This 16.9 PPG Ivy League Star Should Be Stanford’s Next Portal Addition

The Stanford Cardinal still (hopefully) have a few games left before the season is officially over, where they will play in the College Basketball Crown in Las Vegas, NV as part of an eight-team tournament.

But with a long two week break, it is essentially the offseason for the Cardinal. With many players from top programs around the nation entering the portal, Stanford needs to pounce as soon as possible in order to set themselves up for next season and beyond.

After the end of the Crown, Stanford will see four seniors moving on, as well as potentially a few players set to enter the transfer portal. That means the Cardinal will have to look into the portal to find some talent to help supplement the core they already have built.

To start the week, Penn star guard Ethan Roberts entered the transfer portal, and he is the perfect player for Stanford to pounce on this offseason.

Why Roberts fits Stanford

Roberts began his career as part of the Army Knights, where he started 31 of 33 games and averaged 12.4 points per game as a true freshman, while adding 4.4 rebounds per game as well. But unfortunately, Army struggled to pile up wins. They finished the season 17-16 in the Patriot League, and therefore, Roberts decided to transfer.

He ended up a part of the Drake Bulldogs, but an injury held him out the entire season. At that point, he didn’t see himself in a role with the Bulldogs. Once again, he entered the portal.

Finally, he found his home, this time with the Penn Quakers. He was a dominant redshirt sophomore, averaging 16.8 points and 5.6 rebounds a night, helping the Quakers to a solid season.

In his senior year, he decided to stay put, and this time, achieved much more. Penn reached the NCAA Tournament after upsetting Yale in the Ivy League Championship, and Roberts was the Quakers’ second best player. He averaged 16.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, which could certainly be useful to a number of programs across the country.

His best game was a 31-point performance early in the season against the St. Joseph’s Hawks, as well as 30 points against the Drexel Dragons and 28 points against the Brown Bears. It was clear that Roberts can easily go off on any given night.

Roberts entered the portal one final time, and it would make plenty of sense if he's heading to Stanford. He would be a great fit on The Farm if that is where he decides to attend.

First, and most importantly, Stanford is a step up from Penn academically, and is one of the only schools that can make that claim. Also, the Cardinal are in need of guard play, especially if Ebuka Okorie leaves. Even with Okorie, the Cardinal will be without senior Benny Gealer, and could use someone that could step in as a secondary scorer for the team.

In addition, Stanford will be lacking veteran play for next season, and bringing in a senior would be a welcome addition to the roster. Roberts checks all three boxes, and is an overall perfect fit for Stanford.

It’s unlikely that the Cardinal will sign anyone out of the transfer portal for a few weeks, but when they do, Stanford certainly needs to look at players such as Roberts to severely improve their roster for the 2026-27 season.

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