University of Richmond Athletics
Spiders Add Dominick Stewart From Penn State, Derin Saran from UC Irvine
04/25/2026 | Men's Basketball
RICHMOND, Va. — Derin Saran, a 6'5 guard who played at UC Irvine last season, and Dominick Stewart, a 6'5 guard from Penn State, will transfer to Richmond and play for the Spiders in 2026-27.
Saran, who hails from Istanbul, Turkey, started all 35 games as a redshirt sophomore at UC Irvine last season while leading the Anteaters to a 23-12 record and Big West regular season title. He ranked among the team leaders in points (11.5 per game, third), rebounds (5.3 per game, second), and assists (3.4 per game, second) while earning Honorable Mention All-Big West accolades. He was one of just 22 players in D-I to average at least 11.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game.
As a freshman at UC Irvine in 2023-24, he scored 10.1 points per game for an Anteaters team that finished 17-3 in the Big West and won the league's regular season title. He ranked second in scoring among all Big West freshmen and made 50.2% of his field goal attempts. Saran transferred to Stanford following the season and received a redshirt after appearing in five games for the Cardinal in 2024-25. He transferred back to UC Irvine during the 2025 offseason.
Saran finished his prep career at The Asheville School in Asheville, N.C., where he was a three-time conference champion and the Western North Carolina Player of the Year in 2023.
Stewart, a native of Ocean Springs, Miss., appeared in all 32 games for Penn State last season, making 24 starts and averaging 6.6 points and 1.6 assists per game. He shot 34.8% from three-point range, third among Nittany Lions.
He appeared in 24 games as a freshman in 2024-25, scoring 2.8 points per game, and will be a junior with the Spiders next season. As a prep player, Stewart was a three-star recruit out of Southern California Academy who was ranked as the No. 33 combo guard in the Class of 2024 via 247Sports.
Saran and Stewart are the fifth and sixth members of Richmond's 2026 transfer class. They join Jamie Kaiser Jr., Amon Dörries, Jack McCaffery, and Andrew Ball.
