Princeton guard Madison St. Rose is one of the first students to announce plans to hit the transfer portal this season, but her reasoning is one that basketball fans have seen before — and it's not a bad plan at all. St. Rose completed her undergraduate studies at the Ivy League school, and now plans to transfer elsewhere as she pursues a Master's degree.
Her move is the result of Ivy League rules that mean she couldn't spend another season with the school if she wanted to. St. Rose, who averaged 15.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game this season, will likely appear alongside the rest of her team in the NCAA tournament.
Madison St. Rose is following precedent
St. Rose isn't the first player to pursue both their basketball dreams and an elite education at an Ivy League school before moving elsewhere. Kaitlyn Chen, who signed with the Golden State Valkyries during the 2025 WNBA season, did the same thing. Chen earned her Bachelor's degree at Princeton before she transferred to UConn to both play for the Huskies and earn her Master's in sports management; she was drafted into the WNBA after helping Connecticut win the 2025 NCAA Tournament and graduating.
It's a trend that is likely to pick up steam in the years to come, especially since the Ivy League is designed to cater to exactly this kind of track.
USC has also been on the receiving end of several talented Ivy Legaue transfers in recent years. The program welcomed Kayla Padilla, McKenzie Forbes, and Kailyn Davis from Penn, Harvard, and Columbia in 2024, and the trio were part of a starting five that also included then-freshman JuJu Watkins. All three had the ability to play as graduate transfers despite having used up their conference eligibility.
The move is also a smart one for another big reason: players who transfer out of the Ivy system can begin receiving NIL payments that may make a huge difference in their lives and careers. Ivy League athletic departments can approve NIL deals for their athletes, but there are often stricter rules pertaining to how the deals are doled out.
In 2025 Bloomberg reported that all 8 Ivy League schools announced plans to sign attestations of independence for payments to athletes over $2,000. Those attestations of independence are signed documents that insists an NIL deal with an outside donor is not negotiated by the school or program in any capacity.