla.).

In what is certain to be the final season of Storr’s journeyman career, perhaps taking a stab at the mid-major level will help him find similar success to that of his early college years. 

He started his career by averaging 8.8 points per game, making 17 starts as a freshman at St. John’s. He also shot 40.4% from distance on nearly three attempts per game. When Rick Pitino was hired as the program’s head coach following the season, Storr transferred for the first time, landing at Wisconsin. 

Greg Gard unlocked Storr in his lone season in Madison, as he took a huge step, averaging 16.8 points per game and starting all 36 games for Wisconsin in 2023-24. Between the scoring prowess and NBA-level athleticism he displayed, it felt like the NBA wasn’t far out of reach. 

Rumors started flying midseason about schools tampering with Storr, and after a lackluster performance in the NCAA Tournament, he declared for the draft while retaining college eligibility and entered the transfer portal. This time, he landed among the blue bloods, committing to Kansas.

Over the course of a disappointing 2024-25 season for Kansas as a whole, Storr essentially derailed the upward trajectory he had created for himself at Wisconsin. There were flashes of effort issues defensively and a lack of overall impact without a high volume of shot attempts at Wisconsin, but both became especially apparent in Lawrence.

Bill Self didn’t give Storr a long leash, as he started just four of 34 games, and played only 15.7 minutes per game, averaging 6.1 points. Following the disastrous season, to nobody’s surprise, he entered the portal again. Landing at his fourth high-major conference and school in as many seasons, he made his way to Oxford to play for Chris Beard at Ole Miss.

By the numbers, Storr had a bounce-back year in 2025-26, averaging 15.5 points per game, shooting a career-high 44.8% from the field. The numbers don’t tell the full story, however. After starting 13 of the team’s first 14 games, he was moved to the bench, and started just two more games the rest of the way. 

In the SEC Tournament, Storr looked like his Wisconsin self, averaging 19.5 points per game and playing a huge part in Ole Miss’ run to the semifinal round. After a year where issues of defensive effort and impact without the ball plagued Storr once again, he ended the season strong but once again entered the portal.

Now, with a fifth season of eligibility, he’s headed to Las Vegas to play for Josh Pastner at UNLV. This feels like a move that would have made a lot of sense for Storr after the down season at Kansas, but better late than never. 

UNLV’s roster for 2026-27 feels like one that could be boom-or-bust in the revamped Mountain West. Pastner brought in a number of high-major transfers who will have opportunities for larger roles than at their previous schools, and mid-major guys looking to play on a bigger stage.

Storr is the lone player on the roster who’s been a go-to guy at the high-major level, so this feels like a perfect opportunity for him to play with total freedom on the offensive end and take a high volume of shots. Pastner isn’t going to stand for a lack of defensive effort, but might give Storr a longer leash than he’s had at recent stops.

One player playing for five schools in five seasons isn’t good for college basketball by any means (in this writer’s opinion), but any time a player as talented as Storr, with a history of production at the highest level, ends up at a mid-major program, it’s a storyline worth following.