Summit FC signed forward Jasmine Aikey, the club announced on Thursday. Aikey played for Stanford the last four seasons, tallying 43 goals and 29 assists in 89 games as one of the program’s driving forces behind continued national success.
In 25 games for Stanford in 2025, Aikey paced the team with 53 points, including 21 goals and 11 assists. She had 11 game-winning goals as she was named a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy and earned TopDrawerSoccer Player of the Year for the ACC champion Cardinal.
Aikey also helped Stanford win a Pac-12 championship as a freshman in 2022, and was a linchpin on NCAA Women’s College Cup teams over the last three seasons. She has high potential as a pro with her elite technical skills, vision on the pitch and ability to finish around the net.
“Jasmine is an intelligent, creative player who has performed at a very high level in one of the best collegiate environments in the country,” Summit FC general manager Curt Johnson said in a statement. “She has a great feel for the game, the ability to unlock defenses, and the work rate to impact matches on both sides of the ball. We believe she has the tools to be an important part of our attack as we build this club for the long term.”
Aikey signed a two-year contract with Summit FC that includes a mutual option for 2028. The 20-year-old Palo Alto, Calif., native is the third forward the club has acquired ahead of its inaugural 2026 season, joining Colorado Springs native Ally Watt (via trade with the Orlando Pride) and Spaniard Nahikari García (the club’s first international signing).
More roster moves are coming over the next few weeks, especially at striker and midfield, as Summit FC continues to build out its offense. The team’s first home match is Saturday, March 28, at Empower Field.
Records: Stanford (2-4, 1-2 ACC); Florida State (3-3, 0-3 ACC)
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. at Stanford Stadium.
TV: ESPN
Radio: KNBR 1050 AM
Series history: First meeting. The only program Stanford has played from the state of Florida is UCF, with meetings in 2015 (31-7 win) and 2019 (45-27 loss).
Stanford storylines: After its fourth road loss (all in different time zones), the Cardinal returns home to Stanford Stadium, where it is 2-0 with wins over Boston College and San Jose State. It hasn’t started 3-0 since 2018 – the last time it made a bowl game. … With games still to come against Miami and Notre Dame, a loss Saturday would all but guarantee there won’t be another bowl game this season. … After getting carved up by SMU’s Kevin Jennings last week, the Stanford defense must do a better job against another dual-threat QB in Tommy Castellanos.
Florida State storylines: The Seminoles started the season with a top-10 win over Alabama, but they fell from No. 7 to out of the AP Top 25 after starting ACC play with losses to Virginia, Miami and Pitt. … They still have one of the top offenses in the nation, ranking third in yardage (536.5 per game) and fifth in scoring (44.2). .. Their 21 rushing touchdowns this season are tied for third in the FBS, while Stanford has allowed just five rushing touchdowns this season (tied for 22nd).
Stats that matter: FSU has lost eight straight ACC games dating back to last year’s win at Cal. … Over the last three weeks, Stanford senior CJ Williams is second in the Power 4 in receptions and second in the ACC in receiving yards. … FSU QB Tommy Castellanos leads the nation with an average of 15.87 yards per completion. … Stanford QB Ben Gulbranson has completed 64.6% of his passes for 630 yards and three touchdowns in the two home wins. … The 10:30 p.m. ET kickoff will tie the latest scheduled start for FSU, matching games at San Diego State in 1973 and 1977.
STANFORD – Quarterback Ben Gulbranson had his best game of the season Saturday, but the Stanford football team turned to its defense to help earn its first win under interim coach Frank Reich.
A huge goal-line stand by Stanford late in the third quarter quickly led to a go-ahead touchdown run by Micah Ford, helping to propel the Cardinal to a 30-20 win over Boston College in the ACC opener for both teams.
Stanford’s defense came up with a game-changing play late in the third quarter.
On 4th and goal on the Cardinal 1-yard line, Eagles running back Turbo Richard tried to leap the pile at the line of scrimmage, but had the ball knocked loose by defensive lineman Clay Patterson, with safety Jay Green recovering in the end zone.
On the ensuing play, Ford darted up the middle for a 75-yard run to the Boston College 5, then scored on the next play to give Stanford a 27-20 lead after the extra point.
For the game, the Cardinal scored 21 points off Boston College turnovers to help earn their first win of the year and open the season at home on a badly needed positive note.
Gulbranson, a transfer from Oregon State, completed 13 of 22 passes for 186 yards, and Ford had 157 yards on 17 carries.
Stanford (1-2, 1-0 ACC) also had two huge plays in the second quarter to take a 20-17 lead.
Gulbranson completed his first touchdown pass of the season late in the first half. On 3rd and three at the Cardinal 31, Gulbranson found tight end Sam Roush along the sideline at the 50-yard line, where Roush eluded a tackle and outraced Boston College cornerback Isaiah Farris to the end zone as Stanford cut Boston College’s lead to 17-13.
On the Eagles’ ensuing possession, Cardinal corner Collin Wright intercepted an off-target pass by Eagles quarterback Dylan Lonergan and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown, giving Stanford a 20-17 lead with 1:29 left in the second quarter.
Stanford moved the ball inside Boston College’s 20-yard line on its first two drives but had to settle for a pair of field goals from fifth-year senior Emmet Kenney, with the second from 35 yards that gave the Cardinal a 6-0 lead with 1:04 left in the first quarter.
Boston College’s offense started to find a rhythm in the second quarter. Trailing 6-3, Lonergan eluded a blitz and connected with Richard for a 49-yard touchdown with 10:43 left in the first half.
On the next possession for Boston College (1-2, 0-1), Lonergan found Reed Harris for a 46-yard gain to the Stanford 2, with running back Jordan McDonald scoring on the next play.
Gulbranson, before Saturday, had an uneven start to his Cardinal career, completing 32 of 62 passes for 251 yards, three interceptions, and no touchdowns.
Lonergan, meanwhile, had completed 60 of 79 passes for 658 yards and eight touchdowns before Saturday, with the second-quarter interception he threw being his first of the season.
