Sports

Reports: Zion Stanford Departs Villanova Men’s Basketball Program

Dylan Johnson, Co-Editor-in-Chief

March 7, 2026

Villanova junior forward Zion Stanford is no longer a part of the Villanova men’s basketball team.

The news was first reported by Jeff Neiburg at The Philadelphia Inquirer on Saturday.

Stanford, 6-foot-6, was listed as out in Villanova’s last two games. A day after practicing with the team, Stanford did not travel with the team to Chicago for its game against DePaul on Wednesday, March 4. He was listed as out for the game. Stanford was again listed out on Saturday for Villanova’s game against Xavier and was not in attendance on the team’s bench.

The Temple transfer and West Catholic graduate missed the beginning of the season with an ankle injury, which limited his minutes upon his return to the lineup on Nov. 15 against Duquesne. Stanford later missed Villanova’s game against Georgetown on Jan. 21 due to what was listed as “left knee soreness” by the team.

Stanford’s agent, Ken Jackson of Sky Limit Sports, told The Inquirer by text message on Wednesday that Stanford was waiting to be cleared from an injury before returning to game action. However, Villanova is required by the Big East to submit player availability reports before each conference game, and Stanford did not appear on any availability reports until this past Wednesday against DePaul. Up until the DePaul game, Stanford had been in uniform on Villanova’s bench.

Stanford departs the program, averaging 1.3 points in 5.1 minutes per game. He transferred to Villanova after averaging 13.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists at Temple, starting in 14 of its 31 games.

This is the second Wildcat to leave the program this season. In January, it was announced by the school that forward Tafara Gapare “elected to depart” the program. However, Gapare claimed he was taking a short break from the program due to his mental health and expected to rejoin the team at a later time.

Villanova’s depth is now thinning out. With Stanford and Gapare off the team and redshirt freshman Matt Hodge out for the remainder of the season with an ACL tear, Villanova only has nine players who have played meaningful minutes this season.

Donate to The Villanovan

$465

$7500

Contributed

Our Goal

Your donation will support the student journalists of The Villanovan with technological needs, training, and more.

About the Contributor

Dylan Johnson, Co-Editor-in-Chief

Dylan Johnson has recently taken over one of the two Co-Editor-in-Chief roles for 2026. He is currently pursuing a major in Communications with a specialization in journalism. Dylan is a junior from Philadelphia, PA. Dylan’s passion for journalism is driven by storytelling. At The Villanovan, he wants to discover and tell the stories that might otherwise go untold. Outside of the paper, Dylan is currently working for The Philadelphia Inquirer as a Sports Intern. Dylan is a hard worker who is always looking for the next article to write. He is a diehard Philadelphia sports fan and will never miss an Eagles game. He can always be found at a Villanova game, whether it be in a press box, on the sidelines, or in the stands. When he is not spending hours in the Finn’s media room, Dylan can be found enjoying runs around campus.