Ebuka Okorie's Historic Freshman Season Will Be Remembered at Stanford

Stanford basketball did not reach its hopes and dreams this season, falling just a little short of the NCAA tournament. Hungry to compete for their first berth in the tournament since 2014, the Cardinal came into the 2025-26 season with lofty expectations after coming up short last season, but built a roster full of guys with high ceilings.

But once again, the Cardinal could not get over the hump and despite winning 20 or more games for the second straight season. They missed March Madness and instead played in the College Basketball Crown instead, where they lost to West Virginia in the first round.

The Cardinal are now heading back to the drawing board this offseason, where their main goal is to figure out a way to make the dance next season. But the Cardinal can go to bed knowing that they helped to create a legend in freshman Ebuka Okorie, who put together one of the best seasons ever for a Stanford freshman.

Okorie's dominant freshman campaign

Okorie, who has a massive decision to make this offseason about his future, ended the season averaging 23.3 points per game, the second most all-time by a Stanford freshman. Scoring 719 total points, and setting the ACC record for most 30 point games by a freshman, Okorie finished third all-time in Stanford history for total points by a freshman.

Now, Okorie must decide whether he wants to stay in college for another year—whether that is at Stanford or elsewhere—or head to the NBA draft. Despite his strong season, he is projected as a late first round pick or potentially even early second round pick.

Okorie returning to school could benefit his own draft stock next season, and if he is able to replicate his success from this past season, he will surely enter the lottery pick conversation in 2027.

Stanford is a Power Four program, but given its lack of success in recent seasons and struggles to compete both in conference play and against the top teams, prospects coming out of the Cardinal program are not viewed as highly in some cases. Maxime Raynaud fell to the No. 42 overall pick and has taken the NBA by storm this season.

If Okorie returns to school and stays at Stanford, he could squash that stigma and turn his current doubters into believers.

Since scoring only nine points in an 80-50 loss to Duke in early January, Okorie went on a tear and scored in double figures in every game for the rest of the season, including a dazzling 40 point performance in a win over Georgia Tech on Feb. 7, his best game of the season.

Last season, the Cardinal relied on the duo of Maxime Raynaud and Jaylen Blakes to be their superstars, but from the moment Okorie stepped on campus this year, he became the face of the program. Coming in as a freshman, he was named a surprise starter for the opener, and never looked back.

With the transfer portal opening up on Tuesday morning, the Cardinal are hard at work on trying to find the necessary pieces to compete next season but will have to wait on a decision from Okorie, hoping that they can get their star back for another year on The Farm.

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