The reigning Ivy League champions, Penn basketball, return the conference tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Penn basketball.
After a rough back end of the Steve Donahue era, the Quakers are back on the rise under Fran McCaffery. Starting on Jan. 31, Penn basketball tallied up nine victories in a 10-game stretch to cap off last season, propelling the program to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018.
There is major difficulty in competing nationally as an Ivy League program. Funding can be hard to come by, admissions standards make it impossible to rely on the transfer portal, and athletes typically have just four total years of eligibility (although fifth-year guard Michael Zanoni is a notable exception here). However, continuity is a lost art in modern college basketball, and Penn benefits from bringing back the 12th most minutes of any Division-1 team headed into 2026-27.
Front and center on that list of returners is 2025-26 all-conference first-teamer and Ivy League Tournament Most Outstanding Player, TJ Power. McCaffery complements Power and the aforementioned Zanoni with a slashing wing from Notre Dame by the name of Sir Mohammed. Even if Penn is losing a bit of three-point shooting from departing Ethan Roberts, they are primed to cruise past last year’s 18-game win total with a more balanced and experienced roster.
Head coach: Fran McCaffrey (2nd season at Penn, 31st overall)
2025-26 record: 18-12 (9-5)
2026 postseason finish: Lost in Round of 64 (105-70) to Illinois
Notable departures:
- Ethan Roberts (16.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.3 APG, 40.4 3P%)
Notable non-conference games:
- at Illinois (Nov. 5)
Projected Rotation
PG: AJ Levine (6-0, 180, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 8.2 PPG, 4.0 APG, 3.2 RPG, 1.8 SPG
SF: Michael Zanoni (6-5, 185, Gr.-Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 11.8 PPG, 2.0 RPG, 0.7 APG, 38.7 3P%
SF: Sir Mohammed (6-6, 200, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 5.7 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 1.5 APG (Notre Dame)
PF: TJ Power (6-9, 216, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 16.4 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.1 SPG, 43.2 3P%
C: Augustus Gerhart (6-9, 235, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 5.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.0 APG, 62.4 FG%
6: Jay Jones (6-4, 195, So.)
2025-26 stats: 3.9 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 1.2 APG, 7-18 3P (38.9%)
7: Dalton Scantlebury (6-9, 250, So.)
2025-26 stats: 5.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 0.6 APG, 51.2 FG%
8: Lucas-Allan Lueth (6-7, 210, So.)
2025-26 stats: 3.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 0.6 APG
Penn basketball team MVP: T.J. Power
A five-star recruit out of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, Power set his initial sights high, committing to Duke as high school prospect. His one year in Durham was underwhelming, and a change of scenery at Virginia went arguably worse. Power ended up transferring down to Penn for the 2025-26 season, and his fit with McCaffrey’s coaching style, plus a healthy downgrade of competition, led to a revelation of his college career. Now, Power enters the 2026-27 season as one of the faces of the Ivy League, alongside Harvard guard Robert Hinton.
On the offensive end, Power is your do-it-all stretch four man. He can play-make, pass, get to the rim with size and strength, and shoot the lights out. Power is not exactly a plus defender, but he is not at an athletic disadvantage either, like in the ACC.
Power’s expectations have been established now after his breakout junior year. If his development continues, a 20 PPG average is not out of the cards.
Penn basketball make-or-break player: Sir Mohammed
Mohammad enters the Quakers program following a similar trajectory to Power; transferring down a few levels after struggling to find a role in the ACC. The question is how much his production bolsters.
Power is living proof that someone of Mohammed’s caliber can light up the scoreboard in this offense. The Charlotte, North Carolina native has good body control driving into the lane, albeit he sometimes struggled to finish around quality length. Mohammed’s career shooting numbers are also extremely poor: 17-71 (23.9%) from three and 32-64 (50.0%) from the charity stripe.
If Mohammed can become a more competent outside shot maker and develop a bit more as a slasher, Penn has themselves yet another impact player, and their ceiling raises significantly. Regardless, his versatility on the defensive end raises their floor.
Key statistic: Net field goal percentage
Penn’s shooting splits in the 2025-26 season are quite revealing. Their net three-point percentage of 6.1% (38.3% offense, 32.2% defense) led the Ivy League. Meanwhile, a -8.0% net two-point field goal percentage (46.5% offense, 54.5% defense) placed at the very bottom of the conference ranks.
Simply put, the Quakers need to improve their output around the rim on both ends. Neither Power nor Augustus Gerhart are known as quality shot blockers, but perhaps with the added on-ball defense of Mohammad, plus positional size throughout the roster, Penn could deter penetration into the paint altogether.
I would expect some sort of regression towards the league average in both Penn’s two-point and three-point efficiencies. The question is to what degree this occurs. If the percentages look similar to last year, the Quakers become very matchup dependent again.
Penn basketball 2026-27 projections
Projected conference finish: 1st in the Ivy League
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament Round of 64