LAS VEGAS — UNLV’s 2026-27 roster looked largely set entering the middle of August. Then AJ Storr unexpectedly became available.
The former Ole Miss guard committed to the Runnin’ Rebels on Tuesday, giving Josh Pastner one of the most accomplished scorers to enter the transfer portal this late in the offseason. Storr averaged 15.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists last season while leading Ole Miss in scoring.
Storr gives UNLV something its roster did not previously have: a player coming directly off a season in which he led an SEC program in scoring. He shot 44.8% from the field and 35% from 3-point range, made 41 3-pointers and increased his production to 17.5 points per game during SEC play.
The addition was not something UNLV could have planned on when Pastner did most of his roster construction during the spring. Storr had completed four seasons of college basketball after playing at St. John’s, Wisconsin, Kansas and Ole Miss. His situation changed July 31 when a Tennessee court granted him and 18 other players temporary injunctive relief that preserved their eligibility for the 2026-27 season and prevented the NCAA from blocking their recruitment or transfer based on the challenged eligibility determination.
The ruling opened a late transfer window for a player who otherwise appeared to have finished his college career. Storr entered the portal after the decision and will now continue at UNLV, making the Runnin’ Rebels his fifth college program in five seasons.
His college career has rarely followed a straight line. Storr began at St. John’s in 2022-23 and averaged 8.8 points while shooting 40.4% from 3-point range. He transferred to Wisconsin the following season and made his biggest jump, averaging 16.8 points and 3.9 rebounds while starting all 36 games and earning second-team All-Big Ten honors.
That season established Storr as a player capable of carrying a significant scoring role at the high-major level. His next stop showed how much that production could change with his role.
Storr transferred to Kansas for the 2024-25 season but started only four of 34 games and averaged 6.1 points in 15.7 minutes. His shooting percentages dropped to 38.4% from the field and 29.1% from 3-point range.
Ole Miss gave him another opportunity to take on a larger offensive role, and Storr responded with one of the best seasons of his career. He scored in double figures in 28 of 35 games and reached 20 points 10 times. Storr scored 27 against Georgia and Alabama, 26 in a road win at Auburn and 20 at Kentucky. He averaged 19.5 points over four games during Ole Miss’ run to the SEC Tournament semifinals and was selected to the All-SEC Tournament team.
That recent production matters more to UNLV than simply the number of schools on Storr’s résumé. His year at Kansas remains part of the evaluation, but Ole Miss provided fresh evidence that he can still produce when given a meaningful offensive role.
Pastner had already rebuilt most of his roster around returning pieces Tyrin Jones and Issac Williamson while adding another large group of transfers and newcomers. Storr now enters that group with a recent scoring résumé unlike anyone else on the roster.
UNLV does not have to project whether Storr can produce against high-major competition. He already has. The bigger question is how Pastner fits that production into a roster that was mostly constructed before Storr became available.
Storr is a 6-foot-5 perimeter player who has been most productive when given enough offensive responsibility to attack. He does not have to become UNLV’s primary ballhandler to create offense. His 35% shooting from 3-point range and 41 made 3s at Ole Miss give Pastner another way to space the floor, while Storr has also shown he can score inside the arc and handle a larger share of possessions.
His stops at Wisconsin, Kansas and Ole Miss show how much his production can change depending on his role. Wisconsin gave him significant responsibility and Storr became an all-conference player. His opportunities decreased at Kansas and his production followed. Ole Miss put the ball back in his hands more often and he returned to averaging more than 15 points per game.
That does not mean Pastner has to build the offense around Storr. UNLV already has multiple guards and wings who will need touches, including Terrance Ford Jr., Cam Miles, Sebastian Mack and Dontrez Williams. Storr gives Pastner another proven option without requiring every possession to run through him.
There is also a Las Vegas connection to the commitment. Storr is originally from Rockford, Illinois, but spent part of his high school career at Bishop Gorman before later attending AZ Compass Prep and IMG Academy. His return to Las Vegas comes several years and four college programs after his time at Gorman.
The timing makes the addition unusual. Players coming off seasons in which they led SEC programs in scoring generally are not becoming available in the middle of August, after most teams have completed their roster construction. The court ruling created another opportunity, and Pastner used it to add a player who was producing against SEC competition only a few months ago.
There are still questions to answer once Storr joins the group. UNLV has an almost entirely reconstructed roster that needs to establish a rotation and offensive hierarchy, and Storr’s career has shown that his effectiveness can be influenced considerably by how he is used.
Pastner does not have to guess about the upside. Storr became an all-conference scorer at Wisconsin, disappeared into a smaller role at Kansas and responded by leading Ole Miss in scoring the following season.
UNLV was already going to look significantly different in Pastner’s second season. Adding Storr this late gives the Rebels something they did not have when the roster appeared finished: a proven high-major scorer coming off one of the best seasons of his college career.
The question is no longer whether Storr can score at this level. Pastner’s job is figuring out how much of the Wisconsin and Ole Miss version fits into a roster that was largely built before Storr became available.
That is a much better question to have in the middle of August than wondering where the scoring will come from.
