Stanford Basketball Hit With Surprise Freshman Departure in Transfer Portal

The national championship may have just happened, but it is already time for the transfer portal. Following the Michigan Wolverines' win over the UConn Huskies in the national title game on Monday, April 6, the transfer portal opened at midnight on April 7, immediately shifting the focus onto next season for programs across the country.

For teams like the Stanford Cardinal, the start of transfer portal season means that it is time to put full focus on building a roster capable of leading the program to the Big Dance for the first time since 2014.

But the transfer portal also means that the Cardinal can expect some players to leave and seek fresh starts. On Tuesday, April 7, the Cardinal saw their second player enter the portal, with freshman big man Oskar Giltay putting his name in the mix.

Giltay joins Ryan Agarwal as the first two Cardinal players so far who have entered the portal, forcing the program to look elsewhere to replace their lost production. On Tuesday afternoon, redshirt sophomore Jaylen Thompson also announced his intention to enter the portal, making him the third player set to depart The Farm.

Giltay, hailing from Hugo Limburg United of the BNXT League in Belgium/the Netherlands, played in 32 games with five starts in his freshman year this season, averaging 3.3 points, 4.1 rebounds and 0.3 assists.

Rated as a three-star recruit, Giltay came to The Farm hoping to be an immediate star, and while he got a significant amount of playing time at times this season, he never lived up to the hype, scoring in double figures only once.

Giltay showed flashes of dominance on defense, and while he struggled to fit fully into Stanford's scheme, he will be a sought after player in the portal.

A 6-foot-10, 235 pound forward/center, Giltay will look to join a team that's seeking size, and prove that he has what it takes to play at the highest level in Division I college basketball. He has experience playing high level games with Hugo Limburg, as a member of Belgium and the Netherlands' top division of basketball, which should make that possible.

Losing Giltay is costly for the Cardinal, especially with fellow forward AJ Rohosy graduating. Now, the Cardinal are very thin at big men, needing to find other bodies to supplement Aidan Cammann and Tallis Toure. Both of those players have minimal experience as focal points, and while they will get their shot next season, having depth behind them will prove critical.

Entering the third season under head coach Kyle Smith, the expectations for the program will only continue to grow. While the program surpassed expectations in his first year, going 21-14 and winning 20 or more games for the first time since 2019-20, the Cardinal struggled to build off of that this past season.

The Cardinal will desperately want to prove in year three that they can compete in a loaded ACC.

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