Alex EschmeyerAlex Eschmeyer
Karen Hickey/ISI Photos
Women's Basketball

Season Begins with the Spartans

Cardinal hosts UNC Greensboro on Monday, November 3 at 7 p.m.

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THE GAME: Stanford begins its season on Monday, Nov. 3 when the Cardinal hosts UNC Greensboro at 7 p.m. Tim Swartz and Joaquin Wallace have the call on ACCNX, while Kevin Danna will handle the radio broadcast on GoStanford.com, the Stanford Athletics app and Learfield’s Varsity Network.

THE RUNDOWN: Stanford is 39-12 all-time in season openers and has won seven in a row ... The Cardinal has won 26 consecutive home openers ... Were two freshmen to start, it would be the first time the Cardinal has started two freshmen in a season opener since November 17, 2000 at Saint Mary’s ... Stanford is near the top of the ACC in returning production, welcoming back 54.2 percent of its scoring, 49.7 percent of its rebounding, 57.4 percent of its assists and 56.9 percent of its minutes played ... Stanford has the fewest transfers on its roster among all 68 Power 4 programs (1) ... In addition to its returning core, the team added the nation’s No. 3 recruiting class according to es­pnW HoopGurlz ... Kate Paye’s first signing class as head coach includes three five-star talents (Hailee Swain, Lara Somfai, Alexandra Eschmeyer) and two four-stars (Nora Ezike, Carly Amborn) according to espnW Hoop­Gurlz, and four ranked in that publication’s top 100 ... Stanford’s three five-star signees tied for the national lead with Tennessee and LSU ... Its three McDonald’s All Americans (Swain, Somfai, Eschmeyer) were almost as many as the rest of the ACC combined (4) ... Nunu Agara is on watch lists for the Naismith Trophy and Katrina McClain Award (PF), while Kennedy Umeh is on the Lisa Leslie Award (C) watch list.

VS. UNC GREENSBORO: Monday’s opener will be Stanford’s first game against UNC Greensboro. Stanford has only played two games against a Southern Conference opponent since 2002-03. The Cardinal lost at Chattanooga on Dec. 17, 2014, 54-46, and beat the Mocs on their return trip to The Farm on Dec. 28, 2015, 73-30. UNCG head coach Trina Patterson was an assistant at Stanford for two seasons in 2011-12 and 2012-13. The Cardinal was 68-5 with Patterson on staff and went to the 2012 Final Four.

SEASON OPENERS »

  • Stanford is 39-12 all-time in season openers and has won seven in a row. The Cardinal’s last such loss came at No. 5 Ohio State on Nov. 10, 2017, 85-64.
  • The Cardinal has won 26 consecutive home openers. Stanford hasn’t dropped its first game of a season in Maples since falling to No. 24 Illinois, 76-58, on Nov. 19, 1998.
  • In last year’s season-opening win over Le Moyne, Stanford sank a school-record 18 3-pointers to earn Kate Paye her first win as head coach, 107-43.
  • Stanford’s 64-point margin of victory against the Dolphins is tied for fifth best in program history and its 107 points were the program’s most since scoring 108 against Cal Poly on Nov. 25, 2020.

EXHIBITION RECAP »

  • Chloe Clardy led four Cardinal in double figures with a game-high 20 points and six rebounds, and Stanford beat Cal State LA in an exhibition on Wednesday night, 85-50.
  • Nunu Agara added 17 points and seven boards, Lara Somfai had a double-double with 13 and 10, and Hailee Swain chipped in 10.
  • Stanford shot 45.1 percent as a team (32-of-71) and was 18-of-19 at the line (.947), but just 3-of-18 on 3-pointers (.167). The Cardinal had 17 assists, 10 steals, outrebounded the Golden Eagles 60-30, and scored 50 points in the paint.

FRESHMEN STARTERS »

  • Freshmen Hailee Swain and Lara Somfai started the exhibition against Cal State LA alongside upperclassmen Nunu Agara, Talana Lepolo and Courtney Ogden.
  • Were they to start against UNC Greensboro, it would be the first time the Cardinal has started two freshmen in a season opener since November 17, 2000 at Saint Mary’s when Nicole Powell and Susan King were in the starting lineup of a 74-63 Cardinal loss.
  • Stanford hasn’t started two freshmen in any game since January 12, 2020 at California, when Haley Jones and Fran Belibi made their last of five consecutive starts together in a 79-65 victory.

