[Card10Fan]

Notre Dame's 2023/'24 class per ESPN ranking:
#5 Hannah Hidalgo
#16 Cassandre Prosper
#20 Emma Risch

2024
#5 Kate Koval 

These are the types of classes that allow you to be serious Final 4 contenders. Classes with top 5 players. We need to find some elite recruits on the trail soon to stay in that conversation. I feel we've lost more recruits to Notre Dame and UCLA in recent years than other programs. Koval, Hidalgo, Citron, Miles all had Stanford as finalists yet chose ND. Stanford had interest in Kiki Rice, Jones, Dudley, Muse, Cain and all chose UCLA. Hoping for some better news soon. We have some recruits with campus visits coming up. Need to make the most of those opportunities.

[Card10Fan]

Notre Dame's 2023/'24 class per ESPN ranking:
#5 Hannah Hidalgo
#16 Cassandre Prosper
#20 Emma Risch

2024
#5 Kate Koval 

These are the types of classes that allow you to be serious Final 4 contenders. Classes with top 5 players. We need to find some elite recruits on the trail soon to stay in that conversation. I feel we've lost more recruits to Notre Dame and UCLA in recent years than other programs. Koval, Hidalgo, Citron, Miles all had Stanford as finalists yet chose ND. Stanford had interest in Kiki Rice, Jones, Dudley, Muse, Cain and all chose UCLA. Hoping for some better news soon. We have some recruits with campus visits coming up. Need to make the most of those opportunities.

[kat0189]

Honestly, guys, I've already moved onto Joyce Edwards. Led team USA in scoring 12.6 ppg in 18.5 mpg at the FIBA U19 World Cup ahead of forwards with college experience like Chloe Kitts and Oregon's Grace Van Slooten. Led the WHOLE TOURNAMENT in shooting percentage 63.2%. Comes from a high-achieving family with parents that work in tech and originally lived in North Carolina's Research Triangle before moving to take care of grandma in South Carolina. 

In video, she looks like a cross between Nneka and A'ja Wilson. 

Yes, it's disappointing because I don't think Stanford has ever gotten so many elite players admitted as they have in the past 4-5 years, but haven't been able to convert some key targets into Cardinals. But the mind-boggling part is that there's still Joyce Edwards, Jazmine Davidson, McKenna Woliczko, and other great recruits still in play for Stanford.

[kat0189]

Honestly, guys, I've already moved onto Joyce Edwards. Led team USA in scoring 12.6 ppg in 18.5 mpg at the FIBA U19 World Cup ahead of forwards with college experience like Chloe Kitts and Oregon's Grace Van Slooten. Led the WHOLE TOURNAMENT in shooting percentage 63.2%. Comes from a high-achieving family with parents that work in tech and originally lived in North Carolina's Research Triangle before moving to take care of grandma in South Carolina. 

In video, she looks like a cross between Nneka and A'ja Wilson. 

Yes, it's disappointing because I don't think Stanford has ever gotten so many elite players admitted as they have in the past 4-5 years, but haven't been able to convert some key targets into Cardinals. But the mind-boggling part is that there's still Joyce Edwards, Jazmine Davidson, McKenna Woliczko, and other great recruits still in play for Stanford.

[Hoops9092]

After a big class in 2023, Arizona has been awfully quiet in 2024, with no recruits committed. Hope Adia can turn it around and continue to use the 2021 title game run to snag some top recruits.

[Hoops9092]

After a big class in 2023, Arizona has been awfully quiet in 2024, with no recruits committed. Hope Adia can turn it around and continue to use the 2021 title game run to snag some top recruits.

[BobK]

Well 2 coaches left Arizona and 5 players moved on to other power 5 schools. That doesn’t encourage recruits

[BobK]

Well 2 coaches left Arizona and 5 players moved on to other power 5 schools. That doesn’t encourage recruits

[Jskass]

Also, UCLA clearly has gotten these top but future ability to attract them (vs. Stanford) may hinge on whether Cori gets them to multiple Final Fours. Her track record is so-so, even with a top class several years back.

[Jskass]

Also, UCLA clearly has gotten these top but future ability to attract them (vs. Stanford) may hinge on whether Cori gets them to multiple Final Fours. Her track record is so-so, even with a top class several years back.

[VisitingCock]

Honestly, guys, I've already moved onto Joyce Edwards. Led team USA in scoring 12.6 ppg in 18.5 mpg at the FIBA U19 World Cup ahead of forwards with college experience like Chloe Kitts and Oregon's Grace Van Slooten. Led the WHOLE TOURNAMENT in shooting percentage 63.2%. Comes from a high-achieving family with parents that work in tech and originally lived in North Carolina's Research Triangle before moving to take care of grandma in South Carolina. 

In video, she looks like a cross between Nneka and A'ja Wilson. 

Yes, it's disappointing because I don't think Stanford has ever gotten so many elite players admitted as they have in the past 4-5 years, but haven't been able to convert some key targets into Cardinals. But the mind-boggling part is that there's still Joyce Edwards, Jazmine Davidson, McKenna Woliczko, and other great recruits still in play for Stanford.

