How Stanford Basketball Should Attack the Offseason

Stanford basketball's offseason is now upon us, and with a number of graduating seniors and the looming decision in front of Ebuka Okorie, there should be some movement on the roster ahead of the 2026-27 season.

To start, let’s place players into three categories.

First, are players that are certainly leaving after graduating. That is Jeremy Dent-Smith, AJ Rohosy, Chisom Okpara, and Benny Gealer. These four players have been key contributors for Stanford, with three of them holding starting roles, and certainly being guys that the Cardinal certainly will miss.

Second, are players that could leave for the transfer portal. This is a tougher list to make, but we are expecting Ebuka Okorie, Cam Grant, Anthony Batson Jr., Jaylen Thompson, and Evan Stinson to all at least consider the option in the offseason.

For Okorie, he also has the option to go straight to the NBA, as he was so successful for Stanford. The question for him will be if he is considered a high enough draft prospect, or if another year in college would get him where he wants to be. For the others, there is a lot of talent mixed in, but they simply have not been fitting into head coach Kyle Smith’s system.

But again, these are all speculative guesses.

Finally, it’s the players that are expected to be returning to the roster next year. Ryan Agarwal, Aidan Cammann, Oskar Giltay, Myles Jones, Ethan Kitch, Kristers Skrinda, Tallis Toure, and Donavin Young make up that group.

Pair that with five incoming freshmen, Julius Price, Elias Obenyah, Isaiah Rogers, Drew Anderson, and Aziz Olajuwon, and you have 13 players that are pretty set in stone for next season.

Stanford's biggest hole on the roster

There is a clear hole for next season, and that’s with their guard play. This may all be fixed if Okorie returns for a second season, but if not, Stanford is going to have to go hard in the transfer portal, looking for a potential ball handling guard to play alongside Price, who may be able to start right away.

The one problem is, they could use a couple of transfers for next season, but the roster numbers (four out, five in) don't add up unless more Cardinal leave the program.

Last season, Stanford picked up two players in the transfer portal, bringing in Jeremy Dent-Smith from Cal State Dominguez Hills at the DII level, and AJ Rohosy from Claremont McKenna of DIII. Both players worked out as a positive for the program, and it’s likely that coach Smith will look for some top players at lower levels to contribute to Stanford next season.

But it’s also important that he goes after some DI talent as well. Whether it’s from the Ivy League, a close by team in the Bay Area, or truly just anyone that can contribute that needs an opportunity, Stanford needs to focus on bringing in players from the DI level to improve their roster.

With the offseason already upon us, the Cardinal have some key questions to answer: How much money to spend to bring Ebuka Okorie back? Which players are worth it to bring back to The Farm and how will they be utilized in a new-look lineup?

And most importantly, how can coach Smith build the best roster possible so that year three of his tenure is another improvement on an already great rebuild in the making.

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