RETURNING PRODUCTION »

  • Stanford is near the top of the ACC in returning production, welcoming back 54.2 percent of its scoring (1,221 of 2,255 points), 49.7 percent of its rebounding (583 of 1,172 rebounds), 57.4 percent of its assists (251 of 437 assists) and 56.9 percent of its minutes played (3,585 of 6,300 minutes) from a season ago.
  • The Cardinal is third in the ACC in returning points (Duke - 67.7%, Virginia 61.6%, Virginia Tech 54.7%), second in returning rebounds (Duke - 64.1%), third in returning assists (Virginia - 70.7%, Virginia Tech - 68.5%, Duke - 63.0%), and third in returning minutes (Duke - 68.1%, Virginia Tech - 57.6%).

CARDINAL CONTINUITY »

  • The Cardinal only has one transfer on its roster in junior Mary Ashley Stevenson, who is in her second year on The Farm after playing one season at Purdue.
  • Stanford has the fewest transfers on its roster among all 68 Power 4 programs. NC State, Washington and Oklahoma each have two.
  • Among Power 4 schools, Stanford and Washington tied for the least amount of portal movement this offseason (total number of transfers in + transfers out).

FIRST CLASS »

  • In addition to Stanford’s returning core, the team added the nation’s No. 3 recruiting class according to es­pnW HoopGurlz.
  • Kate Paye’s first signing class as head coach includes three five-star talents (Hailee Swain, Lara Somfai, Alexandra Eschmeyer) and two four-stars (Nora Ezike, Carly Amborn) according to espnW HoopGurlz, and four ranked in that publication’s top 100.
Player HoopGurlz Rank Stars Ht./Pos.
Hailee Swain 8 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5-11 • G
Lara Somfai 12 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 6-4 • F
Alexandra Eschmeyer 21 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 6-5 • F
Nora Ezike 85 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 6-2 • F
Carly Amborn -- ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 6-2 • G/F
  • Stanford’s three five-star signees tied for the national lead with Tennessee and LSU and the program’s most since it had four in the Class of 2019 (Haley Jones, Ashten Prechtel, Fran Belibi, Hannah Jump.
  • Of the 24 women selected to be McDonald’s All Americans, Stanford (Eschmeyer, Somfai, Swain) and Ten­nessee had the most players suiting up next fall with three commits each. Stanford’s three McDonald’s All Americans were almost as many as the rest of the ACC combined (4).

PRESEASON ACC PROGNOSTICATIONS »

  • The Cardinal was picked to finish sixth in the ACC in a vote of the league’s 18 head coaches and Blue Ribbon Panel.
  • Stanford totaled 1,041 points from 70 voters to finish sixth in the predicted order of finish. Duke topped the poll with 1,525 points and 40 first-place votes, NC State was second with 1,487 points and 25 first-place votes, North Carolina was third with 1,374 points and one first-place vote, Louisville was fourth with 1,276 points and two first-place votes, and Notre Dame was fifth with 1,255 points and the final two first-place votes.
  • An All-ACC second team selection last season, Nunu Agara was voted to the 10-person Preseason All-ACC Team. She was Stanford’s leading scorer (15.8 ppg) and rebounder (7.6 rpg) a season ago and is the ACC’s third-leading returning scorer (Hannah Hidalgo – Notre Dame; Kymora Johnson - Virginia) and its second-lead­ing returning rebounder (Jessica Peterson - Miami).
  • Hailee Swain and Lara Somfai landed on the six-person Preseason All-Freshman Team and Stanford was the only school with multiple players on the list. Both five-star talents, Swain was rated as the No. 8 player in the country in the Class of 2025 according to ESPN HoopGurlz and Somfai was ranked 12th. Among numerous prep honors, the pair were McDonald’s All-Americans, Jordan Brand Classic All-Americans and appeared at the Nike Hoop Summit – Swain for USA Basketball and Somfai on the World Roster.

