STANFORD, Calif. – The first commit of the 2025 recruiting class for Stanford under Kyle Smith, the Anne and Tony Joseph Director of Men’s Basketball, has signed his financial aid agreement. Kristers Skrinda (Riga, Latvia) will join the Cardinal program starting in the 2025-26 season.
“Kristers is a modern-day frontcourt player that should fit in seamlessly to our schemes offensively and defensively. His attitude and desire to be a part of our program is unmatched,” said Smith. “His ability to stretch the floor and knock down threes, coupled with the ability to grab rebounds, should help off-set the departure of Maxime. At his size, his skill allows him to play both forward spots and will give our team a plus-sized wing who can also play big in our five-out sets.”
A versatile, 6-10 forward who attended the prestigious Riga State Gymnasium No. 2 in Riga, Latvia, Skrinda plays his club basketball for Rigas Zelli in the Estonian-Latvian Basketball League. A dynamic player on both ends of the court, Skrinda starred for Latvia at the FIBA U18 Eurobasket in Tampere, Finland, where he averaged 17.7 points, 10.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 43.9 percent from 3-point range and 96 percent from the free throw line. He ranked 10th in the tournament in scoring and second in rebounding and co-led the event with five double-doubles.
“Culturally, Kristers is a great representative for our global outreach. Stanford’s international reputation was a big factor in Kristers decision-making process,” continued Smith. “We could not be more happy to welcome Kristers to the Farm!”
One of the top prospects in Europe, Skrinda is rated as a top-100 (No. 91 overall) four-star prospect from On3. Skrinda also claimed a silver medal in the Latvian Basketball League during the 2023-24 campaign, and he was named the most valuable player of the finals in the Latvian Junior Basketball league in 2023. Skrinda also attended the Basketball Without Borders camp in 2023 in Wroclaw, Poland.