Through two games, the Cardinal’s longest play from scrimmage this season was a 36-yard pass from Gulbranson to Chico Holt in the third quarter of their season opener against Hawaii.
Starting left guard Nick Fattig left the game with a leg injury in the second quarter, further decimating an already thin Stanford offensive line. Already out with injuries for the Cardinal were guards Nathan Mejia and Simione Pale. Redshirt freshman Ziron Brown, playing just his fourth game, replaced Fattig, a transfer from Texas Tech.
Stanford (2-6, 1-4 ACC) at N.C. State (4-4, 1-3), Saturday, 12 p.m. ET (ACC Network)
BetMGM College Football Odds: N.C. State by 10.
Series record: First meeting.
What’s at stake?
N.C. State emerges from an open date with a chance to put together a strong finish for the second straight year. The Wolfpack’s offense has been in flux since losing starting quarterback Grayson McCall to concussion issues, turning the offense over to freshman CJ Bailey. Stanford is trying to stop a five-game losing streak since beating Syracuse in its first-ever ACC game.
Key matchup
N.C. State’s defense against Stanford’s offense. These have been areas of struggle for both teams, with the Wolfpack’s defensive issues being notable considering the unit had been a multi-year strength. But that unit ranks last in the ACC for league games in scoring defense (35.0) and 13th of 17 teams in total defense (415.3). Yet the Cardinal hasn’t been good offensively, either — Stanford is 16th in scoring offense (16.2) and total offense (304.4) in league play.
Players to watch
Stanford: WR Elic Ayomanor. He remains the Cardinal’s top offensive threat even in a tough offensive environment. He’s coming off an 11-catch, 96-yard day in a loss to Wake Forest and had a 1,000-yard season last year.
N.C. State: RB Kendrick Raphael. He’s moved to the team lead in rushing yardage (287) and rushing touchdowns (three), providing some pop to the ground game even in limited bursts while sharing work with Jordan Waters and Hollywood Smothers.
Facts & figures
McCall announced last week he was retiring from football due to concussion issues. … Bailey became the first Wolfpack true freshman since Philip Rivers in 2000 to throw for 300 yards in the loss to Syracuse. He’s thrown for at least 300 yards in two straight games. … N.C. State was just 4-3 last year coming out of a mid-October open week and responded with five straight wins to push to bowl eligibility and a second nine-win season in four years. … The Cardinal scored 24 points in last weekend’s home loss to Wake Forest, but Stanford has managed 14 or fewer points in four straight ACC games before that. … Stanford is flirting with winning two or fewer games in its league — the past three in the Pac-12 — for the fourth straight season. … This is Stanford’s third and final cross-country trip in ACC play. … N.C. State won at Cal before the open week to claim the first match up against one of the ACC’s new programs.
SANTA CLARA — Lizzie Boamah is never going to say no to scoring a goal.
The Stanford freshman normally plies her trade as a defender, but on Sunday against No. 11 Santa Clara, she received a brief opportunity to play as a forward. Boamah took full advantage of her good fortune, scoring the No. 1 Cardinal’s lone goal in a 1-0 shutout win over the Broncos in front of about 2,000 fans at Stevens Stadium.
“I mean, I’m never going to say I don’t like playing forward, just because I get to use my speed very close to the goal,” Boamah said afterward. “I think I’ll always be an outside back, but I love playing forward.”
Boamah won a 50-50 ball sent into the box by teammate Charlotte Kohler, then poked the ball past Santa Clara keeper Marlee Nicolos in the 55th minute. The win improved Stanford to 8-0 this season — a perfect nonconference mark as the top-ranked Cardinal get ready to start Atlantic Coast Conference play later this week.
Stanford’s Lizzie Boamah (7) scores a goal against Santa Clara in the second half at Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
“Impressive start to the season for the team,” said Stanford coach Paul Ratcliffe. “Happy to see all their hard work’s paying off. We’re excited for the challenge and the opportunity, so we’re preparing as much as we can. But obviously, it will be demanding on us, physically and mentally. But I think the team’s up to it, so we’re excited for it.”
Boamah noted that because Stanford will likely enter conference play as the top team in the country, their new conference mates on the Atlantic coast — including No. 2 Virginia and No. 3 Florida State — are motivated to give the Cardinal a rude welcome to the rigorous competition the ACC offers.
“I’m super excited,” Boamah said. “I think it puts a big target on our backs, but we’re all up for it. We’re up to the challenge. So I’m glad that we’re undefeated, but yeah, more work to do.”
Santa Clara fell to 6-2 to close out its nonconference slate ahead of West Coast Conference action. Though Stanford controlled most of the game, the Broncos finished even with the Cardinal in shots (8-8) and shots on goal (3-3), perhaps a positive sign for their chances moving forward.
Santa Clara’s Ava Weiland (17) fights for the ball against Stanford’s Charlotte Kohler (10) in the second half at Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
“Hats off to Stanford. They got us today,” said Santa Clara coach Jerry Smith. “But the game was really even. All the stats were even, the game felt even. Dangerous chances felt pretty even. We made a couple of mistakes at the back of our team on the goal that they did score. But good teams take advantage of mistakes that you make, and they’re a real good team.”
Both squads feel confident ahead of the start of their respective conference slates. Stanford faces a major adjustment, as the Cardinal will have to travel across the country for almost every road game, starting with a trip to Winston-Salem, North Carolina, to play Wake Forest on Sept. 19.
Games against Cal are the lone exception.
“I want to make sure we get tested,” Ratcliffe said of his nonconference goals. “You want to build up the team and make sure they’re tested. And I think today was a good test. Playing at Santa Clara, there’s a good crowd. So that’s important, that we get used to that more in ACC games. Ultimately, we’re just trying to prepare the team for what’s next. And that’s hard games, challenging matches.”
A ball goes over Stanford goalkeeper Haley Craig (30) against Santa Clara in the second half at Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Santa Clara won’t have to travel the country for its league slate this year. The Broncos are scheduled to face familiar foes like Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine and Portland, with new additions Washington State and Oregon State in the mix as well.