 

Word on the Boneyard from one of our SCar fans that she is visiting y'all this weekend, the Texas, then SCar on 10/28. Has already visited LSU and Clemson. If any of y'all chase teen on social media you might wanna look for it. I dun'no

My fear is that the visits to us and Clemson are polite courtesy - but maybe not since we are last as Dawn usually likes it.

[VisitingCock]

Honestly, guys, I've already moved onto Joyce Edwards. Led team USA in scoring 12.6 ppg in 18.5 mpg at the FIBA U19 World Cup ahead of forwards with college experience like Chloe Kitts and Oregon's Grace Van Slooten. Led the WHOLE TOURNAMENT in shooting percentage 63.2%. Comes from a high-achieving family with parents that work in tech and originally lived in North Carolina's Research Triangle before moving to take care of grandma in South Carolina. 

In video, she looks like a cross between Nneka and A'ja Wilson. 

Yes, it's disappointing because I don't think Stanford has ever gotten so many elite players admitted as they have in the past 4-5 years, but haven't been able to convert some key targets into Cardinals. But the mind-boggling part is that there's still Joyce Edwards, Jazmine Davidson, McKenna Woliczko, and other great recruits still in play for Stanford.

 

Word on the Boneyard from one of our SCar fans that she is visiting y'all this weekend, the Texas, then SCar on 10/28. Has already visited LSU and Clemson. If any of y'all chase teen on social media you might wanna look for it. I dun'no

My fear is that the visits to us and Clemson are polite courtesy - but maybe not since we are last as Dawn usually likes it.

[MV72018]

Also, UCLA clearly has gotten these top but future ability to attract them (vs. Stanford) may hinge on whether Cori gets them to multiple Final Fours. Her track record is so-so, even with a top class several years back.

Do you actually read the unintelligible stuff you type before your press "Return"?

[MV72018]

Also, UCLA clearly has gotten these top but future ability to attract them (vs. Stanford) may hinge on whether Cori gets them to multiple Final Fours. Her track record is so-so, even with a top class several years back.

Do you actually read the unintelligible stuff you type before your press "Return"?

[CompSci87]

Please be polite.

Jskass's post is perfectly intelligible if you insert one missing word followed by a comma.

[CompSci87]

Please be polite.

Jskass's post is perfectly intelligible if you insert one missing word followed by a comma.

[Softball Fan]

Has there been any published interviews with potential, future recruits or their parents how the conference realignment plays into their decision?

[Softball Fan]

Has there been any published interviews with potential, future recruits or their parents how the conference realignment plays into their decision?

[BobK]

Mods do we really need such nastiness on the board ? My friend was banned for less

[BobK]

Mods do we really need such nastiness on the board ? My friend was banned for less

[joemontes]

Honestly, guys, I've already moved onto Joyce Edwards. Led team USA in scoring 12.6 ppg in 18.5 mpg at the FIBA U19 World Cup ahead of forwards with college experience like Chloe Kitts and Oregon's Grace Van Slooten. Led the WHOLE TOURNAMENT in shooting percentage 63.2%. Comes from a high-achieving family with parents that work in tech and originally lived in North Carolina's Research Triangle before moving to take care of grandma in South Carolina. 

In video, she looks like a cross between Nneka and A'ja Wilson. 

Yes, it's disappointing because I don't think Stanford has ever gotten so many elite players admitted as they have in the past 4-5 years, but haven't been able to convert some key targets into Cardinals. But the mind-boggling part is that there's still Joyce Edwards, Jazmine Davidson, McKenna Woliczko, and other great recruits still in play for Stanford.

Yes please! I want to be surprised by Joyce EDWARDS, because I've already moved on to the Class of 2025
with no expected ESPN Top 10 or even Top 25 signings (although UMEH is #20 per Prospect Nation) 
from the Class of 2024.  If that happens, that will potentially be a triumvirate of interchangeable
post players for Stanford next season, with senior IRIAFEN and freshmen EDWARDS and UMEH.

I also watched EDWARDS play at the U19 Worlds, and I feel that her offensive touch around the basket
is second to none when you consider all the top power forwards coming out of HS over the past decade,
as far back as Class of 2014 #1 Aja WILSON.  That says a ton, doesn't it...hahaha!

And if she is really visiting Stanford this weekend, I would like Tara to tell her that if she plays
excellent defense, then this Stanford team is hers to lead for the next four seasons!

[joemontes]

Honestly, guys, I've already moved onto Joyce Edwards. Led team USA in scoring 12.6 ppg in 18.5 mpg at the FIBA U19 World Cup ahead of forwards with college experience like Chloe Kitts and Oregon's Grace Van Slooten. Led the WHOLE TOURNAMENT in shooting percentage 63.2%. Comes from a high-achieving family with parents that work in tech and originally lived in North Carolina's Research Triangle before moving to take care of grandma in South Carolina. 

In video, she looks like a cross between Nneka and A'ja Wilson. 

Yes, it's disappointing because I don't think Stanford has ever gotten so many elite players admitted as they have in the past 4-5 years, but haven't been able to convert some key targets into Cardinals. But the mind-boggling part is that there's still Joyce Edwards, Jazmine Davidson, McKenna Woliczko, and other great recruits still in play for Stanford.

