Sophomore guard Sam Brown entered the NCAA transfer portal.
Credit: Lydia TongThis story is developing and will continue to be updated.
Penn men’s basketball sophomore guard Sam Brown will enter the transfer portal, he announced via social media Monday.
The decision comes in the wake of Penn head coach Steve Donahue’s firing earlier this month. Brown led the Ivy League in points per game during conference play and was named to the All-Ivy second team, the only freshman or sophomore to earn All-Ivy honors.
“A few weeks ago I could have never imagined finishing my college career other than the University of Pennsylvania,” Brown wrote. “The recent coaching change has led me to consider whether there might be other options to combine my passions as a student, athlete, and competitor.”
Brown also noted that he could “very well” still return to Penn, but will use the portal as a means to exercise his options.
Brown’s departure would mark the third-consecutive year in which the Quakers have suffered a major portal loss. In 2023, Ivy Player of the Year Jordan Dingle left Penn for St. John’s after finishing second in the nation in scoring average. In 2024, then-freshman guard Tyler Perkins left for Villanova after having the second-highest scoring average of the Quakers.
2023-24 also saw Perkins and Brown break the Penn program record for scoring by a freshman duo. Now, both could be playing elsewhere.
Brown, the son of former Philadelphia 76ers coach Brett Brown, found immediate success upon his arrival to the Palestra. Starting in 18 of 25 games as a freshman, Brown finished third on the team in points per game (10.9 PPG) and third in the Ivy League in three-point percentage (43.3%.).
As a sophomore, Brown struggled during nonconference play but rebounded for a stellar league campaign. After averaging just eight points per game in the non-league slate, Brown caught fire against Ivy competition, averaging 19.3 points per game and 2.6 three-pointers per game. Brown also led the conference in free throw percentage with an 89.1% clip.
On March 1, Brown scored the most points by a Quakers player since 1989 with a 42-point performance that led Penn to a win over Columbia. Following that game, Brown noted how his game has evolved over the course of his time with the Red and Blue.
“I want to be a professional basketball player, and I know that I’m going to have to grow my game,” Brown said. “Even though I’m not necessarily an above-the-rim player, I try to find ways to score outside from that.”
Penn is expected to hire a new head coach in the coming weeks.
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