Smith appreciated the opportunity for the Broncos to close out nonleague play by testing themselves against the best. After a week off, Santa Clara begins its league campaign at San Francisco on Sept. 28.
“We love the rivalry with Stanford. They do too,” he said. “There’s usually some friction, and that’s a good thing. Rivalries have to have certain ingredients. There has to be some friction. It has to go back and forth. Over our history, it’s not 50-50, but it’s pretty close to 50-50. Good crowd today for not having students. Santa Clara and Stanford don’t start for over a week, and so our students aren’t in town yet, but still, there was a good crowd.
“I’m proud of our effort. I thought our tactics were spot on today, but full credit to Stanford.”
Santa Clara’s Tori Powell (12) and Stanford’s Shae Harvey (5) fight for the ball in the first half at Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Santa Clara’s Jacey Martinez (15) controls the ball against Santa Clara’s Addie Whitehouse (7) in the second half at Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Stanford’s Lizzie Boamah (7) celebrates her goal with Stanford’s Andrea Kitahata (20) against Santa Clara in the second half at Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Santa Clara’s Kat Jordan (13) controls the ball against Stanford’s Lizzie Boamah (7) in the second half at Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Santa Clara’s Kennedy Schoennauer (33) and Stanford’s Jasmine Aikey (12) fight for the ball in the first half at Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Santa Clara’s Lucy Mitchell (27) fights for the ball against Stanford’s Andrea Kitahata (20) in the first half at Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Santa Clara’s Kennedy Schoennauer (33) fights for the ball against Stanford’s Shae Harvey (5) in the first half at Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Santa Clara’s Lauren Hunter (25) has her shot blocked by Stanford’s Jasmine Aikey (12) in the first half at Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Santa Clara’s Isabella Panaccione (3) fights for the ball against Stanford’s Eleanor Klinger (11) in the first half at Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Stanford’s Mia Bhuta (8) fights for the ball against Santa Clara’s Colby Barnett (31) in the second half at Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Santa Clara goalkeeper Marlee Nicolos (1) makes a save in front of Stanford’s Maryn Wolf (24) in the second half at Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Santa Clara’s Lucy Mitchell (27) fights for the ball against Stanford’s Kellie Pagador (27) in the first half at Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Stanford’s Jasmine Aikey (12) and Santa Clara’s Leah O’Brien (22) fight for the ball in the first half at Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
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Santa Clara’s Tori Powell (12) and Stanford’s Shae Harvey (5) fight for the ball in the first half at Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Brandi Chastain signs autographs following Stanford’s 1-0 win over Santa Clara at Stevens Stadium at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
The No. 1 hype man for the United States women’s water polo team, Flavor Flav, is wearing a special clock chain as the Americans’ quest for Olympic gold continues this morning with a group-stage match against Italy.
The clock was made by the sister-in-law of team captain Maggie Steffens, Lulu Conner, who died suddenly last week at age 26 after arriving in Paris to support the team.
Lulu’s brother, Bobby – Steffens’ husband – presented Flavor Flav with the clock in an Instagram post. The caption read, “Made with love by Lulu Conner.”
On Tuesday, a day after the Americans suffered a rare Olympic loss, falling to Spain in group play, the Conner family issued a statement about Lulu through USA water polo.
It read:
“Lulu passed away on July 24th in Paris, shortly after arriving to support her sister in law, Maggie Steffens, and the US Women’s Water Polo team. At this point in time, we still do not know what caused her death.
“Lulu loved Maggie and her teammates, and was extremely excited to be supporting them here in Paris. It wouldn’t be unusual to see Lulu in the stands, decked out in USA gear, dancing at timeouts, and leading chants. In finding out that Flavor Flav was the official USWWP hype man, Lulu crafted customized clock chains to be worn in a show of support for the team. Lulu embodied the Olympic spirit: joy, peace, bringing people together, and making the most of each moment. In an effort to honor Lulu’s spirit and enthusiasm, members of our family that are currently in Paris plan to continue attending and cheering loudly at USWWP games.
“While we are so grateful for the outpouring of support and love seeing stories shared about Lulu, we ask that our immediate family’s privacy is respected at this difficult time. We also encourage everyone to make an effort to “live like Lu”, leading with kindness and compassion.”
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — The Atlantic Coast Conference will collaborate with Apple to bring iPad technology to the sidelines and coaching booths for the upcoming season.
In an announcement Monday, the ACC said all 17 football members — a group that includes new arrivals California, SMU and Stanford — will have access to league-provided iPad Pro and iPad Air models allowing them to view video playback. That comes after the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel in April approved the use of in-game video.
In a statement, ACC commissioner Jim Phillips made an “unparalleled prioritization of technology” going back to its design of a new gameday operations center. It will assist in football replays as part of the headquarters move to Charlotte last year.
The ACC’s first game this season is Aug. 24 in Dublin, Ireland, featuring Florida State and Georgia Tech.
MINNEAPOLIS — The Stanford men have built a dynasty in NCAA gymnastics, and now they’re taking that to the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Former Cardinal Brody Malone and current standout Asher Hong earned two of the five spots on the U.S. team Saturday after two days of competition at the Olympic trials in Minneapolis. They join trials champ Fred Richard, Paul Juda and Stephen Nederosik on the team, with Stanford’s Khoi Young and 2021 Olympian Shane Wiskus as traveling alternates.
This is the second Olympics in a row when three Stanford men’s gymnasts are part of the U.S. delegation, though in Tokyo two of them were alternates.
Richard qualified for the team automatically by winning the all-around competition and placing top three on three events. His two-day score of 170.5 held off a late-charging Malone by just 0.2 points.
Juda finished fourth with 168.85 points, followed by Hong with 167.65. Nederosik, a pommel horse specialist and the 2021 world champion, ranked second in that event.
The biggest surprise was Wiskus, who had the meet of his life in his home state and finished third with 169.65 points. The selection committee, relying largely on simulations to determine the highest scoring team, ultimately determined the other gymnasts better fit into the puzzle that the program hopes will result in the first U.S. men’s gymnastics team medal since the 2008 team won bronze in Beijing.
