Ten years removed from their last NCAA Tournament bid, can Kyle Smith revive the program? Let’s observe closely with a Stanford basketball preview. Maples Pavilion will have several new faces with four freshmen and five transfers joining the team. After Jerod Haase’s poor tenure as head coach, Smith will have low expectations coming into the 2024-25 season. As Stanford enters their first year in the ACC, we’ll see if this new Cardinal team can make some noise in the competitive conference.
Stanford Basketball Preview: Kyle Smith Reviving Cardinal
New Conference, New Cardinal
The Pac-12 was unkind to Stanford. Their last regular season conference title came in 2004 when Josh Childress and Matt Lottich guided the team to a number one seed in that year’s NCAA tournament. Despite their second round exit, the team had two great leaders in Childress and Lottich. With senior Maxime Reynaud returning as the top scorer from last season, he’ll need a right hand man to help navigate the Cardinal to a winning season. Smith did his part bringing in new talent via the portal, but who will emerge to help lead the team?
Unique Stanford Transfer Class
Jaylen Blakes, Chisom Okpara, Derin Saran, Oziyah Sellers, and Cole Kastner make up Stanford’s incoming transfer class. Blakes, who previously played for Duke, hopes to find a bigger role as a Cardinal. Okpara spent two seasons at Harvard, and he was seventh in the Ivy League last season in points per game averaging 15.4. Saran comes from UC Irvine where he helped the Anteaters win the 2023-24 Big West regular season title. Sellers has become a turncoat as he’s transferred in from Stanford’s in-state rival USC. The former Trojan will hopefully get more playing time on his new team. Kastner, much like Golden State Warriors guard Pat Spencer, is a former college lacrosse player for Virginia where he won a college lacrosse national championship in 2021. It will be a homecoming for Kastner as he is a Palo Alto native.
📍 Beyond the Arc
🎯 @OziyahSellers #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/JCpJzZhf63— Stanford Men's Basketball (@StanfordMBB) August 23, 2024
Freshman at The Farm
Donavin Young, Anthony Batson, Tallis Toure, and Evan Stinson are all part of the 2024 Stanford freshman class. Young is ranked 207th nationally and sixth in the state of Missouri. Originally from Pasco, Washington, the lengthy forward will use his shooting ability to stretch the floor. Batson is ranked 239th nationally and 18th in Arizona. Toure is a lesser known prospect coming from West Park in Roseville, California. Standing at six-foot-11 and weighing 220 lbs., his large frame will help the big man with the physicality at the college level. Stinson is ranked 58th among small forwards and second in the state of Washington. The three-star recruit followed Coach Smith and recommitted to Stanford after initially committing to Washington State.
Stanford Basketball 2024-25 Schedule Preview
Smith and company will begin their season by hosting Denver, Cal State Fullerton, Northern Arizona, UC Davis, and Norfolk State. They’ll then travel to Santa Clara to take on the Broncos before facing Grand Canyon in the Acrisure Holiday Classic. The Cardinal will return to Palo Alto for a three-game home stand against Cal Poly, Utah Valley, and Merrimack. Finally, Stanford will conclude their non-conference schedule at the San Jose Tip-Off where they’ve been pitted against Oregon. Then, it’s time for the ACC portion of their schedule where they’ll be heavily tested.
