Stanford enters its third season in the ACC with a roster that looks very different, and a lot more balanced, than the one that bowed out early last spring.
The Cardinal’s 2025-26 run had plenty of high points before it unraveled. Stanford opened 14-4 and picked up a win over No.
14 North Carolina, only to slide into a five-game losing streak and struggle through ACC play on the way to a 20-13 finish overall and 9-9 in the league. That put the Cardinal in the No. 10 seed spot for the ACC tournament, where Pittsburgh sent them home in the first round.
Even with the quick exit, last season still belonged to Ebuka Okorie. The future first-round pick broke Todd Lichti’s 40-year-old single-season freshman scoring record and set the ACC freshman mark for most 30-point games in a season. His three-level scoring and ball handling carried Stanford for much of the year.
Now the challenge is replacing all of that production. Okorie is gone, along with Chisom Okpara, Jaylen Thompson, Oskar Giltay, Jeremy Dent-Smith and Ryan Agarwal. Stanford loses finishing and shooting with that group, and those departures only sharpened the pressure on a team that already had issues in several key areas.
The numbers from last season tell the story. Stanford sat near the bottom of the ACC in field goal percentage and opponent field goal percentage, and it finished among the league’s bottom three teams in total rebounds.
The Cardinal also had trouble taking care of the ball, ranking near the bottom of the conference in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio. The one area that stood out was defense, where Stanford finished top-four in the ACC in steals.
Kyle Smith has responded by rebuilding through the portal and a strong recruiting class. Stanford brought in Aziz Olajuwon, Julius Price, Elias Obenyah, Drew Anderson, Isaiah Rogers, Christian Bliss, Austin Maurer and Nick Townsend to add backcourt depth and frontcourt size. The mix includes four-star recruits and experienced transfers, all aimed at covering what the Cardinal lost.
Olajuwon, a four-star wing and the son of NBA Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon, is the headliner. He picked Stanford over Houston, his father’s alma mater.
Rogers arrives with a reputation for playmaking and scoring, and he has drawn comparisons to Trae Young. Obenyah adds versatility on defense and as a passer.
Price gives Stanford another freshman guard with three-level scoring and strong shooting. Maurer, Anderson and Townsend are expected to strengthen the front line and help address the rebounding problems that hurt the Cardinal a year ago.
There is some continuity, too. The returning players who logged consistent minutes last season are senior center Aidan Cammann and junior forward Donavin Young. Young finished second on the team in blocked shots, while Cammann averaged a steal per game.
With that blend of returning contributors, transfer experience and a highly regarded recruiting class, Stanford heads into 2026-27 with more roster balance and a clearer path to the NCAA tournament than it had before. The Cardinal open Nov. 2 against Eastern Washington at Maples Pavilion, then stay home for Oakland and Rice before heading to Las Vegas for UNLV, which edged Stanford by one point last season.
November and December bring the rest of the non-conference slate before ACC play begins against Notre Dame, which held Stanford to 40 points in a win last year. Louisville, Virginia and Florida State all come to Maples Pavilion later in the conference schedule, while Duke and UNC await on the road. Stanford closes the regular season in conference play through January and February, with Cal visiting Maples on March 6 to finish things off.
There is no hiding the expectations. Smith has built momentum over his first two seasons, and now the pressure shifts to turning this new-look roster into a team that can finally break through in the NCAA tournament.
In Other News...
Georgia Tech Faces A Defensive Test It Cant Keep Ignoring
Stanford is heading into Atlantic Coast Conference play with some real offensive frustration in the rearview mirror, and coach Tavita Pritchard is not hiding it. The Cardinal have not been producing much in recent losses, even with quarterback Davis Warren managing the ball well and giving them steady play through the air, while Micah Ford has provided a reliable push on the ground. For a team trying to find some rhythm, the matchup with Georgia Tech arrives with a chance to reset the tone.
Georgia Tech comes in with its own pressure points, especially on a defense that has struggled to hold up against the run and is giving up more than 200 yards a game on the ground. Brent Key is still trying to shape a clear identity for the Yellow Jackets, and this is the kind of conference game that can expose how far along that process really is. If Stanford can get Ford going and keep Warren in a clean rhythm, the Cardinal have a path to making that defensive test much more uncomfortable than Georgia Tech would like. [Read more 🡒]
Stanford Alumni Are Already Making Noise Across The NFL
Stanfords NFL footprint is already showing up early this season, with 26 alumni on roster or practice squads across 17 teams for the leagues 107th year. The list reflects the programs long-running ability to send versatile, pro-ready players into the league, and it has been an active offseason for several of its most recognizable names. Drew Dalmans retirement from the Chicago Bears stood out on one end of the spectrum, while Michael Wilsons $75 million extension with the Arizona Cardinals underscored how much value Stanford products continue to carry at the next level.
On the field, the production has been there too. Bobby Okereke, Christian McCaffrey and Dalton Schultz have all turned in strong early-season stat lines, keeping Stanford in the conversation well beyond draft weekend. For a program that has spent years selling development as much as star power, the opening weeks have offered another reminder that its alumni are still finding ways to make noise when the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Wake Forest Fans Now Know Where Stanford Lands In A Crucial Stretch
The ACC has set the stage for Stanfords trip to Winston-Salem, with the Cardinal landing in a Week 5 noon ET kickoff against Wake Forest on Oct. 3 at Allegacy Financial Stadium. The game will air on the ACC Network, giving both teams a clear spot on the league schedule as they try to steady seasons that have opened 1-2.
This will be the fourth meeting between Stanford and Wake Forest, with the Demon Deacons holding a 2-1 edge in the series. Wake Forest still has Louisville on deck Sept. 26 before turning its attention to Stanford, while the Cardinal now know exactly where a crucial stretch of the calendar drops them and how early in the day they will have to answer it. [Read more 🡒]