WATCH LISTS »

  • Nunu Agara is one of 50 players under consideration for the 2026 Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year and one of 20 on the watch list for the 2026 Katrina McClain Award, which recognizes the top power forward in women’s college basketball.
  • She scored in double figures in 21 games last season, had six 20-point efforts and tied for eighth in the ACC with nine double-doubles.
  • Agara increased her scoring average by 10.4 points and her rebounding average by 4.7 boards over her freshman year and was one of seven major conference underclassmen to average 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.
  • She had 29 points and 13 rebounds in an overtime loss at No. 5 LSU on Dec. 5 and shot 75.0 percent from the floor (12-of-16), becoming the fifth DI player since 2002-03 to have 29 points and 13 rebounds in a true road game against an AP top five opponent and the only one to do it on better than 60.0 percent shooting.
  • Kennedy Umeh is on the watch list for the 2026 Lisa Leslie Award, which recognizes the top center in women’s college basketball.
  • Umeh appeared in 21 games as a freshman last season, averaging 3.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. She collected her first career double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds in just 11 minutes against Morgan State on Nov. 22, becoming just the seventh power conference player with a double-double in 11 minutes or less since 2002-03.
  • Stanford has had two players take home the Naismith National Player of the Year honors, Jennifer Azzi in 1990 and Kate Starbird in 1997. Two seasons ago, Cameron Brink was the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.
  • Stanford has had a pair of Naismith Starting 5 winners previously. In 2024, Kiki Iriafen won the Katrina McClain Award and Cameron Brink won the Lisa Leslie Award (center).

SAMUELSON RETURNS TO STANFORD »

  • Karlie Samuelson, a 2017 honorable mention All-American who led the Cardinal to two Final Fours, has returned to her alma mater as an intern for the 2025-26 season.
  • Back with the program while she rehabs from a left foot injury sustained in June, Samuelson has played for six franchises across seven WNBA seasons since her graduation from Stanford with a degree in human biology in in 2017. Over 121 career games, the 6-0 guard has averaged 5.3 points and 2.0 rebounds while shooting 41.1 percent from the field and 39.2 from deep.
  • Samuelson is the fifth Stanford alumna and WNBA veteran on staff this season, joining four Cardinal coaches in Kate Paye, Katy Steding, Erica McCall and Jeanette Pohlen.
  • Samuelson averaged career highs in points (12.4), rebounds (3.4) and assists (2.7) and personal bests in field goal percentage (.482) and 3-point field goal percentage (.485) in leading the Cardinal to the 2017 Final Four as a senior. She finished second in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage, a mark good for second in school single-season history and fifth in Pac-12 history.
  • Her 96 made 3-pointers in 2016-17 are tied with Jeanette Pohlen for second in Stanford history, tied for eighth in Pac-12 history, and her 249 career 3-pointers are fifth in the school record books. A career 44.3 percent 3-point shooter, Samuelson is second at Stanford to Jennifer Azzi, fifth in Pac-12 history and 21st in NCAA history. She ended her playing time at Stanford with the best career 3-point percentage for any Pac-12 player since 1990.

ALUMNI SUPPORT PROGRAM AHEAD OF SEASON »

  • Stanford women’s basketball received a generous gift from longtime program supporters Celia Oakley, MS ‘85, PhD ‘91, and her husband, Craig Barratt, MS ‘87, PhD ‘92, the two endowing an assistant coaching position to bolster the program’s ability to recruit, develop, and retain top coaching talent.
  • Erica McCall is the inaugural holder of the Celia Oakley and Craig Barratt Women’s Basketball Assistant Coachship.
  • Oakley and Barratt are among the program’s most dedicated supporters. Oakley earned her undergraduate degree at Cal and her master’s and PhD in engineering at Stanford. She’s a fan of both institutions, and especially Cardinal basketball. A lifelong sports fan and athlete, she served on the Stanford Athletics Board until 2021 and currently serves on the Stanford Women’s Basketball Board of Advisors.
  • Oakley spent the last decade developing electric personal aerial vehicles at Pivotal Aero, most recently as the Chief Information Officer. She helped guide the company through product development to human flight. Prior to joining Pivotal, Oakley was a member of the Stanford Racing Team, which created Stanley, the world’s first successful self-driving car, which won the DARPA Grand Challenge.
  • Barratt also earned his master’s and PhD in engineering at Stanford and serves as a director at several technology companies, in addition to being an advisor of the Stanford Center for Digital Health.
  • Five of Stanford’s six coaching positions are endowed.