Yes please! I want to be surprised by Joyce EDWARDS, because I've already moved on to the Class of 2025
with no expected ESPN Top 10 or even Top 25 signings (although UMEH is #20 per Prospect Nation) 
from the Class of 2024.  If that happens, that will potentially be a triumvirate of interchangeable
post players for Stanford next season, with senior IRIAFEN and freshmen EDWARDS and UMEH.

I also watched EDWARDS play at the U19 Worlds, and I feel that her offensive touch around the basket
is second to none when you consider all the top power forwards coming out of HS over the past decade,
as far back as Class of 2014 #1 Aja WILSON.  That says a ton, doesn't it...hahaha!

And if she is really visiting Stanford this weekend, I would like Tara to tell her that if she plays
excellent defense, then this Stanford team is hers to lead for the next four seasons!

[!ZAR!]

IIRC, Edwards has visited Stanford before  (as a Junior or even Soph).  Great that she liked it enough to return for an official.

I also really like Mikayla Blakes, who had a monster summer. Anyone heard if she has visited or if she plan to?

[!ZAR!]

IIRC, Edwards has visited Stanford before  (as a Junior or even Soph).  Great that she liked it enough to return for an official.

I also really like Mikayla Blakes, who had a monster summer. Anyone heard if she has visited or if she plan to?

[joemontes]

Everything in the media is saying Koval is down to ND and LSU. I have not seen any indication we are still a finalist FWIW.

Well, that's frustrating if it's true. Not that our recent recruiting has fallen off a cliff, but with Jones' graduation, Betts and Nivar's transfers and this being the final year for Brink, we badly need to find our next generation of elite stars. It's been frustrating to watch top-tier recruits such as Watkins, Hidalgo, Rice and Miles go somewhere else in the last couple years.

I know that not even mighty UConn gets all of the players they want, but they and most other programs can easily pivot to the next top-five recruit if they miss out on someone. We cannot and so every program-changing recruit that has the academic credentials and desire to play for us but ultimately chooses somewhere else, is that much more devastating to us.

And then once we secured a couple of elite players and see them both transfer out after just one season, is a critical blow. For other schools, they just see who is out there on the transfer portal and fill in their roster gap. As discussed here at length, it's nearly impossible for us to do so with similar ease.

I know NIL does us no favors, but it's frustrating that the promise of a Stanford degree (esp. for those who professed to be more academically inclined), playing under a HoF coach and regularly being in the mix to make deep postseason runs is still often not enough.

Yeah, it does seem like our recruiting has fallen off in the last couple of years. And then to see the elite ones we do get enter the transfer pool adds to the frustration. Not sure what the problem is, but hopefully Tara knows and is taking steps to fix it.

This got me itching to recall Stanford's recruiting trend:

2004:
****
#6     Candice WIGGINS  (McDAA)
#15    Cissy PIERCE  (McDAA)

2005:
****
#28    Jillian HARMON  (McDAA)
#32    Rosalyn GOLD-ONWUDE  

2006:
****
#3   Jayne APPEL  (McDAA)
#32  JJ HONES   
#41  Michelle HARRISON  (McDAA)
#44  Melanie MURPHY

2007:
****
#4     Kayla PEDERSEN  (McDAA)
#24   Jeanette POHLEN  (McDAA)
#40   Hannah DONAGHE
#67   Morgan CLYBURN

2008:
****
#6     Nneka OGWUMIKE  (McDAA)
#41    Sarah BOOTHE
NR      Lindy LAROCQUE
BR      Grace MASHORE

2009:
****
#10   Joslyn TINKLE  (McDAA)
#16   Mikaela RUEF

2010:
****
#1     Chiney OGWUMIKE  (McDAA)
#18    Sara JAMES
#60    Toni KOKENIS

2011:
****
#15    Amber ORRANGE  (McDAA)
#31    Taylor GREENFIELD
#49    Alex GREEN
#61    Bonnie SAMUELSON  (McDAA)

2012:
****
#13    Alyson BEEBE   (never played)

2013:
****
#11    Erica McCALL  (McDAA)
#20    Kailee JOHNSON
#77    Karlie SAMUELSON

2014:
****
#18    Taylor ROOKS   (hardly played during freshman season, then transferred to Harvard)
#25    Brittany McPHEE
#30    Kaylee JOHNSON

2015:
****
#38    Marta SNIEZEK
NR      Alanna SMITH  
NR      Shannon COFFEE

2016:
****
#27     Nadia FINGALL  (McDAA)
#34     DiJonai CARRINGTON  (McDAA)
#42     Anna WILSON  (McDAA)
NR       Mikaela BREWER

2017:
****
#8       Kiana WILLIAMS   (McDAA)
#11      Maya DODSON  (McDAA)
#41      Estelle MOSCHKAU
NR        Alyssa JEROME

2018
****
#14      Lexie HULL
#18      Jenna BROWN  (McDAA)
NR        Lacie HULL

2019:
****
#1         Haley JONES  (McDAA)
#15       Ashten PRECHTEL  (McDAA)
#19       Francesca BELIBI  (McDAA)
#50       Hannah JUMP

