AJ Staton-McCray is a 6'5" 195 pound shooting guard transfer from University of Miami of the Atlantic Coast Conference (3-17, 7-24). In 2025-26, Staton-McCray will be playing his sixth college basketball season. He spent four years at Samford University of the Southern Conference – he got a COVID year, and was a medical redshirt as a sophomore. He’s from Pompano Beach, Florida, which is about an hour north of the U, and my guess was that he headed home to try his luck in the ACC. Unfortunately for him, Head Coach Jim Larranaga, fed up with what “college basketball has become,” retired twelve games into the 2024-2025 season. The Hurricanes went 3-16 from that point in the season, and Staton-McCray entered the portal again, along with eight other Miami players.
Staton-McCray’s season at Miami was something of a disappointment, although with the chaos at the U, it is hard to get a handle on what happened. Staton-McCray did not shoot the ball well from three – 32% -- started 17 of 31 games and averaged 7.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in 22 minutes a game. He has a utilization number under 20%, which means that he was somewhat uninvolved when he was on the court.
Staton-McCray has been a part time player his entire career, even at Samford. He started fourteen games and averaged 9.6 points and 4.6 rebounds as a freshman. As a sophomore coming off injury his numbers ticked down, but his junior year at Samford saw him average 11.6 points, 4,3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.6 steals (which put him among the SoCon leaders in steals) in about 22 minutes. He also shot 41% from three as a junior. He can score from anywhere on the floor -- he can get to the rim -- he does this about a third of the time -- and he also takes a lot of shots from outside the arc "above the break." His defensive efficiency is above average, and he averaged half a steal a game last year -- down from his best season, but still decent.
Staton-McCray is one of the few players on the 2025-2026 Pirate roster with NCAA Tournament experience. His junior year, he was the focus of a controversy around a referee’s call – with 20 seconds left in its first round game with #4 seeded Kansas, Samford trailed by one. Kansas broke Samford’s press and Kansas guard Nicolas Timberlake was headed for a dunk when Staton-McCray came out of nowhere to block it. The ref called a foul, though replay showed the block to be clean as a whistle, and Kansas advanced.
In his interview with Adam Zagoria for nj.com, Coach Holloway said of Staton-McCray, “He can shoot the basketball better than I thought he could shoot it. Got good size to play a couple of positions.” Staton-McCray might be able to play small forward in the Big East although at 6' 5" that could cause him some issues on defense.
To me, Seton Hall needs players with two qualities – versatility, and the ability to hit the three. At Samford, Staton-McCray showed both of those characteristics. At Miami, he was much less effective. Playing at his third school in three years, AJ will need to adjust quickly and find his role. If, with the help of Coach Holloway, Staton-McCray can do this, he can provide much needed sharp shooting – either as a starter or off the bench.
Staton-McCray’s season at Miami was something of a disappointment, although with the chaos at the U, it is hard to get a handle on what happened. Staton-McCray did not shoot the ball well from three – 32% -- started 17 of 31 games and averaged 7.3 points and 2.4 rebounds in 22 minutes a game. He has a utilization number under 20%, which means that he was somewhat uninvolved when he was on the court.
Staton-McCray has been a part time player his entire career, even at Samford. He started fourteen games and averaged 9.6 points and 4.6 rebounds as a freshman. As a sophomore coming off injury his numbers ticked down, but his junior year at Samford saw him average 11.6 points, 4,3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.6 steals (which put him among the SoCon leaders in steals) in about 22 minutes. He also shot 41% from three as a junior. He can score from anywhere on the floor -- he can get to the rim -- he does this about a third of the time -- and he also takes a lot of shots from outside the arc "above the break." His defensive efficiency is above average, and he averaged half a steal a game last year -- down from his best season, but still decent.
Staton-McCray is one of the few players on the 2025-2026 Pirate roster with NCAA Tournament experience. His junior year, he was the focus of a controversy around a referee’s call – with 20 seconds left in its first round game with #4 seeded Kansas, Samford trailed by one. Kansas broke Samford’s press and Kansas guard Nicolas Timberlake was headed for a dunk when Staton-McCray came out of nowhere to block it. The ref called a foul, though replay showed the block to be clean as a whistle, and Kansas advanced.
In his interview with Adam Zagoria for nj.com, Coach Holloway said of Staton-McCray, “He can shoot the basketball better than I thought he could shoot it. Got good size to play a couple of positions.” Staton-McCray might be able to play small forward in the Big East although at 6' 5" that could cause him some issues on defense.
To me, Seton Hall needs players with two qualities – versatility, and the ability to hit the three. At Samford, Staton-McCray showed both of those characteristics. At Miami, he was much less effective. Playing at his third school in three years, AJ will need to adjust quickly and find his role. If, with the help of Coach Holloway, Staton-McCray can do this, he can provide much needed sharp shooting – either as a starter or off the bench.
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