Penn men’s basketball senior captain and guard/forward Ethan Roberts will enter the transfer portal.
Roberts led the team in scoring this season with an average of 16.9 points per game, helping Penn qualify for Ivy Madness before abruptly ending his season with a concussion.
Though he couldn’t compete in the postseason, Roberts told The Daily Pennsylvanian, “I’m forever a Quaker. I’m forever a Penn basketball player. It's been the pinnacle of my career thus far.”
When asked what stood out most to him during his time here, the senior said, “An Ivy championship. That’s the legacy we wanted to leave and we did it. It’s so much. I’m still reflecting.”
“I enjoyed this season through the ups and downs because of how much I love my teammates,” he continued. “So if anything stood out, it’s that relationship that I’m going to have with them for the rest of my life.”
Due to the Ivy League reserving athletic eligibility only for undergraduate students, Roberts will not be able to remain at Penn for his fourth year and was expected to transfer to fulfill his last year of eligibility.
“I actually wasn’t even expecting to be in the portal this quick,” he said, “I submitted my notification to transfer and then I found out via Twitter. … I’m like, ‘What?’ So here we are.”
The senior made quite the impact in just two seasons at Penn. Roberts led the team in points per game during both of the seasons he was at Penn, and was critical in helping the team improve from an 8-19 to 18-12 record during his second season. Roberts also delivered a 21-point performance in a win against Harvard to help the Quakers clinch the third seed in the conference and a seat to Ivy Madness.
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“I love this place and I just want to give everything back to Penn and how much it means to me to wear this jersey. So to do that, it means a lot,” Roberts said after the win against Harvard. “I hope that caps off my legacy, but I still got more to go because I want to win. That’s what it’s about.”
Although Roberts was out for Penn’s Ivy Tournament run, the Quakers were able to bring the Ivy championship title home and also qualify for the NCAA tournament.
Roberts spent his junior 2024-25 and senior 2025-26 seasons at Penn after transferring from Drake University in 2024. He began his collegiate career at Army, where he earned the Patriot League Rookie of the Year honor. The guard/forward then transferred to Drake for his sophomore year, but missed the entire season due to a stomach illness, which allowed him another year of playing eligibility.
Ethan Roberts is the first men’s basketball player to announce his decision to enter the transfer portal following the 2025-26 season.
Sports Editor Hannah Chang contributed to reporting.
