St. John’s forward Donnie Freeman to miss 2026-27 season with Achilles injury

St. John’s forward Donnie Freeman will miss the entire 2026-27 season after suffering an Achilles injury that required surgery, Red Storm head coach Rick Pitino announced Wednesday. Freeman joined the Red Storm this offseason after transferring from Syracuse.

According to Pitino, Freeman injured his Achilles during a workout in a non-contact situation and has already undergone successful surgery.

“Donnie Freeman had successful Achilles tendon surgery performed by Dr Martin O’Malley,” Pitino posted Wednesday on X. “Donnie had a non contact injury in a workout and will miss the season. Donnie is an awesome young man, we will get him back better than ever!”

Donnie Freeman had successful Achilles tendon surgery performed by Dr Martin O’Malley. Donnie had a non contact injury in a workout and will miss the season. Donnie is an awesome young man, we will get him back better than ever!

— Rick Pitino (@RealPitino) July 1, 2026

Freeman, the No. 26 player on The Athletic’s transfer portal rankings, was one of the Red Storm’s most significant additions this offseason. During his sophomore season at Syracuse, the 6-foot-9 forward averaged 16.5 points and 7.2 rebounds over 23 games, including 21 starts.

A 2024 McDonald’s All-American, Freeman quickly emerged as one of the ACC’s top frontcourt players, averaging 13.4 points and 7.9 rebounds in 14 games as a freshman.

St. John’s had a top-10 transfer portal class, according to 247 Sports. In addition to Freeman, the back-to-back defending Big East champions added Tounde Yessoufou (Baylor), who tested the NBA Draft waters, Kyle Cuffe Jr. (Mercer) and Avery Brown (Columbia).