“We have a chance to win a medal,” Malone said, “and that’s what we’re going over there to do.”
Stanford gymnasts will play a key role in that effort.
Though three will make the trip and two will compete next month, six of the 16 athletes competing at the trials had Stanford connections, including four who were on the team that won a record-tying fifth-consecutive NCAA championship in April. Even more Cardinals competed at nationals earlier this month in Texas.
“It brings the best out of me,” Hong, a sophomore last year, said. “We’re all brothers. Like we all literally love each other. So I can’t express enough how big of a support system I have at Stanford with the guys on the team.”
The two other Stanford gymnasts, Colt Walker and Jeremy Bischoff, finished 10th and 11th in the all-around at the trials, while alum Curran Phillips had the highest total score on his primary event, parallel bars.
Founded in 1891, five years before the first modern Olympics, Stanford’s men’s gymnastics program had produced three U.S. Olympians prior to this weekend, including Malone.
Now Malone joins Steve Hug (1972 and 1976) and Jair Lynch (1992 and 1996) in going to a second Olympics. Additional Stanford gymnasts have competed in the Games for other countries.
Lynch remains the only Cardinal men’s gymnast to win an Olympic medal, having taken silver on parallel bars in his second trip to the Games.
Malone, the 2022 world champion on high bar, could be primed to change that.
That the 24-year-old was even competing this weekend was a feat in itself. Sixteen months ago, while competing at an event in Germany, Malone landed awkwardly on his high bar dismount and went home with a dislocated knee, fractured tibia and torn ligaments.
Three surgeries later, he returned to competition in January, and by the U.S. championships a month ago he was doing the all-around again. After convincingly winning his third U.S. title there, the gymnast from Rockmart, Georgia, came to Minneapolis as a solid favorite to make the team.
After a strong start to the competition Thursday, Malone struggled on floor — the last event he started training post-injury — and pommel horse to finish second to Richard on Day 1. Then he opened Day 2 with uncharacteristic mistakes, including a fall, on high bar, his best event.
He quickly got his groove back, though, and ended up improving his scores across the next four events and matching his Day 1 score on the other.
Even with his pedigree and solid showing this weekend, Malone started to get nervous when the selection committee saved his name for last.
“It kind of scared me a little bit,” he said, with a wide grin. “But I was just super happy. I’m over the moon. I’m just ready to get back in the gym and start getting ready to go over to Paris.”
Hong arrived in Minnesota with as much to prove as anyone after a disappointing 10th-place finish at nationals one year after winning there. The 20-year-old from Tomball, Texas, got some redemption Thursday, when he finished fifth, and then built on that Saturday. Short and sturdy, Hong packs tremendous power and difficulty into his routines, and that high-scoring potential showed when he won rings and took second on vault here.
U.S. men’s high-performance director Brett McClure said Hong, a three-time NCAA champ this spring, can contribute “everywhere” in Paris.
“He fills in on every single apparatus,” McClure said.
Young, 21, had a similar reputation coming into the trials, as shown by his NCAA all-around title and three medals from last year’s world championships. However, a disastrous start on Thursday, including two falls on pommel horse — an event he’d won silver on at last year’s world championships — likely doomed his chances.
Stanford coach Thom Glielmi said he’d never seen such an uneven showing from Young, even in practice. Young, of Bowie, Maryland, didn’t repeat it. He improved his scores across the board on Saturday before scratching his final (and weakest) event: still rings.
“I felt like Khoi did enough to garner a spot if you break it down,” Glielmi said. “So, good choice as a reserve.”
The Stanford program has gradually developed into an NCAA dynasty under Glielmi. The team had won three NCAA titles before he arrived in 2003; it has won seven since, including the previous five in a row. Only Nebraska, from 1979 to 1983, can match that feat.
OKLAHOMA CITY — NiJaree Canady and her Stanford teammates are used to playing with their backs against the wall.
The Cardinal faced elimination for the sixth time in the NCAA Tournament on Monday night and needed to beat No. 1 seed Texas to stay alive in the Women’s College World Series.
This time, Stanford came up short.
The Cardinal’s season ended after a crushing 1-0 loss to the Longhorns, who scored the only run of the game in the seventh inning, following a fielding error, a double and a botched rundown.
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh, the Cardinal went down in order against Texas ace Teagan Kavan to end their season after dropping two games to Texas during their time at Devon Park.
Texas (55-8) advanced to the best-of-three championship series starting Wednesday. The Longhorns will face either Oklahoma or Florida, who play Tuesday to decide the final championship series berth.
Five times in the tournament, including twice in the world series against Oklahoma State and UCLA, did Stanford win elimination games, with Canady carrying the load and getting ample support from the offense.
“Obviously the season coming to an end, didn’t end the way that we wanted it to,” Stanford coach Jessica Allister said. “Still just a lot to be proud of. When (you) end the season in Oklahoma City, that’s the goal every single year.
“Like I told the team in the locker room, you just got to keep tossing your hat in the ring, get your heart broken a couple times, stand back up and try again. “I couldn’t be more proud of the group of women on the team. They played for each other. They took care of one another. They worked hard.”
Canady, the U.S. Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, did her part Monday, limiting Texas to no runs, striking out seven and walking none through six innings.
Canady got Texas’ Allysa Washington to ground to second to start the seventh inning, but second baseman Taryn Kern muffed the ball for an error, allowing the Longhorns to get their lead runner aboard.
The next batter, Joley Mitchell, doubled to left field and Texas was in business, with runners at second and third and no outs. Ashton Maloney then bunted, Canady fielded the ball and threw home.
Catcher Aly Kaneshiro caught Washington in a rundown and threw the ball back to third baseman Jade Berry, who attempted to run down the speedy Washington. Berry then threw the ball back to Kaneshiro, who tagged Washington too late.
“I think something I’m most proud of honestly is the way this team fought until the very last out,” Canady said. “I’ll pick us every single time. I feel like every loss hurts. This being the last one definitely does. Again, just like Coach Allister said, you have to keep going in the ring. One day it will pay off.”
