Report: Villanova Wing Zion Stanford Departs Team

Villanova Men’s Basketball junior wing Zion Stanford has departed the team, per a report from Jeff Neiburg of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The Wildcats haven’t yet removed Stanford from their 2025-26 roster page.

Stanford wasn’t on the court for warmups or pregame ceremonies ahead of the Wildcats’ Saturday, March 7 home game against Xavier.

A 6-foot-6 Philadelphia native who attended West Catholic and transferred in from Temple, Stanford played just ten games this season, averaging 5.1 minutes per night. An ankle injury in the preseason delayed his start and he never got rolling after that. Stanford last played on Feb. 4 against Seton Hall; with redshirt freshman Matt Hodge out for the season after tearing his ACL, Stanford could’ve stepped into a bigger role on the wing, but he didn’t travel with Villanova for their March 4 game against DePaul.

Now, the Wildcats will need to find a replacement for Stanford in the transfer portal or recruiting — they have yet to sign any players in the upcoming freshman class. Stanford’s departure marks the second for the Wildcats this season, as senior forward Tafara Gapare left the team for personal reasons in mid-December and was later removed from the roster.