A federal court ruling that made four-year college players from the high school class of 2022 eligible for a fifth season in 2026/27 has put another year of college basketball on the table for Celtics 2026 second-round pick Dillon Mitchell, according to Adam Zagoria of NJ.com (Twitter link), who hears from a source that a Mitchell return to St. John’s is “being considered.”
Based on Zagoria’s wording, it’s unclear whether Mitchell and St. John’s have mutual interest in having him back on the Red Storm’s roster this fall or whether the 6’8″ forward is still focused on beginning his NBA career while the team tries to recruit him back to school. Zagoria notes that St. John’s has one roster spot available and has also been in touch with former Auburn forward Keyshawn Hall, who reportedly reached an agreement on an Exhibit 10 deal with the Heat after going undrafted.
The fact that a return to St. John’s is an option for Mitchell at all is the result of a ruling from U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney in Denver on the NCAA’s plan to institute a “five-for-five” rule that will give college players eligibility over five seasons once their eligibility clock begins. While the NCAA wants to have that rule apply to players who enroll in college in the fall of 2027, Sweeney granted a preliminary injunction awarding a fifth year to athletes who exhausted their fourth season of college eligibility this past spring.
That ruling is expected to be appealed, but in the meantime, Mitchell is one of five unsigned second-round picks from the 2026 draft who suddenly may be able to play another year of college basketball, which would presumably be more lucrative than signing an NBA two-way contract worth $678,882.
As Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress tweets, the four other unsigned second-rounders who now have one more year of college eligibility are former BYU wing Richie Saunders (Grizzlies), former Purdue guard Braden Smith (Pacers), former Vanderbilt guard Tyler Nickel (Knicks), and former Florida State swingman Lajae Jones (Warriors).
If Mitchell or any of those other players opt to return to school, they would essentially become domestic draft-and-stash prospects for the 2026/27 season, with the teams that drafted them retaining their NBA rights.
Typically, a draft-and-stash prospect plays overseas or in the G League, but the changing landscape of college basketball has made draft-and-stashing players in the NCAA a viable scenario going forward. That’s reportedly the plan for Clippers second-rounder Narcisse Ngoy, who was automatically draft-eligible this year (rather than declaring as an early entrant) but still has college eligibility remaining. Ngoy intends to suit up for Auburn.
This year’s 40th overall pick, Mitchell had a strong Summer League showing for the Celtics in July, averaging 13.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.7 steals, and 1.3 blocks in 26.0 minutes per game across three appearances in Las Vegas. The 22-year-old made 47.2% of his shot attempts from the floor and 37.5% of his three-pointers.
Mitchell was named to the Big East’s All-Defensive team and the all-conference third team as a senior in 2025/26.