Penn

Penn and TJ Power proving the portal can benefit the Ivy League

With all the development surrounding the transfer portal over the past few years, it often seems the Ivy League is left behind. The obvious reasoning is because of the conference’s educational focus with eight of the nation’s most renowned academic institutions but maybe also because of its decision to opt out of the NCAA’s house settlement.

As Dartmouth head coach David McLaughlin told The Portal Report in 2023, high school recruits commit to the Ivy League with plans of playing for four years and getting a degree. That fortunately makes it easy to avoid the constant personnel turnover that other mid-majors face but provides new challenges to roster construction in that scholarships are limited.

Ultimately, that combination of high academics and limited roster turnover makes recruiting the transfer portal an unrealistic opportunity for several of the Ivy League’s programs.

“Not a lot of people leave [the Ivy League] once they come and not just basketball players but all students,” McLaughlin said. “It’s an incredibly hard place to transfer into just based on those numbers alone. It’s not part of our philosophy to recruit an incoming class and have room for transfers. We really try to hang out hat on the consistency piece”

It’s actually led to an influx of the conference’s top talent departing each offseason as the Ivy League struggles to match the NIL and resources of college basketball’s powerhouse programs. Princeton in particular was gutted this offseason with senior guard Xaivian Lee transferring to Florida and Caden Pierce redshirting to maintain eligibility while shopping programs in the portal for 2026-27.

Even still, with thousands of players transferring from all levels of college basketball each offseason, there were bound to be some who could meet the Ivy League’s rigorous standards.

Preseason favorite Yale has senior wing Casey Simmons who arrived from Northwestern in 2022 and has been a consistent feature in James Jones’ starting five since. Cornell added junior forward Kaspar Sepp from Valparaiso this offseason who’s already starting for head coach Jon Jaques and leading the Big Red in rebounding with 5.4 PPG and 6.0 RPG.

Columbia too has taken advantage of the portal under new head coach Kevin Hovde with some impactful additions. Sophomore forward Ryan Soulis from Richmond is currently starting and averaging 5.8 PPG while DIII National Champion runner-up Hampton Sanders is bringing veteran stability from NYU.

However, the Ivy League program most defined by the recent development surrounding the transfer portal is Penn. Under new head coach Fran McCaffery, a 1982 Penn alum who actually transferred into the Ivy League from Wake Forest, the Quakers three leading scorers all arrived in the portal.

It started last offseason when McCaffery’s predecessor, Steve Donahue, added a pair from the portal during the 2024 offseason. Former Patriot League Rookie of the Year Ethan Roberts, more recently a redshirt at Drake, arrived and was followed by Mercer transfer Michael Zanoni, who held several high-major offers out of high school.

With McCaffery now at the helm, the signing of a former top-100 prospect in junior forward TJ Power has elevated Penn to new heights early this season. Power arrived after stints at Duke and Virginia but never quite broke in at the high-major level which left many to question his ability.

Not McCaffery though, who was a big believer and had seen his talent first hand when he offered Power a spot on his roster at Iowa back in 2020.

“When [Power] went back into the portal, I think he felt like I could help him,” McCaffery said. “He needed somebody to believe [his talent] was still there. I had seen it, I mean he was a Championship player in high school. Against the top players in the country, nobody could stop him.”

Reuniting with McCaffery has been a revelation for Power who is a consistent part of the Quakers starting lineup while averaging career-highs of 15.6 PPG, 7.9 RPG and 2.6 APG. He’s helped Penn to dominate its local rivals so far this season and book a spot in the Big 5 Classic Championship, for a shot at the program’s first city title since 2019.

Against Saint Joseph’s, Power produced his first career double-double with 23 points, 15 rebounds and two blocked shots in an 83-74 win over the Hawks, the program’s first in six years.

As the Quakers handedly beat Drexel on the road, 84-68, Power finished with a respectable 18 points on 5-for-11, adding four rebounds and three assists for a 2-0 record in Big 5 pod play.

Just for good measure and to put the city on notice of its rise, Penn staved off La Salle 73-71 on day two at the Cathedral of College Basketball Classic and is now 3-0 in the city of Philly. Power once again led the way, finishing with a career-high 29 points, including 19 in the second half, to complete a 15-point comeback over the Explorers.

“In these bigger games you just try to compete as hard as you can,” Power said. “The flow kind of comes to you. I had made some shots in the beginning of the game so I felt like I had a rhythm. I just needed the ball to come back to me and then once I saw one [shot fall] I just stayed aggressive.”

The portal has not only helped Power to find his home and emerge as a blossoming star in the Ivy League, but it’s helped Penn return to prominence in the city of Philadelphia. There’s even a new alumni-driven NIL collective on the way to help Penn and McCaffery boost recruitment down the line, as recently reported by The Daily Pennsylvanian. 

In the meantime, the Quakers will have to maintain that undefeated title against a surging Villanova side and new head coach Kevin Willard, in the Big 5 Classic title matchup come Dec. 6. Despite having just arrived in the city, Power said he now recognizes the importance of opportunities like this and Penn is ready for the challenge.

“This being my first time experiencing [the Big 5], I now understand how much it means to Penn and the city,” Power said. “I’m definitely keying in these games and we want to take home that Big 5 Championship for sure.”

With a 5-3 record under the respected leadership of McCaffery, Penn is already well on its way to surpassing its seventh-place selection in the Ivy League’s 2025-26 preseason poll.

Picture of Riley Frain

Riley Frain

Sign-Up for Instant Updates!

Enter your email address to sign-up for TPR stories and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Related Posts