Stanford (50-17) was once again done in by freshman pitcher Kavan, who shut out Stanford for the second time in the series. Kavan, who improved to 20-2, allowed just one hit and no walks. She struck out seven.
“Hats off to her,” Allister said of Kavan. “She threw two good games, kept us guessing. She did a phenomenal job. She’s a great pitcher.”
The Cardinal reached the semifinals Sunday when Canady pitched a complete game three-hitter with eight strikeouts and no walks in a 3-1 win over UCLA.
“Obviously NiJaree was fantastic all week, fantastic today,” Allister said. “I mean, maybe one of the best performances in Oklahoma City that I’ve seen at least. None of us that are around here all the time are surprised. Just gritty and tough and phenomenal. Sad for this year to be over. But proud. Really, really proud.”
Sunday’s win meant Stanford wound up being the last Pac-12 softball team to play a game – a consolation prize that won’t soon soothe the pain from Monday night’s loss.
Stanford pitcher NiJaree Canady and shortstop River Mahler celebrate an out against Texas in the Women’s College World Series on Monday, June 3, 2024. (Bob Drebin / ISI Photos)
CARMICHAEL, Calif. (KTXL) – Sacramento native Andrej Stojakovic, who was a McDonald’s All-American at Jesuit High School in Carmichael, talks to FOX40’s Sean Cunningham about his decision to leave Stanford after one season to transfer to play at Cal, why he chose the Golden Bears over the Kentucky Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels, reflects on his freshman season with the Cardinal, and discusses the improvements he hopes to make in his upcoming sophomore season.
For the second-straight NCAA Tournament, the Stanford Cardinal faced a fourth-quarter deficit on their home court in the second round, staring down the possibility of a stunning upset.
As the Pac-12 player of the year Cameron Brink spent most of the night in foul trouble against No. 7 Iowa State, the No. 2 Cardinal turned to their other twin tower to carry them home. After being limited to five scoreless minutes off the bench in the 2023 loss to Ole Miss, Kiki Iriafen scored 41 points, tied for ninth all-time in a single NCAA Tournament game, and added 16 rebounds and four assists, leading Stanford to an 87-81 victory in overtime. The Cardinal advanced to the Sweet 16 to face the winner of No. 3 NC State vs. No. 6 Tennessee.
There was nothing Iriafen couldn’t do. The conference’s most improved player scored in every which way against Audi Crooks and the No. 7 Cyclones. She drilled jumpers. She faced up from a distance and blew past her defender. She posted up and finished through contact. Iriafen was also massive on defense, forcing first-round darling Audi Crooks into 3-of-21 shooting as Iowa State collectively shot 12 of 27 on layups.
Stanford needed everything out of Iriafen in a game that was in the balance for 45 minutes. Neither team led by more than two possessions after the first quarter. There were 12 ties and 18 lead changes, and Iowa State was up 1 with 31 seconds to play before a cold-blooded 3-pointer from Brooke Demetre proved decisive. Demetre collected the rebound after Addy Brown missed the potential tying bucket on the subsequent possession, and the Cardinal — and the nervous home crowd at Maples Pavilion — could finally breathe.
In what should become an instant classic, Iowa State delivered the first blow. The Cyclones went up seven in the first quarter thanks to hot shooting beyond the arc and steady playmaking from senior guard Emily Ryan, who cashed in three triples of her own. Stanford put on the clamps in the second quarter and squeezed just enough offense out of Iriafen and shooting guard Hannah Jump to pull within two, setting up a barn burner of a second half.
Ryan was dazzling off the dribble and with her step-back jumper, totaling a career-best 36 points, though her 10 turnovers gave the Cardinal extra opportunities. While Crooks was bottled up by Iriafen and Brink and fellow freshmen Brown and Jalynn Bristow were unbothered, chipping in 25 points, including 10 in overtime.
Stanford found just enough outside of Iriafen’s production. Brink had five blocks in her 22 minutes and added eight points and eight rebounds. Jump was the focus of many Iowa State schemes — the Cyclones even threw a box-and-one at the super senior on one possession — but she pounced on every defensive miscue to score 15. Nunu Agara was tasked with defending Ryan and was responsible for several of those 10 turnovers. And Demetre came up with the clutch buckets, the only 3-pointers she’s ever made in the NCAA Tournament outside of garbage time.
Even with the game of Iriafen’s life, the Cardinal still barely avoided a massive disappointment. Two straight years of bowing out on their home court — after being upset in the conference tournament each season — would have cast doubt on Stanford’s toughness.
Instead, coach Tara VanDerveer and her staff were able to push the right buttons to keep Iriafen going and optimize their bench. Tremendous shotmaking on both sides prevented either team from building a sizable lead, but the important takeaway for the Cardinal was when they needed to execute offensively, they were able to.
Neither team deserved to lose, but Stanford was a worthy winner behind Iriafen. The player VanDerveer could barely find minutes for a year ago rocketed into the national spotlight with one of the best tournament performances in recent memory and kept her squad dancing.
PALO ALTO, Calif. — The packed house at Maples Pavilion didn’t wait for the final horn to begin the serenade of Tara VanDerveer.
As freshman forward Nunu Agara dribbled into the frontcourt, and Oregon State coach Scott Rueck gestured to his Beavers not to foul, what was inevitable was becoming official. The crowd rose to its feet, roaring loud enough to make this historic occasion tangible.
VanDerveer showed up to the gym Sunday tied with Duke legend Mike Krzyzewski for the most victories in NCAA basketball history. She would leave alone at the top.
Senior guard Hannah Jump waved for the serenade to turn up. Time expired. The 65-56 win over Oregon State — victory No. 1,203 — was in the record books. Kiki Iriafen scored a career-high 36 points, including the first two 3-pointers of her career. But her performance was just the appetizer, lathering up the crowd for the main event. VanDerveer had crested Coach K to become college basketball’s winningest coach. It was time for the house that Tara built to celebrate its architect. The foundation was now the showcase.