2020:
****
#3        Cameron BRINK  (McDAA)
#39       Jana Van GYTENBEEK
NR        Agnes EMMA-NNOPU

2021:
****
#11      Brooke DEMETRE  (McDAA)
#19      Kiki IRIAFEN  (McDAA)
#78      Jzaniya HARRIEL
NR        Elena BOSGANA

2022:
****
#1        Lauren BETTS  (McDAA)
#20      Indiya NIVAR  (McDAA)
#71      Talana LEPOLO

2023:
****
#10      Courtney OGDEN  (McDAA)
#37      Sunaja AGARA  
#39      Chloe CLARDY

2024:  (so far)
**** 
#40      Kennedy UMEH
#44      Wrenwick IJIWOYE

2025:  (so far)
****
#13     Hailee SWAIN

On hindsight, it is easy to see why Stanford went on a string 
of 5 consecutive Final Fours from 2008-2012 which included 
two national championship game appearances
in 2008 and 2010.  

It all started in 2008 when they were led by 3 Top 10 players
in 2004 #6 WIGGINS, 2006 #3 APPEL and 
2007 #4 PEDERSEN
with stellar support from 2007 #28 HARMON, 
2007 #32 GOLD-ONWUDE and 2008 #32 HONES.

WIGGINS graduated in 2008, but in came 2008 #6 Nneka OGWUMIKE, 
who along with APPEL, PEDERSEN and 2007 #24 POHLEN led Stanford
to back-to-back Final Fours (2009 and 2010), including another national 
championship game appearance in 2010.

APPEL graduated in 2010, but she was ably replaced 
by 2010 #1 Chiney OGWUMIKE who helped extend 
Stanford's Final Four 5-year run in 2011 and 2012
along with PEDERSEN (2011), POHLEN (2011), Nneka OGWUMIKE
(2011 and 2012) and 2009 #10 TINKLE (2011 and 2012).

Stanford failed to reach the Final Four in 2013
even with Chiney OGWUMIKE shining, 
but they were able to return to the Final Four
in Chiney's senior season with the help of
2011 #15 ORRANGE and 2013 #11 Erica McCALL.

Note that during their 5-year Final Four run from 2008-2012, 
Stanford had at least two Top 5/Top 6 player
and at least three Top 10 players:

2008 - WIGGINS, APPEL, PEDERSEN
2009 - APPEL, PEDERSEN, Nneka OGWUMIKE
2010 - APPEL, PEDERSEN, Nneka OGWUMIKE, TINKLE 
2011 - PEDERSEN, Nneka OGWUMIKE, TINKLE, 
Chiney OGWUMIKE 
2012 - Nneka OGWUMIKE, TINKLE, Chiney OGWUMIKE

Chiney was the only Top 5 player 
in their 2014 Final Four team, but she was
supported by 2011 #15 ORRANGE and
2013 #11 McCALL.

Notice that after 5 consecutive years (2006-2010) 
of having a Top 10 recruit, Stanford experienced
a lull of 6 consecutive years (2011-2016)
without a Top 10 recruit, 
although they had a 2013 #11 in Erica McCALL.
But led by McCALL, Stanford returned to the Final Four
in 2017, the only time that Stanford reached 
the Final Four without a Top 10 recruit
in their line-up.

Fast forward to 2021, and we see Stanford returning to the Final Four
and finally hoisting their 3rd national championship, this time 
led by 3 Top 10 players in 2019 #1 Haley JONES, 2020 #3 BRINK and
2017 #8 Kiana WILLIAMS.  JONES and BRINK will lead Stanford
again to the Final Four the following year (2022).

However, earlier this year, Stanford had their earliest NCAA tournament exit 
since 2007, when they lost in the 2nd Round of this year's NCAAs
despite having two #1 recruits (2019 JONES and 2022 Lauren BETTS)
and 2020 #3 BRINK in their line-up.  A most disappointing season,
further aggravated by the eventual transferring out of BETTS.



 

[joemontes]

Everything in the media is saying Koval is down to ND and LSU. I have not seen any indication we are still a finalist FWIW.

Well, that's frustrating if it's true. Not that our recent recruiting has fallen off a cliff, but with Jones' graduation, Betts and Nivar's transfers and this being the final year for Brink, we badly need to find our next generation of elite stars. It's been frustrating to watch top-tier recruits such as Watkins, Hidalgo, Rice and Miles go somewhere else in the last couple years.

I know that not even mighty UConn gets all of the players they want, but they and most other programs can easily pivot to the next top-five recruit if they miss out on someone. We cannot and so every program-changing recruit that has the academic credentials and desire to play for us but ultimately chooses somewhere else, is that much more devastating to us.

And then once we secured a couple of elite players and see them both transfer out after just one season, is a critical blow. For other schools, they just see who is out there on the transfer portal and fill in their roster gap. As discussed here at length, it's nearly impossible for us to do so with similar ease.

I know NIL does us no favors, but it's frustrating that the promise of a Stanford degree (esp. for those who professed to be more academically inclined), playing under a HoF coach and regularly being in the mix to make deep postseason runs is still often not enough.

