Cal Women's Basketball Adds Stanford Transfer

Carly Amborn, a 6-foot-2 guard, joins the Bears after limited playing time with the Cardinal.

Apr. 16, 2026 at 9:26pm

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A fragmented, cubist-style painting depicting the dynamic movements and energy of a women's basketball game, with sharp geometric shapes in navy, green, and orange hues.A new addition to the Cal women's basketball roster brings size, shooting, and defensive versatility from a crosstown rival.Larkspur Today

The Cal women's basketball team has signed Stanford transfer Carly Amborn to its roster for the 2026-27 season. Amborn, a 6-foot-2 guard from Larkspur, California, played sparingly as a freshman at Stanford this past season, averaging 3.0 minutes, 2.0 points and 0.5 rebounds per game. Despite the limited playing time, Amborn showed potential as an accurate long-range shooter, making 8 of 14 three-point attempts (57.1%).

Why it matters

This transfer represents a rare instance of a player moving from Stanford to Cal, two of the top women's basketball programs in the Bay Area. Amborn's addition provides the Bears with additional size and shooting ability in the backcourt as they look to build on their recent success.

The details

Amborn was a four-star recruit out of San Domenico School and will join the Bears as a sophomore after playing sparingly as a freshman at Stanford. She did not see action in either of Stanford's games against Cal this past season. Cal has also added transfers Shannon Dowell from Missouri and Albina Syla from Rhode Island to its roster for the upcoming season.

  • Amborn played in 16 games for Stanford during the 2025-26 season.

The players

Carly Amborn

A 6-foot-2 guard from Larkspur, California who transferred from Stanford to Cal for the 2026-27 season.

Charmin Smith

The head coach of the Cal women's basketball team.

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What they’re saying

“'Carly brings tremendous size to the guard position. With her length not only will she be a matchup problem for opposing backcourts, she will also give us versatility on defense to guard multiple positions. I've been following her since high school and she is a lights out 3-point shooter so she will be a great compliment to our existing 3-point threats and fits our style of play extremely well.'”

— Charmin Smith, Cal Head Coach

The takeaway

Amborn's transfer from Stanford to Cal represents a rare instance of a player moving between the two Bay Area rivals. Her size, shooting ability, and defensive versatility should provide a valuable boost to the Cal women's basketball team as they look to build on their recent success.