The crowd began to chant with fervor: “Ta-ra! Ta-ra! Ta-ra!”
Before Cameron Brink could dump a Gatorade bucket of gold confetti on her coach (who looked relieved it wasn’t Gatorade). Before the approximate 4-foot numbers, 1203, could be set up as props at this hoop party in Palo Alto. Before the stage could be erected and videos played and speeches given. VanDerveer walked to the other end of the sideline and hugged Rueck.
Because you don’t get to 1,203 without consistency, without discipline born of ancient eras, without humility relevant in any age. She climbed this mountain by not skipping steps, by valuing every rep. Not even reaching the summit is worthy of a diversion from principle.
So VanDerveer walked the line. She hugged the opposing assistant coaches. She shook the hand of every Beavers player, greeting them with a smile and a kind word. It wasn’t until she got through them all that she would allow the spotlight of the occasion to focus on her.
Now the ultimate deflector had to accept her flowers.
“When I think of you, one word comes to mind,” Jennifer Azzi, one of the renowned pillars of Cardinal hoops, said in a video played on the big board. “And that’s excellence.”
This place should be called Tara Pavilion. She didn’t build it with her hands in 1969. She didn’t renovate it in 2005. But she gave it life. She made it relevant. Her teams. Her success. Her tradition.
The last time the men’s team brought a championship here was 1942. But here wasn’t here yet. Maples wouldn’t open for another 27 years. The value of this place is centered on the standard the women’s basketball program set when VanDerveer took over in 1985. The outpouring of love has been brewed by years of teams and players worthy of affinity.
She didn’t shy away from Stanford’s elite academic standards, which can be an obstacle to recruiting, because it absolutely fits her holistic message of work ethic.
She has delivered three national titles, 14 Final Fours, 15 first-team All-Americans, 25 conference championships, 30 WNBA players and countless moments.
And 1,203 wins.
Any Mount Rushmore of basketball coaches must include a bob with bangs.
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“We all know that beyond the stats,” Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr said in the tribute video, “beyond the wins and losses and everything else, it’s the impact you’ve had on so many young lives.”
The significance of this moment was present in the energy. In who was present. Condoleezza Rice. Andrew Luck. Chiney Ogwumike. Azzi flew in with two kids, 6 and 3, which might be as impressive as becoming Stanford’s first Naismith National Player of the Year in 1990.
“I’m not usually lost for words,” she said addressing the fans. “But it’s pretty impressive. All these people here. All the former players coming back.”
A flood of former players joined the festivities. The background vocals were provided by the sea of fans in Cardinal red, many of whom have spent years watching VanDerveer mold young women while racking up victories.
What everyone here knows is this celebration belongs in this place. This venue, this audience, this central figure are worthy of this spotlight. This neck of the woods is foundational to the sport that’s thriving at new levels.
The torch being carried today by the likes of A’ja Wilson and Caitlin Clark, Dawn Staley and Sabrina Ionescu, got some of its spark from this lively hoops hub nestled in these manicured woods of intellectual prosperity. The story of women’s hoops cannot be told without Stanford women’s basketball. And the name Tara VanDerveer is an adjective for its quality.
Ex-Stanford QB Andrew Luck, here w/2 daughters, on Tara: “I’m just a fan. She’s part of what makes a place like this so special. I think there are so many lessons to learn from anybody in any profession, especially in sports and how she does it. I know I am learning from her.”
Nike commemorated VanDerveer’s accomplishment with a white bomber jacket plastered with red tally marks. One for each win. The sporty 70-year-old, still fit enough to leap off the bench and light a fire into 20-somethings, put on the jacket. She looked like racking up another 500 wins isn’t off the table.
“I’ve had such an incredible life,” VanDerveer said on a stage erected as her pedestal. “I don’t want for anything. What I have is right here.”
The stage was christened by Ros Gold-Onwude, who played five seasons for VanDerveer, appeared in three Final Fours and built a reputation for defense. She’s now a versatile broadcaster for ESPN and hosted the festivities. She did a Q&A with Azzi and Ogwumike.
A video played at Maples included praise from Billie Jean King, Coach K, Staley and 2016 WNBA MVP Nneka Ogwumike. But it was Lisa Leslie crashing the Stanford party to declare herself VanDerveer’s favorite. Leslie, the USC star, played under VanDerveer in the 1996 Olympics, along with hoops royalty such as Sheryl Swoopes, Teresa Edwards, Rebecca Lobo and Staley. VanDerveer took a year off from Stanford to coach this team on a 52-0 exhibition tour that set the foundation for women’s basketball in America.
Later in 1996, the American Basketball League launched as the nation’s first women’s pro basketball league. In 1997, the WNBA followed.
“I’m not perfect,” VanDerveer said. “I never claimed to be perfect. We’re talking about wins, but we’ve lost a lot, too.”
A whopping 267 games in 45 seasons. But her point is a real one. Winning 81.8 percent of her games isn’t solely why she is worthy of this moment. It’s because of the bar Stanford has represented in women’s basketball, held up by her wiry arms and vintage conviction. Those celebrating her Sunday didn’t speak of her treasure chest of victories but of her principles and modus operandi.
“You have personally helped influence my life and the way that I move,” Leslie said in the video. “I always remember that repetition of error …”
Leslie pointed to Chiney Ogwumike, who finished the last part of the VanDerveer truism:
“Shows a lack of intelligence.”
No disrespect to Roscoe Maples, whose $1.7 million donation led to the building of the original home of Stanford hoops.
But this is Tara’s house. She built it up. She sustained it. And, as the winningest college basketball coach, she deserves it to bear her name.
PALO ALTO, Calif. — Almost nothing about Tara VanDerveer’s home would imply a basketball coach, let alone one who is about to become the winningest college basketball coach ever, has resided there for nearly 30 years. The muted yellow walls and decor — several large framed florals painted years ago by a friend — are tasteful but minimal. The coffee table books are mostly National Geographic travel tomes.
