Luke Loucks elaborates on suspension of AJ Swinton

Florida State coach Luke Loucks addressed the recent suspension of AJ Swinton in a postgame press conference following a 101-64 victory against Alabama State on Friday. It was the first game that Swinton, a sophomore forward, missed this season.

Loucks did not go into detail about why Swinton was suspended, simply saying that he broke some of the team rules. The forward is considered out indefinitely until the coaching staff feels he has gotten to a place where he is ready to rejoin the team.

“The thing with AJ, everyone knows this, we have rules,” Loucks said. “We have a standard of the way we want to operate. Regardless of whether it’s AJ or anyone else on the roster, if you fall short of that there’s gonna be consequences. So he’s suspended right now and hopefully he’ll be back soon, but he’s gotta earn that. He’s gotta earn his teammates’ trust, our coaches’ trust, that he can operate at a standard that we want to operate. As soon as he proves that he can, he’ll be back on the team and hopefully helping us win games.”

Swinton played nine minutes in the season opener against Alcorn State on Tuesday. He finished that contest with three rebounds and one block, but was 0-of-3 shooting.

The 6-foot-6 forward appeared 28 games with one start as a true freshman in the 2024-25 season. He averaged 2.8 points and 1.4 rebounds across 10.6 minutes per game while shooting 42.4% from the floor.

Out of high school, Swinton was a three-star prospect out of Bishop O’Connell High School in Hyattsville, Maryland. He ranked as the No. 149 overall player and No. 40 small forward in the 2024 cycle according to the Rivals Industry Ranking, an equally weighted average that utilizes all three major recruiting services.

Based on the update from Loucks, it remains uncertain exactly when Swinton’s suspension will end. The Seminoles are 2-0 on the young season but others will be asked to step up in his absence. Freshman Thomas Bassong chipped in eight points, three rebounds and three assists off the bench in Saturday’s win against Alabama State.

Florida State has a big game coming up next on its schedule against in-state rival and defending national champion Florida. Tip-off for that game is set for 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday in Gainesville.