Yeah, it does seem like our recruiting has fallen off in the last couple of years. And then to see the elite ones we do get enter the transfer pool adds to the frustration. Not sure what the problem is, but hopefully Tara knows and is taking steps to fix it.

This got me itching to recall Stanford's recruiting trend:

2004:
****
#6     Candice WIGGINS  (McDAA)
#15    Cissy PIERCE  (McDAA)

2005:
****
#28    Jillian HARMON  (McDAA)
#32    Rosalyn GOLD-ONWUDE  

2006:
****
#3   Jayne APPEL  (McDAA)
#32  JJ HONES   
#41  Michelle HARRISON  (McDAA)
#44  Melanie MURPHY

2007:
****
#4     Kayla PEDERSEN  (McDAA)
#24   Jeanette POHLEN  (McDAA)
#40   Hannah DONAGHE
#67   Morgan CLYBURN

2008:
****
#6     Nneka OGWUMIKE  (McDAA)
#41    Sarah BOOTHE
NR      Lindy LAROCQUE
BR      Grace MASHORE

2009:
****
#10   Joslyn TINKLE  (McDAA)
#16   Mikaela RUEF

2010:
****
#1     Chiney OGWUMIKE  (McDAA)
#18    Sara JAMES
#60    Toni KOKENIS

2011:
****
#15    Amber ORRANGE  (McDAA)
#31    Taylor GREENFIELD
#49    Alex GREEN
#61    Bonnie SAMUELSON  (McDAA)

2012:
****
#13    Alyson BEEBE   (never played)

2013:
****
#11    Erica McCALL  (McDAA)
#20    Kailee JOHNSON
#77    Karlie SAMUELSON

2014:
****
#18    Taylor ROOKS   (hardly played during freshman season, then transferred to Harvard)
#25    Brittany McPHEE
#30    Kaylee JOHNSON

2015:
****
#38    Marta SNIEZEK
NR      Alanna SMITH  
NR      Shannon COFFEE

2016:
****
#27     Nadia FINGALL  (McDAA)
#34     DiJonai CARRINGTON  (McDAA)
#42     Anna WILSON  (McDAA)
NR       Mikaela BREWER

2017:
****
#8       Kiana WILLIAMS   (McDAA)
#11      Maya DODSON  (McDAA)
#41      Estelle MOSCHKAU
NR        Alyssa JEROME

2018
****
#14      Lexie HULL
#18      Jenna BROWN  (McDAA)
NR        Lacie HULL

2019:
****
#1         Haley JONES  (McDAA)
#15       Ashten PRECHTEL  (McDAA)
#19       Francesca BELIBI  (McDAA)
#50       Hannah JUMP

2020:
****
#3        Cameron BRINK  (McDAA)
#39       Jana Van GYTENBEEK
NR        Agnes EMMA-NNOPU

2021:
****
#11      Brooke DEMETRE  (McDAA)
#19      Kiki IRIAFEN  (McDAA)
#78      Jzaniya HARRIEL
NR        Elena BOSGANA

2022:
****
#1        Lauren BETTS  (McDAA)
#20      Indiya NIVAR  (McDAA)
#71      Talana LEPOLO

2023:
****
#10      Courtney OGDEN  (McDAA)
#37      Sunaja AGARA  
#39      Chloe CLARDY

2024:  (so far)
**** 
#40      Kennedy UMEH
#44      Wrenwick IJIWOYE

2025:  (so far)
****
#13     Hailee SWAIN

On hindsight, it is easy to see why Stanford went on a string 
of 5 consecutive Final Fours from 2008-2012 which included 
two national championship game appearances
in 2008 and 2010.  

It all started in 2008 when they were led by 3 Top 10 players
in 2004 #6 WIGGINS, 2006 #3 APPEL and 
2007 #4 PEDERSEN
with stellar support from 2007 #28 HARMON, 
2007 #32 GOLD-ONWUDE and 2008 #32 HONES.

WIGGINS graduated in 2008, but in came 2008 #6 Nneka OGWUMIKE, 
who along with APPEL, PEDERSEN and 2007 #24 POHLEN led Stanford
to back-to-back Final Fours (2009 and 2010), including another national 
championship game appearance in 2010.

APPEL graduated in 2010, but she was ably replaced 
by 2010 #1 Chiney OGWUMIKE who helped extend 
Stanford's Final Four 5-year run in 2011 and 2012
along with PEDERSEN (2011), POHLEN (2011), Nneka OGWUMIKE
(2011 and 2012) and 2009 #10 TINKLE (2011 and 2012).

Stanford failed to reach the Final Four in 2013
even with Chiney OGWUMIKE shining, 
but they were able to return to the Final Four
in Chiney's senior season with the help of
2011 #15 ORRANGE and 2013 #11 Erica McCALL.