Her home gym displays some memorabilia, but the only room that might truly give it away is her “office,” a generous term as it more closely resembles a windowless walk-in closet. But this is VanDerveer’s preference — understated and neatly organized (though VanDerveer calls the office itself, generally stuffed to the brim, “a disaster”). On occasion, she’ll display on her fridge a photo of herself sitting with former Tennessee coach Pat Summitt and former UCLA and Cal State Fullerton coach Billie Moore — three Hall of Famers — as a reminder to enjoy every day. But the sparse memorabilia and occasional photo are the only slightest clues that a rather successful coach calls this place home.
For VanDerveer, the crown jewels of her house are the seven redwood trees in the backyard. They stretch upward like forestial skyscrapers, transplanted into her property 12 years ago and grown considerably since then. Five are younger trees, but the two eldest are likely north of 70 years old, just like VanDerveer. From time to time, she finds herself walking around the backyard with her dogs, Piper and Enzo, gazing skyward, admiring the sturdy giants that have come to withstand time, drought and fire.
“They’re beautiful trees; they’re very resilient trees,” VanDerveer says. “Their roots grow underneath and they support each other. They’re really tall, but they remind me of a team in that they’re holding each other up.”
There were no redwoods in the Northeastern or Midwestern states where VanDerveer spent the majority of her formative years — a childhood in Massachusetts and New York, her early years in college basketball at Indiana, Idaho and Ohio State. But when she moved to Northern California in 1985 to become Stanford’s head coach, she was awestruck by the mighty redwoods.
There’s no definitive explanation why redwoods grow so tall. Part of it is their lifespans; some age up to 2,000 years largely due to their bark, which protects them from disease, and a thick husk that shields them against fires. They are completely different from most other trees in that way. But why they reach such heights? No one knows exactly.
In the 1960s when author John Steinbeck traveled across the country and came upon Northern California, he wrote, “The redwoods, once seen, leave a mark or create a vision that stays with you always. … From them comes silence and awe. It’s not only their unbelievable stature, nor the color which seems to shift and vary under your eyes, no, they are not like any trees we know, they are ambassadors from another time.”
VanDerveer sees her best teams as these redwoods. Players who stood on their own, but whose roots stretched underground and toward one another, supporting each other while withstanding drought and fire, becoming ambassadors of a changing game. If that is so, then she is that mysterious element answering the question: How do they grow so tall?
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From Idaho to iconic titles: Top 10 Tara VanDerveer moments as Stanford coach nears all-time wins record
“It was her high standards, which start with herself,” says Jennifer Azzi, who played for VanDerveer at Stanford from 1986-90 and won a gold medal with VanDerveer in the 1996 Olympics. “If there’s one word that describes her it’s excellence. Excellence in every single thing she does and attempts. … That has never changed over the years. She has never compromised herself or her values.”
Few coaches have lasted as long on a sideline as she, and they only got there by finding these special players and developing teams. Mostly, they stay by winning. It was maybe the first lesson she learned in basketball. With no girls’ teams to play on, the golden rule she learned during pick-up games at the park: Winner stays. It remains true in college coaching, too.
On Sunday, she could pass former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski as the winningest college basketball coach of all time with 1,203 wins. Even to her, that number is hard to comprehend. She didn’t set out to get to this pinnacle, but here she is. For every 100 wins, Stanford presented her with a custom-painted basketball. Eventually, she had so many she had to move them from a bookshelf to a wall shelf, and now that shelf — which stretches across the full length of her office — houses all 12 basketballs. It can’t get any longer at this point, so she just keeps moving the basketballs closer together.
She has 17 30-win seasons, more than the rest of the Pac-12 schools combined. She has won three national titles and led the Cardinal to 14 Final Fours. She has been named the national coach of the year five times and the Pac-12 coach of the year 17 times. VanDerveer has won more games than 344 Division I programs.
And while those numbers lay out the framework of this moment, they don’t explain how she got to this point. To accomplish that, she has seemingly done the impossible — remaining steady yet constantly evolving, being flexible yet obstinate in the ways that mattered, remaining curious but never losing her focus.
VanDerveer credits her parents — both educators — for teaching her to value education and relationships. She cites her mom’s wisdom — “be a duck, let it roll off your back” — with her ability to keep focused on what matters most and trying not to fret about the rest.
She often tells about an interview for a coaching job in which she was asked to explain her philosophy. She responded: Work. When asked to expand, she said: Hard work.
As a coach, she maintained a standard no matter the team or season, from her JV squad at Ohio State to her national championship teams in Palo Alto. Even in her first year at Stanford — the only one in her 45 seasons with a losing record — she operated the same way. Stanford was rebuilding and not as elite as the school from which she had come, Ohio State, but she wanted the team to bond and build, to grow strong and tall. That was a non-negotiable. So she sought out feedback for that growth. She asked her players and assistants questions. She even pulled aside the team’s trainer after practice to ask for her thoughts on the day.
“She was always interested in other people’s insights and observations,” said Charli Turner Thorne, who played for VanDerveer at Stanford from 1985-88 and coached against her at Arizona State from 1996-2022. “We’re like, ‘Tara, the athletic trainer doesn’t know anything about basketball.’ But she was this visionary who was always looking to shape her teams.”
When VanDerveer started at Stanford, there was no 3-point line in the college game. The Cardinal, like many, used a power approach and took high-percentage shots close to the basket. But when the line was introduced before the 1987-88 season, VanDerveer did the simple math and informed her players they were going to learn outside shooting. Within five seasons, Stanford was attempting 13 a game — a key part of their first national title run.
With the 3-point shot, VanDerveer and Stanford mastered the triangle offense. In 2008, Stanford played UC Davis, which had just transitioned to Division I. Stanford easily won by 35, but after the game, VanDerveer pulled aside head coach Sandy Simpson and said she was impressed with the mechanisms of the Princeton offense that UC Davis had run. Simpson pointed VanDerveer in the direction of one of her young assistants, Jennifer Gross.
