Dana Altman Holds Onto Last Remaining Scholarship Player From Oregon's Roster

Next season's roster is going to look completely unrecognizable for the Oregon Ducks. The Big Ten Conference member won't be the only one across the college basketball scene, with the NCAA transfer portal in full, disorderly swing.

Coach Dana Altman finally took his last two hits to his previous 2025-26 roster in freshman forward Efe Vatan and sophomore guard Jamari Phillips, first reported by Ducks Rising's Collin King.

Feb 7, 2026; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Oregon Ducks guard Jamari Phillips (24) looks to get past Purdue Boilermakers guard Omer Mayer (17) during the first half at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Efe Vatan, Jamari Phillips Gone

Vatan came to Eugene, Oregon, from Galatasaray Ekmas in Istanbul, Turkey. He only touched the court in five games, appearing for 3.0 minutes per contest.

Originally hailing from Modesto, California, Phillips was a four-star product out of the 2024 recruiting class from Dream City Christian in Glendale, Arizona. In 40 games over his two seasons in the Pacific Northwest, he averaged 2.2 points on a 29.8 field goal percentage and 28.9 three-point percentage. The 6-4 recruit tried to get into Altman's backcourt rotation with no success.

Sean Stewart Coming Back

Mar 7, 2026; Eugene, Oregon, USA; Oregon Ducks forward Sean Stewart (13) sets up on defense during the first half against the Washington Huskies at Matthew Knight Arena. Mandatory Credit: Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

The lone remaining Duck with a scholarship to his name returning to the Pacific Northwest will be incoming senior forward Sean Stewart, he told The Field of 68.

The former 2023 McDonald's All-American averaged 6.5 points on 50.9 shooting from the field and 5.2 rebounds in 29 starts of 32 games played. The chance has presented itself for the former Duke Blue Devil and Ohio State Buckeye to be the player he was once thought to be out of high school.

Altman addressed the concerning number of players hitting the transfer portal with the media on Tuesday, April 9.

"It wasn't unexpected. There were three guys that we really wanted back. Sean (Stewart), KJ (Kwame Evans Jr.), and Jackson (Shelstad). We did not pull anybody's scholarship... But we are working within a budget, and some guys were going to lose their NIL totally... Most of them were taking a reduction... We just weren't good enough this year. I made some mistakes with the evaluation."
Oregon coach Dana Altman

Reading the full breakdown of the press conference through Oregon Ducks on SI Cory Pappas' eyes puts it into perspective. Altman has taken the blame for what transpired through a disastrous 15th-place finish in the second year of the Big Ten association, which is admirable and can be respected coming from the best this Oregon basketball program has seen.

Mar 22, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Jaylen Petty (11) shoots the ball against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the first half during a second-round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Benchmark International Arena. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Two More Oregon Targets Through Transfer Portal

Texas Tech Red Raiders freshman Jaylen Petty is in conversation with Oregon, his agent Ryan Murphy stated. The 6-1 guard averaged 9.9 points on 37.5 shooting from beyond the arc, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game this season for coach Grant McCasland.

Petty will Zoom with a handful of other prominent power conference schools, such as the UCLA Bruins, Minnesota Golden Gophers, Vanderbilt Commodores, Kansas Jayhawks, and Xavier Musketeers.

The Ducks have also reached out to Providence Friars freshman forward Jamier Jones, per the New York Times' Adam Zagoria. The former four-star recruit from Oak Ridge in Sarasota, Florida, scored 11.9 points on 38.7 percent from three-point range to go along with 4.5 rebounds in 25.7 minutes per game.

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