AP TOP 25 »

  • Stanford is outside the preseason AP Top 25 for the second consecutive year, the first time that’s happened since 1985-86 and 1986-87.
  • The Cardinal appeared on three ballots in this year’s preseason rankings, all at No. 25 - Alex Simon (SF Gate), Kelly Gramlich (ACC Network), Reed Darcey (The Advocate).
  • Stanford has not been ranked since Nov. 11, 2024, a stretch of 20 consecutive polls that is the program’s longest stretch since it made its debut in the rankings on Nov. 23, 1987.
  • When Stanford was ranked last season on Nov. 11, Kate Paye became the 16th person to both play on and be a head coach for an AP-ranked team at the same school (H/T Mel Greenberg).
  • The other 15, in alphabetical order: Adia Barnes (Arizona), Amanda Butler (Florida), Pokey Chatman (LSU), Cynthia Cooper-Dyke (USC), Kellie Harper (Tennessee), Michelle Clark-Heard (Western Kentucky), Niele Ivey (Notre Dame), Carolyn Kieger (Marquette), Linda Lappe (Colorado), Wendy Larry (Old Dominion), Cheryl Miller (USC), Carol Ross (Ole Miss), Bev Smith (Oregon), Holly Warlick (Tennessee) and Lindsay Whalen (Minnesota).
  • Since appearing in its first rankings on Nov. 23, 1987, Stanford has appeared in the preseason Top 25 each season except three (1999-00; 2024-25; 2025-26).
  • The Cardinal is the second-most ranked team of all-time and has appeared in 646 of 886 all-time AP polls over 50 seasons (Tennessee - 795).

SUPERB STAFF »

  • Stanford boasts a roster of coaches that features four WNBA veterans, more than any other program in the country, in Kate Paye, Katy Steding, Erica McCall and Jeanette Pohlen. All four are Stanford graduates.
  • Paye played 79 games for Minnesota and Seattle from 2000-02, Steding 55 games for Sacramento and Seattle in 2000 and 2001, Pohlen 148 games for Indiana from 2011-2017, and McCall 122 games for Indiana, Atlanta, Minnesota and Washington from 2017-21.

EZIKE ABROAD »

  • Stanford freshman Nora Ezike made her international debut for Nigeria at the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup in Brno, Czechia this past summer.
  • She led her team in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 12.1 points and 7.0 rebounds in seven games.
  • Ezike started the group phase with 25 points on 8-of-8 shooting in 21 minutes against China and finished with three consecutive double-digit scoring efforts in classification games against Argentina (17), Korea (18) and China (12).

SEASON OF CHANGE »

  • After making 36 consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 1988-2024, Stanford was not an at-large selection to the field in 2024-25 and appeared in the WBIT for the first time.
  • Stanford was 49th in the NET rankings ahead of Selection Sunday, the fourth-highest rated program to not make the NCAA Tournament (No. 39 Minnesota, No. 46 Virginia Tech; No. 48 UNLV).
  • The Cardinal was 50th in the final NET rankings after the completion of the NCAA Tournament.
  • With a 16-15 overall record, Stanford posted a winning record for the 38th consecutive season, the fifth-longest active streak in the country.
  • The Cardinal’s 16 wins were its fewest since 1986-87 (14) and its 8-10 conference mark was its first sub-.500 league record since the same year (8-10).
  • Stanford played in a different league for the first time since Tara VanDerveer’s first Cardinal squad played in the Pac-West in 1985-86.
  • The 2024-25 campaign was also the first as head coach for Kate Paye. The two-time WBCA Assistant Coach of the Year during 17 seasons on VanDerveer’s staff was hired to lead her alma mater on April 16, 2024.

HOME/ROAD IN 2024-25  »

  • The Cardinal went 14-4 at home last season, including 14-1 against unranked opponents.
  • Stanford only managed two road wins at Wake Forest on Jan. 16 and at Virginia Tech on Feb. 20.
  • The Cardinal was the third-to-last Power 4 program to secure a victory away from its home court (road or neutral), ahead of Rutgers and Houston. The Cougars did not have a road or neutral-site win all year.
  • Stanford was 2-9 in true road games. The Cardinal’s only other sub-.500 road record over the previous 37 seasons was in 2000-01 (6-8).
  • In home games, Stanford scored 79.4 points per game on 48.5 percent shooting, including 39.5 perfect from deep. In its 13 road and neutral games away from Maples, the Cardinal averages 63.5 points on 39.1 percent shooting and 31.0 percent on 3-pointers.