NEW YORK (Jan. 27, 2026) ---
Dillon Mitchell of St. John's University has been named Division I Men’s Player of the Week by the Met Basketball Writers Association.
The designation, for games played Jan. 19-25, is unique in that it encompasses players from 21 Met area schools in Division I.
This marks Mitchell's first career MBWA Player of the Week award.
A 6-8 senior forward from Tampa, FL, Mitchell --- who was named to the Big East Conference weekly honor roll --- helped the No. 25-ranked Red Storm (15-5, 8-1) overcome a pair of double-digit second-half deficits by averaging 17.0 points on 63.6% (14-of-22) shooting from the floor, along with 9.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 3.0 steals.
In stretching its winning streak to six games, St. John’s edged Seton Hall 65-60 last Tuesday at Madison Square Garden and overcame Xavier 88-83 Saturday in Cincinnati. The start of the current victory streak coincides with Mitchell’s return to the SJU starting lineup.
Mitchell registered a team-high 17 points on 7-of-14 shooting, a season-high 11 rebounds and a pair of steals as the Red Storm negated a 15-point lead by Seton Hall with 15:40 remaining in the second half. He canned the go-ahead basket at 55-54 to provide St. John’s with its first lead since before intermission.
At Xavier, Mitchell posted 17 points on 7-of-8 field goal accuracy, seven rebounds, a career-high six assists and four steals as the Red Storm overcame a 16-point second-half deficit. His basket during the comeback run secured a 67-67 tie as St. John’s went on to notch the win.
At 8-1 in the conference, St. John’s is second in the Big East standings, one game behind UConn (9-0).
The triumph over Xavier provided Red Storm coach Rich Pitino with his 900th sideline victory over 38 collegiate seasons. He is No.4 on the all-time Division I coaching list and within three victories of No. 3, trailing only Mike Krzyzewski (1,202), Jim Boeheim (1,116) and Roy Williams (903).
Players receiving MBWA Division I Honorable Mention for the week: Brandon Benjamin, Fairfield; Kenny Noland, Columbia; Justin Ray, Monmouth; Lucas Scroggins, Saint Peter’s.
Previous MBWA 2025-26 Division I Men’s Players of the Week: Dec. 9,
Cruz Davis, Hofstra; Dec. 16,
Cruz Davis, Hofstra; Dec. 23,
Stephon Payne, Seton Hall; Jan 13,
Cruz Davis, Hofstra; Jan. 20,
Erik Pratt, Stony Brook.