Here are the top sports stories for the week of April 27 Rick Pitino

Here are some of The Providence Journal’s most-read Sports stories for the week of April 27, supported by your subscriptions.

∎Onetime La Salle basketball star Kelvin Odih will be playing in the Big East next season. No, it won’t be for his hometown Friars. Odih, who had committed to West Virginia in the fall, has now decided to play for the St. John’s Red Storm, and coach Rick Pitino. Odih pledged to the Red Storm via social media on April 30. He’s rated a four-star and top-80 national prospect, according to multiple internet scouting services, a physical wing who adds length and defensive punch to the St. John’s roster for 2025-26. “Great to have another talented freshman join the strong nucleus of veterans,” Red Storm coach Rick Pitino posted on social media. “Welcome to the family Kelvin!”

∎With the recent closing of the transfer portal in men’s college basketball, local teams welcomed some new commitments this week. The men’s programs at Brown, Bryant, Providence and the University of Rhode Island all received at least one commitment for the 2025-26 season. The Bears will bring in a freshman while the Bulldogs, Friars and Rams secured a mix of first-year talent and new faces out of the transfer portal. Here’s a look at how Rhode Island’s Division I men’s programs are faring in the new world of college athletics.

∎The last link to the Patriots Super Bowl championship was severed this week when the Patriots released long snapper Joe Cardona. Cardona, 33, is a two-time Super Bowl champion who has spent the last 10 seasons in New England after being drafted by former Patriots coach Bill Belichick in 2015. The 6-foot-2, 245-pounder, has played in 160 regular-season games and 13 postseason games with the Patriots and was a part of two Super Bowl-winning teams. He also balanced a second full-time job in the Navy, serving as a staff officer at the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport. 

∎Following every high school sports season, The Providence Journal Sports staff selects All-State teams in the sports of the Rhode Island Interscholastic League. Our most recent teams, both first and second, were presented over the course of a week, from April 21-28. If you didn’t catch them on providencejournal.com, or on the pages of The Providence Journal, we put them all in one spot for you. Meet the 2025 Providence Journal High School All-State teams.