Junior guard Ethan Roberts will forgo the transfer portal and remain with Penn men’s basketball, he announced via 247 Sports Sunday.
Roberts led the Quakers in scoring last season with 16.8 points per game, a mark that also ranked sixth in the Ivy League. Roberts’ decision comes after Penn’s recent hiring of new head coach Fran McCaffery, who joins the Quakers after 15 years as head coach at Iowa.
“That's definitely a huge part of my decision," Roberts said of McCaffery's arrival. “I want to play for him, learn from him. We also had to work out some logistical things, and once those things got sorted, I knew I wanted to be here the entire time. I just wanted to make it work."
Roberts began his collegiate career at Army, where he averaged 12.4 points per game for the Black Knights and was named Patriot League Rookie of the Year. After coach Jimmy Allen was fired at the end of the 2022-23 season, Roberts left West Point for Drake, where he missed the entirety of his sophomore year due to an injury. After coach Darian DeVries departed Drake for West Virginia, Roberts again entered the portal, this time landing at Penn.
After Penn coach Steve Donahue’s firing in March, McCaffery will serve as Roberts’ fourth head coach in as many years. Despite the coach upheaval, Roberts values the chance to stay at a school for more than one year.
“It means a ton to me, especially being at a place that I'm so happy to be at and represent," Roberts said. “It's worth way more than money to me."
During the season, Roberts was rumored as a potential portal candidate due in part to the mass exodus of men's basketball stars from the Ancient Eight in recent years. As name, image, and likeness have become more prevalent in high-major athletics, the Ivy League's lack of NIL collectives and athletic scholarships have influenced a number of departures from the conference. On Friday, Princeton guard Xaivian Lee, a two-time first team All-Ivy selection, entered the portal after three seasons with the Tigers.
Roberts' return gives McCaffery an established scorer to build upon heading into his first season with the Red and Blue. Sophomore guard Sam Brown, who led the Ivy League in scoring during conference play, remains in the transfer portal but has not ruled out a return to Penn.
Roberts also expressed hope that his return won't be the last of Penn's major roster moves.
“My mindset is 'Load the wagon,'" Roberts said of the Quakers potentially adding additional talent through the portal. “See what dominoes fall, who we get. I'm curious to see what our roster's gonna look like, but I'm just so excited that I'm gonna be on it. … I'm gonna do what I can, whatever [McCaffery] needs me to do on the recruiting front. Whatever help I can provide, I'll be doing it."
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