Ole Miss senior guard AJ Storr was named to the 2026 SEC Men’s Basketball All-Tournament Team. Storr averaged 19.4 points per game across four contests and helped the Rebels notch three upsets.
Storr’s path to Ole Miss
Although Storr ended his career with the Rebels, Ole Miss was not his first school. Similar to his high school days, Storr competed for a different team each season in college.
Storr began as a freshman with St. John’s. That season, the Red Storm fired their head coach, and Storr transferred to Wisconsin for his sophomore season. Storr’s 16.6 points per game with the Badgers made him a highly touted transfer, and he landed with the blue-blood program Kansas. After averaging 6.1 points per game in limited minutes with the Jayhawks, Storr transferred to Ole Miss for his final season.
Storr’s frequent transferring is often misunderstood both by the media and fans. Many believed that he was only chasing money, calling him a mercenary, but Storr cited personal reasons and a desire to win behind his journey across programs.
In a special E60 documentary entitled “Paid To Play,” Storr shared why he decided to come to Ole Miss and explained that the decision was ultimately his to make.
“At the end of the day, everybody has choices,” Storr said. “If a player wants to decide to go somewhere else because they feel like it’s better for them, that’s their choice.”
Storr’s year with the Rebels
For Storr, Oxford felt like the right fit at last. Before the season started, Storr shared his thoughts about the Rebels and the fans on the “Locked On Ole Miss” podcast in July 2025.
“Ole Miss is a college town, (with) a lot of support from the fans,” Storr said. “I feel like I can come here and make a huge impact on the team as a transfer.”
This season, Storr delivered on his promises and led the team with 15.5 points per game. He scored 20 points or more in 10 games. Though he posted a solid 3-point percentage of 35%, fans knew him more for his breakaway dunks, clutch baskets and contested pull-up jumpers.
Late in the season, Storr stepped up and helped lead the No. 15 seed Rebels to a deep SEC tournament run with wins over No. 10 seed Texas A&M, No. 7 seed Georgia and No. 2 seed Alabama.
In the overtime loss in the semifinals to eventual tournament champion No. 3 seed Arkansas, Storr had a number of big plays, including a last-second layup off an Arkansas missed free throw which sent the game into extra minutes and a two-handed slam over two Razorback defenders.
Storr’s impact on the culture
With Storr out of collegiate eligibility, he will graduate as an Ole Miss Rebel. In the Arkansas postgame press conference, head coach Chris Beard made it clear how much Storr has meant both to him and to the team.
“I’ve never coached a more loyal, poised, even-headed guy. … I’ve got a lot of respect for AJ,” Beard said. “I’ll have his back forever.”
In that same press conference, Storr spoke about the lessons that he learned from his time at Ole Miss.
“Keep fighting through everything you go through in life,” Storr said. “Everything won’t be perfect all the time, but all that matters is how you respond, how you wake up the next day (and) how you approach the next day.”
