Oregon Basketball's Surprising MVP in Exhibition Loss vs. Stanford

STANFORD - The Oregon Ducks lost to the Stanford Cardinal at Maples Pavilion by a final score of 78-70. It was the final tune up for coach Dana Altman’s team, who begins the 2025-26 season at Matthew Knight Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 4 against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast on Big Ten Network.

Who was the MVP for the Ducks in their exhibition loss against Stanford?

Sean Stewart Wins MVP

Oregon Ducks Stanford Cardinal MVP Sean Stewart Forward Transfer Portal Ohio State Buckeyes Duke Blue Devils Dana Altman — Mar 4, 2025; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes forward Sean Stewart (13) celebrates a basket during the second half against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Ducks forward Sean Stewart was one of the bright spots for Oregon in the loss. Stewart had 15 points and four rebounds on an efficient 6/8 from the field. It looked like the transfer from Ohio State was going to will the Ducks to a second half comeback with a handful of thunderous slam dunks.

Ducks on the farm 🏀 @OregonDucks_SI pic.twitter.com/Xjbsheg4hO
— Cory Pappas (@cory_pappas1) October 31, 2025

In the end, it wasn’t enough as Stanford continued to knock down shots from the perimeter and force Oregon turnovers.

For Oregon, Stewart showed that he can be a compliment down low to Ducks center Nate Bittle and forward Kwame Evans. Bittle and Evans had good performances as well. Bittle had 14 points, eight rebounds, and three blocks, which has became a normal game for him at this point in his career. Evans had 13 points, nine rebounds, and five assists on 6/13 shooting.

The Ducks have been accustomed to seeing these performances from their front court duo of Bittle and Evans, but this was a first for Stewart in the green and yellow which gives him the MVP nod.

MORE: Oregon Coach Dan Lanning Made His Stance Clear On Leaving Ducks

MORE: Oregon Coach Dan Lanning's Powerful Words about Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz

MORE: Iowa Coach Phil Parker Makes Noteworthy Comment About Oregon Ducks' NIL

Former Duke, Ohio State Transfer Joins Oregon

Sean Stewart is a 6-9 power forward who played his high school basketball at Montverde Academy in Florida. Stewart is at his third school in as many year since signing with the Duke Blue Devils as a four-star high school recruit prior to the 2023-24 season.

As a freshman with Duke, he averaged just 2.6 points and 3.2 rebounds in 8.2 minutes per game. He entered the portal and transferred to the Ohio State Buckeyes after the season.

Stewart took a step forward as a Buckeyes with his increased minutes on the floor. In 18.4 minutes per game, he averaged 5.7 points and 4.3 rebounds while averaging about one block per game. He entered the portal for the second straight season and chose to transfer to Oregon.

While the Ducks are bringing back three key players from last year’s team; Nate Bittle, Jackson Shelstad, and Kwame Evans, they still have a lot of new faces. Looking up and down the Oregon bench against Stanford, it was hard to spot a familiar face. There will be room for first-year players to step up and the Ducks hope Stewart can be one of them.

Oregon is coming off a season in which they went 25-10 with a 12-8 mark in Big Ten conference play. The Ducks earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament and were eliminated in the second round.

They will look to get to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2021.