Former Stanford forward Brandon Angel commits to Oregon

Stanford forward transfer Brandon Angel has committed to Oregon, On3’s Joe Tipton has learned. Angel just wrapped up his fourth season with the Cardinal and instead of moving into the ACC with them, he will play in the Big Ten alongside Dana Altman. A nice addition for the Ducks, getting a veteran player into the mix.

Angel played in 30 games with Stanford this season, finishing as the team’s second-leading scorer with 13 points per game. He was relied upon on the glass too, bringing in just under five rebounds a night. Being quite consistent there, Angel’s best performance of the year was a 19-point, 10-rebound game against Arizona State in February.

Stanford underwent a coaching change this offseason, firing Jerod Haase after eight seasons in Palo Alto. Kyle Smith has taken over after having success at Washington State. Due to conference realignment, Stanford is widely viewed as a better job despite both schools being the in Pac-12 last year.

Angel entered the portal a few days after Smith was officially announced and ultimately decided against returning to play for him.

Oregon has not been too active in the NCAA transfer portal thus far as Angel is their first commitment. Altman will welcome two true freshmen to Eugune for the 2024-2025 season alongside Angel. The roster is beginning to take shape for the Ducks.

Oregon hoping for better regular season after postseason run

Oregon ended the 2023-2024 season on a positive note, making a great postseason run by winning the Pac-12 Tournament and taking down South Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. A fun overtime game against Creighton in the second round entertained plenty across the country as well.

But without the Pac-12 Tournament win, there would have not been any success in the NCAA Tournament for Oregon. Injuries plagued the program all season and there was never any consistency in conference play. The Ducks were not too far away from potentially playing in the NIT or sitting the whole postseason out.

Altman is hoping things change moving forward, having better success throughout the year. However, a whole new challenge is ahead thanks to moving to the Big Ten. Regarded as one of the better conferences in the country, NCAA Tournament quality teams will be on the other side on a nightly basis.

Adding somebody like Angel only helps the cause, mostly due to his experience. Altman knows he can rely on the fifth-year player to put up a good performance every time out there.