{"id":157741,"date":"2025-08-19T06:42:10","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T06:42:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/157741\/"},"modified":"2025-08-19T06:42:10","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T06:42:10","slug":"five-must-know-student-athletes-at-penn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/157741\/","title":{"rendered":"Five must-know student-athletes at Penn"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCredit: Kate Ahn<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

With broken records and historical performances, last season was a big one for Penn sports. From national record holders to internationally ranked athletes, there was plenty of talent on the field and court. Here are five Penn student-athletes to keep an eye on this year.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Liam O\u2019Brien \u2014<\/strong>\u00a0football<\/strong>\n\t\t<\/p>\n

In the middle of last season, it looked bleak for the Quakers. Then-senior starting quarterback Aidan Sayin went down with an injury<\/a> during a matchup with Yale, and Penn was struggling to notch its first Ivy League win of the season. But then-junior quarterback Liam O\u2019Brien took the spotlight. While the game against Yale ended in a loss, O\u2019Brien proved himself as signal caller after Sayin was out of the game.\n<\/p>\n

In his first collegiate start the following week, O\u2019Brien led the Red and Blue to their first Ivy victory <\/a>of the season against Brown. He then followed up that win by leading the team to a historic, dominant 67-49 victory against Cornell<\/a> a week later \u2014\u00a0a performance soon dubbed as \u201cLiamsanity.\u201d Penn set the record for the most points scored since the start of Ivy League play in 1956, and O\u2019Brien also set two program records for passing touchdowns and total touchdowns in a single game. He was named the FCS Offensive Player of the Week<\/a> following the performance.\u00a0\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

And that was only O\u2019Brien\u2019s second time as starting quarterback. With more experience under his belt and the chance for an Ivy League title now coming with a guaranteed spot in the FCS playoffs<\/a>, the stage is set for him to have another electrifying season.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Salman Khalil \u2014 men\u2019s squash<\/strong>\n\t<\/p>\n

With the US Squash headquarters located just across Market Street, it\u2019s no surprise that Penn men\u2019s squash has consistently been the nation\u2019s best \u2014\u00a0and junior Salman Khalil has been at the center of it all.\n<\/p>\n

Khalil has been a standout since his freshman season, collecting every major accolade including Ivy League Rookie of the Year<\/a>, College Squash Association <\/a>first team All-American, and a national team championship<\/a> \u2014 the first in program history.\n<\/p>\n

Khalil continued his streak of dominance during his sophomore year, achieving an undefeated individual record \u2014 which was instrumental in the team\u2019s perfect 20-0 overall record<\/a>. Khalil also collected an individual national title<\/a> in the CSA individual tournament \u2014 the first Quakers player to do so since 1979.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Under the shining lights of the Arlen Specter US Squash Center, Khalil had a picture-perfect finish to the season, defeating Yale\u2019s Tad Carney to clinch a second straight national team title<\/a> for the Red and Blue.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Khalil has a chance to continue his dominance this year amid the team\u2019s quest for a \u201cthree-peat\u201d and cementing a dynasty.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Katie Collins \u2014 women\u2019s basketball<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

During her freshman year, now-sophomore forward Katie Collins made her presence known on the court and across the Ivy League. Collins, who started all 27 games for the Quakers, excelled on both sides of the ball. She led the team and conference in blocks and blocks per game and ranked third on the team in total rebounds.\n<\/p>\n

Collins was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week nine times for her consistent, strong performances throughout the season \u2014 the second most in both Penn and Ivy League history. She was also unanimously voted the 2025 Ivy League Rookie of the Year<\/a>.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Now that former star guard Stina Almqvist \u2014 who hit 1,000 career points<\/a> in her final season with the Quakers \u2014 has graduated this past May, Penn will look to Collins for a stronger presence in the interior and as a scorer this season.\n<\/p>\n

Ethan Roberts \u2014 men\u2019s basketball<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n

Senior guard\/forward Ethan Roberts has only been with the Red and Blue for a year, but he\u2019s made every minute count. After transferring from Drake<\/a>, Roberts became a regular starter for the Quakers, only missing two games. The Arlington Heights, Ill. native led the Quakers in scoring<\/a> average with 16.8 points per game.\n<\/p>\n

Following former star center\/forward and team captain Nick Spinoso\u2019s<\/a> graduation and former Penn guard Sam Brown\u2019s transfer to Davidson<\/a> \u2014\u00a0the latter player leading the Ancient Eight in scoring during last season\u2019s conference play \u2014 Roberts will help to fill their shoes on offense, especially with a large incoming class of freshman and transfer players.\n<\/p>\n

Roberts has already been a strong leader in the offseason, assisting new coach Fran McCaffery<\/a> with recruitment efforts heading into a new era for Penn men\u2019s basketball. With games on the horizon in November, Roberts will lead the effort to bring glory back to Penn men\u2019s basketball.\n<\/p>\n

Orly Sedransk \u2014 women\u2019s lacrosse<\/strong>\n\t\t<\/p>\n

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Following former star goalkeeper Kelly Van Hoesen\u2019s graduation in the Class of 2024, then-freshman goalkeeper Orly Sedransk had big shoes to fill last season. And the phenom impressed<\/a>.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

Last season, Sedransk started in all but one games and cemented herself as a key member of the starting lineup after amassing 13 saves in the first ranked game of the season against Johns Hopkins. And she didn\u2019t stop there, leading the Ivy League in saves per game and a save percentage of 0.49.\n<\/p>\n

Sedransk earned 2025 Ivy League Rookie<\/a> of the Year<\/a> and Goalkeeper of the Year titles for her performance, as well as All-American honorable mentions from USA Lacrosse and Inside Lacrosse. While women\u2019s lacrosse won\u2019t take the field until the spring, Quakers fans are eagerly awaiting the return of one of their strongest teams, with Sedransk manning the cage again. The team will have another chance at an Ivy League championship title and goals of another deep NCAA tournament run after advancing to the quarterfinals<\/a> in the 2025 season.<\/p>\n

The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation<\/a> to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.<\/p>\n

Donate<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Credit: Kate Ahn With broken records and historical performances, last season was a big one for Penn sports.…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":157742,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[91681,1339,1369,2076,1322,1318,27060,15739,1317,1337,1338,62,91680,91679,19418,67,132,68,2869],"class_list":{"0":"post-157741","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ncaa-basketball","8":"tag-app-top-sports","9":"tag-basketball","10":"tag-college-sports","11":"tag-college-basketball","12":"tag-featured","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-lacrosse","15":"tag-mens","16":"tag-ncaa","17":"tag-ncaa-basketball","18":"tag-ncaabasketball","19":"tag-sports","20":"tag-sports-feature","21":"tag-squash","22":"tag-track-and-field","23":"tag-united-states","24":"tag-unitedstates","25":"tag-us","26":"tag-womens"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115054073765574260","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/157742"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}