Note that during their 5-year Final Four run from 2008-2012, 
Stanford had at least two Top 5/Top 6 player
and at least three Top 10 players:

2008 - WIGGINS, APPEL, PEDERSEN
2009 - APPEL, PEDERSEN, Nneka OGWUMIKE
2010 - APPEL, PEDERSEN, Nneka OGWUMIKE, TINKLE 
2011 - PEDERSEN, Nneka OGWUMIKE, TINKLE, 
Chiney OGWUMIKE 
2012 - Nneka OGWUMIKE, TINKLE, Chiney OGWUMIKE

Chiney was the only Top 5 player 
in their 2014 Final Four team, but she was
supported by 2011 #15 ORRANGE and
2013 #11 McCALL.

Notice that after 5 consecutive years (2006-2010) 
of having a Top 10 recruit, Stanford experienced
a lull of 6 consecutive years (2011-2016)
without a Top 10 recruit, 
although they had a 2013 #11 in Erica McCALL.
But led by McCALL, Stanford returned to the Final Four
in 2017, the only time that Stanford reached 
the Final Four without a Top 10 recruit
in their line-up.

Fast forward to 2021, and we see Stanford returning to the Final Four
and finally hoisting their 3rd national championship, this time 
led by 3 Top 10 players in 2019 #1 Haley JONES, 2020 #3 BRINK and
2017 #8 Kiana WILLIAMS.  JONES and BRINK will lead Stanford
again to the Final Four the following year (2022).

However, earlier this year, Stanford had their earliest NCAA tournament exit 
since 2007, when they lost in the 2nd Round of this year's NCAAs
despite having two #1 recruits (2019 JONES and 2022 Lauren BETTS)
and 2020 #3 BRINK in their line-up.  A most disappointing season,
further aggravated by the eventual transferring out of BETTS.



 

[TheFarm07]

Thanks Joe. As illustrated by your recap, having elite recruits does not guarantee a deep postseason run (as evidenced by last season), it is almost a prerequisite to do so.

If someone had the time, I bet that every national title team (and even the vast majority of FF teams over the last decade) has had at least one, if not multiple top-5/10 recruits on their roster.

That's why losing out on all of these top HS players hurts even more as our pool is much smaller to begin with.

[TheFarm07]

Thanks Joe. As illustrated by your recap, having elite recruits does not guarantee a deep postseason run (as evidenced by last season), it is almost a prerequisite to do so.

If someone had the time, I bet that every national title team (and even the vast majority of FF teams over the last decade) has had at least one, if not multiple top-5/10 recruits on their roster.

That's why losing out on all of these top HS players hurts even more as our pool is much smaller to begin with.

[jk1926]

#77 ranked Karlie Samuelson in the 2013 class bounced on and off WNBA rosters for several years before finally cementing a key role for the Sparks this season.  The roster spot only became available because of numerous injuries to Sparks players.  She took advantage and, given the opportunity and playing time, proved she belonged on a roster.  Kudos to Karlie!

Sorry to divert the thread but I didn’t realize Karlie wasn’t a top-50 prospect.  Many higher ranked prospects never made the league or had short uneventful tenures.  I loved watching her play with a pitbull mentality this past season making critical shots and ending up on the floor numerous times on defense and fighting for the ball.  Hope she has another solid season next year.

[jk1926]

#77 ranked Karlie Samuelson in the 2013 class bounced on and off WNBA rosters for several years before finally cementing a key role for the Sparks this season.  The roster spot only became available because of numerous injuries to Sparks players.  She took advantage and, given the opportunity and playing time, proved she belonged on a roster.  Kudos to Karlie!

Sorry to divert the thread but I didn’t realize Karlie wasn’t a top-50 prospect.  Many higher ranked prospects never made the league or had short uneventful tenures.  I loved watching her play with a pitbull mentality this past season making critical shots and ending up on the floor numerous times on defense and fighting for the ball.  Hope she has another solid season next year.

[BillBradley]

Thanks Joe. As illustrated by your recap, having elite recruits does not guarantee a deep postseason run (as evidenced by last season), it is almost a prerequisite to do so.

If someone had the time, I bet that every national title team (and even the vast majority of FF teams over the last decade) has had at least one, if not multiple top-5/10 recruits on their roster.

That's why losing out on all of these top HS players hurts even more as our pool is much smaller to begin with.

I think there's an implied conclusion in this thread that you can't win championships unless you have x number of top-y ranked recruits. I completely reject that. I find the data analysis to be too convenient. I absolutely accept that you have to have substantial talent to win. But what form does that come in? What are the pieces and how do they fit together? This notion of "we're missing out on these Top-10's so we're hosed because we'll have to settle for players in the Top-20/30/40" is pretty bogus. There are many players ranked well outside the Top-10 that are often better than the one ranked #8. I agree that the real cream-of-the-crop #1's and #2's are real difference makers (usually), but how deep do you go while still proclaiming someone is a world beater and expect them to dominate? I think I'd stop around #3. 

These recruiting rankings are highly suspect, with a lot of lingering bias from when the players were years younger, before injuries, etc. Much of the data is unreliable. Especially with the bigs, there are so many players who were unstoppable down low in high school, but just hit a wall in college. They aren't strong enough, agile enough, can't guard on the perimeter, injured, etc. It really comes down to the players themselves and how they all play together. Our last year's team of 2 #1's and a #3 (by far the best recruiting rankings we've ever had in 3 players on one team), yet they couldn't figure out how to play together. 

