Why Dylan Darling is leaving St. John's in transfer portal for Grand Canyon

Why Dylan Darling is leaving St. John's in transfer portal for Grand Canyon originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Dylan Darling provided St. John's its March moment at the end of the 2025-26 college basketball season.

He converted a game-winning layup at the buzzer during the NCAA Tournament, and for that, he was a hero.

Now, he's gone.

Darling entered the transfer portal after the season.

And this week, he chose to commit to Grand Canyon University.

It's definitely not a move that everyone saw coming.

Why is Dylan Darling transferring from St. John's to Grand Canyon?

The general belief here is that NIL money is a large piece of this.

The New York Post's Andrew Crane wrote this in an article about the commitment:

"Darling hit the game-winning layup against Kansas to secure the first Sweet 16 berth for St. John’s since 1999, but he opted to enter the portal — and he had offers topping seven figures, The Post’s Zach Braziller reported earlier this week. His financial offer with Grand Canyon is unclear."

Darling has made the most of the transfer portal in his career, having already played for Washington State and Iowa State before coming to St. John's.

The point guard averaged 6.9 points and 2.5 rebounds per game for the Johnnies.

“I love St. John’s," Darling said before transferring, via the Post. "I love the coaching staff. I love all the people at St. John’s.”

Grand Canyon has done plenty of spending in recent years to try and grow into one of the best mid-major programs in the country, but it's still shocking to see a key player leave St. John's to play for the Antelopes.

More college basketball news:

• Mikey Williams creates polarizing transfer prospect