When we reach the Final-4 in 2026 led by #39 Chloe Clardy, I'll expect a postie:>

[BillBradley]

Thanks Joe. As illustrated by your recap, having elite recruits does not guarantee a deep postseason run (as evidenced by last season), it is almost a prerequisite to do so.

If someone had the time, I bet that every national title team (and even the vast majority of FF teams over the last decade) has had at least one, if not multiple top-5/10 recruits on their roster.

That's why losing out on all of these top HS players hurts even more as our pool is much smaller to begin with.

I think there's an implied conclusion in this thread that you can't win championships unless you have x number of top-y ranked recruits. I completely reject that. I find the data analysis to be too convenient. I absolutely accept that you have to have substantial talent to win. But what form does that come in? What are the pieces and how do they fit together? This notion of "we're missing out on these Top-10's so we're hosed because we'll have to settle for players in the Top-20/30/40" is pretty bogus. There are many players ranked well outside the Top-10 that are often better than the one ranked #8. I agree that the real cream-of-the-crop #1's and #2's are real difference makers (usually), but how deep do you go while still proclaiming someone is a world beater and expect them to dominate? I think I'd stop around #3. 

These recruiting rankings are highly suspect, with a lot of lingering bias from when the players were years younger, before injuries, etc. Much of the data is unreliable. Especially with the bigs, there are so many players who were unstoppable down low in high school, but just hit a wall in college. They aren't strong enough, agile enough, can't guard on the perimeter, injured, etc. It really comes down to the players themselves and how they all play together. Our last year's team of 2 #1's and a #3 (by far the best recruiting rankings we've ever had in 3 players on one team), yet they couldn't figure out how to play together. 

When we reach the Final-4 in 2026 led by #39 Chloe Clardy, I'll expect a postie:>

[jonnyss]

 It really comes down to the players themselves and how they all play together. Our last year's team of 2 #1's and a #3 (by far the best recruiting rankings we've ever had in

I beg to differ. imo last year was not about learning to "play together." we knew before the season that losing kiana and failing to get rice, miles, or similar would limit our success.   several top 10, even top 5 players, is indeed usually necessary for a championship, but it's not sufficient. you need a top point guard who can take over a game, and we had 2 top-3 posts and a top-3 wing. our 3 national championship teams all had top guards. there was no henning/azzi, molly, jamila, candice, or kiana on the team last year. i am reminded of the 49ers against the eagles last year: can't win without a qb.

[jonnyss]

 It really comes down to the players themselves and how they all play together. Our last year's team of 2 #1's and a #3 (by far the best recruiting rankings we've ever had in

I beg to differ. imo last year was not about learning to "play together." we knew before the season that losing kiana and failing to get rice, miles, or similar would limit our success.   several top 10, even top 5 players, is indeed usually necessary for a championship, but it's not sufficient. you need a top point guard who can take over a game, and we had 2 top-3 posts and a top-3 wing. our 3 national championship teams all had top guards. there was no henning/azzi, molly, jamila, candice, or kiana on the team last year. i am reminded of the 49ers against the eagles last year: can't win without a qb.

[TheFarm07]

I think there's an implied conclusion in this thread that you can't win championships unless you have x number of top-y ranked recruits. I completely reject that. I find the data analysis to be too convenient. I absolutely accept that you have to have substantial talent to win. But what form does that come in? What are the pieces and how do they fit together? This notion of "we're missing out on these Top-10's so we're hosed because we'll have to settle for players in the Top-20/30/40" is pretty bogus. There are many players ranked well outside the Top-10 that are often better than the one ranked #8. I agree that the real cream-of-the-crop #1's and #2's are real difference makers (usually), but how deep do you go while still proclaiming someone is a world beater and expect them to dominate? I think I'd stop around #3. 

These recruiting rankings are highly suspect, with a lot of lingering bias from when the players were years younger, before injuries, etc. Much of the data is unreliable. Especially with the bigs, there are so many players who were unstoppable down low in high school, but just hit a wall in college. They aren't strong enough, agile enough, can't guard on the perimeter, injured, etc. It really comes down to the players themselves and how they all play together. Our last year's team of 2 #1's and a #3 (by far the best recruiting rankings we've ever had in 3 players on one team), yet they couldn't figure out how to play together. 

When we reach the Final-4 in 2026 led by #39 Chloe Clardy, I'll expect a postie:>

I looked at the starting lineups of every national champion going back to the 2011-12 Baylor team and every team during this period except this past year's LSU squad and the '18-'19 Baylor team had at least two #10 recruits (and Kalani Brown was at #11 in her class) starting in the title game. Eight of those teams had three top-10 recruits in their starting rotation.

So, while I agree being a top-ranked recruit doesn't guarantee collegiate stardom and conversely, there are others who were outside the top-10 coming out of HS that went on to have elite college careers, the general extrapolation still holds true that most college stars were highly ranked and a lower ranked recruit shooting up to become extraordinary in college is more of the exception than the rule.

[TheFarm07]

I think there's an implied conclusion in this thread that you can't win championships unless you have x number of top-y ranked recruits. I completely reject that. I find the data analysis to be too convenient. I absolutely accept that you have to have substantial talent to win. But what form does that come in? What are the pieces and how do they fit together? This notion of "we're missing out on these Top-10's so we're hosed because we'll have to settle for players in the Top-20/30/40" is pretty bogus. There are many players ranked well outside the Top-10 that are often better than the one ranked #8. I agree that the real cream-of-the-crop #1's and #2's are real difference makers (usually), but how deep do you go while still proclaiming someone is a world beater and expect them to dominate? I think I'd stop around #3. 

These recruiting rankings are highly suspect, with a lot of lingering bias from when the players were years younger, before injuries, etc. Much of the data is unreliable. Especially with the bigs, there are so many players who were unstoppable down low in high school, but just hit a wall in college. They aren't strong enough, agile enough, can't guard on the perimeter, injured, etc. It really comes down to the players themselves and how they all play together. Our last year's team of 2 #1's and a #3 (by far the best recruiting rankings we've ever had in 3 players on one team), yet they couldn't figure out how to play together. 

When we reach the Final-4 in 2026 led by #39 Chloe Clardy, I'll expect a postie:>

I looked at the starting lineups of every national champion going back to the 2011-12 Baylor team and every team during this period except this past year's LSU squad and the '18-'19 Baylor team had at least two #10 recruits (and Kalani Brown was at #11 in her class) starting in the title game. Eight of those teams had three top-10 recruits in their starting rotation.

So, while I agree being a top-ranked recruit doesn't guarantee collegiate stardom and conversely, there are others who were outside the top-10 coming out of HS that went on to have elite college careers, the general extrapolation still holds true that most college stars were highly ranked and a lower ranked recruit shooting up to become extraordinary in college is more of the exception than the rule.

[kat0189]

IIRC, Edwards has visited Stanford before  (as a Junior or even Soph).  Great that she liked it enough to return for an official.

I also really like Mikayla Blakes, who had a monster summer. Anyone heard if she has visited or if she plan to?

Edit: Blakes is currently in LA per her instagram stories of Rodeo Drive and Marina Del Rey. Looks like she's visiting UCLA, one of her 7 finalists.

IIRC, Blakes visited Stanford her junior year while the current freshmen were making their big official visit to Stanford, which I think is a very good sign, assuming she timed her unofficial visit that way on purpose.

[kat0189]

IIRC, Edwards has visited Stanford before  (as a Junior or even Soph).  Great that she liked it enough to return for an official.

I also really like Mikayla Blakes, who had a monster summer. Anyone heard if she has visited or if she plan to?

Edit: Blakes is currently in LA per her instagram stories of Rodeo Drive and Marina Del Rey. Looks like she's visiting UCLA, one of her 7 finalists.

IIRC, Blakes visited Stanford her junior year while the current freshmen were making their big official visit to Stanford, which I think is a very good sign, assuming she timed her unofficial visit that way on purpose.

[qwerty49]

 It really comes down to the players themselves and how they all play together. Our last year's team of 2 #1's and a #3 (by far the best recruiting rankings we've ever had in

I beg to differ. imo last year was not about learning to "play together." we knew before the season that losing kiana and failing to get rice, miles, or similar would limit our success.   several top 10, even top 5 players, is indeed usually necessary for a championship, but it's not sufficient. you need a top point guard who can take over a game, and we had 2 top-3 posts and a top-3 wing. our 3 national championship teams all had top guards. there was no henning/azzi, molly, jamila, candice, or kiana on the team last year. i am reminded of the 49ers against the eagles last year: can't win without a qb.

I basically agree with your point, jonny.  I'll add one nuance:

With so small a recruiting pool, the odds of having the right mix on-court all the time are pretty low.  And players don't always develop the way we think they might, and at the rate we hope, e.g. who could anticipate Jones never really finding her outside shot, and we aren't really sure how Lepolo will continue to develop, and what her true ceiling might be.  

And FWIW I was never really comfortable with either of them running point last year.

[qwerty49]

 It really comes down to the players themselves and how they all play together. Our last year's team of 2 #1's and a #3 (by far the best recruiting rankings we've ever had in

I beg to differ. imo last year was not about learning to "play together." we knew before the season that losing kiana and failing to get rice, miles, or similar would limit our success.   several top 10, even top 5 players, is indeed usually necessary for a championship, but it's not sufficient. you need a top point guard who can take over a game, and we had 2 top-3 posts and a top-3 wing. our 3 national championship teams all had top guards. there was no henning/azzi, molly, jamila, candice, or kiana on the team last year. i am reminded of the 49ers against the eagles last year: can't win without a qb.

I basically agree with your point, jonny.  I'll add one nuance:

With so small a recruiting pool, the odds of having the right mix on-court all the time are pretty low.  And players don't always develop the way we think they might, and at the rate we hope, e.g. who could anticipate Jones never really finding her outside shot, and we aren't really sure how Lepolo will continue to develop, and what her true ceiling might be.  

And FWIW I was never really comfortable with either of them running point last year.