“Here I am, a new assistant coach at a former Division II school, and Tara’s like, ‘Who can I talk to about learning this offense? Would you be able to help?’” said Gross, now the UC Davis head coach. “It was a bit of a ‘What is going on here?’ … But she’s like, ‘I’m going to learn from anybody.’”
Over the next several years, VanDerveer and Gross talked about the offense often, with Gross and her husband, Joe Teramoto, making multiple trips to Palo Alto to walk through the offense on the floor and watch film with VanDerveer. In 2021, the Cardinal won the national title running VanDerveer’s version of this offense.
In her personal life, VanDerveer, 70, takes the same approach. In her 40s, she started piano lessons and dove in. The teacher, Jodi Gandolfi suggested a 30-minute lesson. VanDerveer countered with 90 minutes. They compromised … at 90. With lessons beginning in February, VanDerveer requested Stanford’s team schedulers to ensure every road-game hotel had a piano available so she could practice.
Gandolfi, who hadn’t worked with beginners in decades, assumed that like most novices, VanDerveer would want to start where most beginners started — learning a simple song. But Gandolfi was struck by her student’s approach. Recalled Gandolfi: “She wanted to learn how to practice. She wanted to learn music theory.”
While at Stanford, VanDerveer took up swimming laps and visited the pool three mornings a week. On mornings when Olympians like Katie Ledecky and Simone Manuel were in their lanes, she’d study their form and compare it to her own. When VanDerveer bought a ski boat about a decade ago, she sought out skilled ski partners who’d hit the water with her every summer morning and offer feedback on her technique.
Tara VanDerVeer applauds her team during the 2009 Final Four game against Connecticut. (Tim Vizer / Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
But, as in hoops, much about VanDerveer remains unchanged. Namely, the haircut, the iconic bob that has been her signature look for decades. When she moved to Palo Alto, VanDerveer had a stylist cut her hair, but when that woman retired, the stylist’s daughter began cutting it. No one else has had VanDerveer in a salon chair since.
“There’s slight variation, but it is pretty similar,” VanDerveer admits.
In the past few seasons, college sports has changed at a faster-than-ever pace. NIL was introduced. The transfer portal opened up. And next season, VanDerveer and the Cardinal will join the ACC as the Pac-12 (as it’s currently set up) will fold. “She just really understands the big picture,” says Stanford associate head coach Kate Paye, who played for VanDerveer from 1991-95. “It isn’t all about winning for her, it’s about building lifetime relationships and mentoring women and empowering women.”
She has stayed on top of changes and worked to shepherd the next generation of women’s basketball, its players and coaches. Her recent teams have loosely formed committees on food, travel and entertainment so she can take more input from the players. She has become a mentor and sounding board to not only the coaches she knows well, but even to those she doesn’t. This fall, when Florida State coach Brooke Wyckoff was diagnosed with breast cancer, VanDerveer sent her a hand-written letter. The two had never met. When the Cardinal played Albany earlier this season, she suggested swapping scouting reports so each team could learn more about themselves, something she has done with several other nonconference opponents over the years. When the Cardinals’ NCAA Tournament runs have ended early, she’s sometimes handed over her own scouting reports of potential March Madness opponents to her fellow Pac-12 coaches.
Most of this has been done without fanfare or attention — the way she likes it.
When VanDerveer passed Pat Summitt to become the winningest women’s college basketball coach in the 2020-21 season, the Cardinal were on the road at Pacific with no fans in the crowd because of pandemic protocols. The bench was spaced with six feet between each chair. Everyone wore masks except the players on the floor. Her achievement was met with a subdued celebration that included only the team. Admittedly, VanDerveer enjoyed the intimacy of that.
Players presented her with a fleece jacket to wear to the pool. “T-DAWG,” it read on the back.
This next milestone will be different. Stanford is celebrating alumni weekend with dozens of former players coming into town. Pomp and circumstance, two words VanDerveer doesn’t love, will be directed at her. Even with No. 8 Stanford at 15-2, VanDerveer has been fitting in interviews and photoshoots in every spare moment. Everyone wants to know the secrets to her success, wants to know how she did it.
Unlike the redwoods, the answer is quite obvious.
She evolved but stayed the same. She was flexible yet unwavering. She remained a student and a teacher whose roots have allowed her to finally reach heights that no others have.
(Illustration and data visual: John Bradford / The Athletic; Photos of Tara VanDerveer: Cody Glenn / Icon Sportswire, Jack Dempsey / Getty Images)
It’s impossible to tell the story of the past four decades of college basketball without Tara VanDerveer. The Stanford icon, USA Basketball coach, and overall standard-bearer for West Coast basketball is an integral character in the growth of the women’s game since Title IX. And with two more wins, VanDerveer will stand alone as the winningest coach in college, men’s or women’s, passing former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski.
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The summer of solitude that sustained a coaching icon
In anticipation of her potential record-breaking win this weekend, we will publish stories this week that focus on her esteemed career. Here is a look back at some of VanDerveer’s monumental victories:
1. Win No. 1
Dec. 1, 1978: Idaho 70, Northern Montana 68 (OT)
Before win No. 1,201 there was win No. 1. As the head coach of Idaho, VanDerveer faced Northern Montana College (now known as Montana State-Northern) in her opening game. It was the program’s fifth season of existence — the Vandals didn’t even belong to a conference yet — and they had tapped a 25-year-old who had been an Ohio State assistant for two seasons to lead them.
Idaho was up with one possession to play, but the Vandals committed a foul and went to overtime, where they edged out the Polar Bears by two. As VanDerveer told the Stanford Daily in 2020, “Before we went into overtime, we were up three and there’s like 10 seconds left in the game or something. I said, ‘OK you guys look, we got this game, just don’t foul.’ We went out, the girl hit the shot, and we fouled her and I said, ‘This is going to be hard.’ I’m thinking, ‘Boy, this coaching thing is not going to be easy.’”
Tara VanDerveer –
Winningest Coach in Women’s College Basketball 1978-80 Idaho Women’s Basketball Head Coach 3 NCAA Championships 4 NCAA Final Four Appearances 16 NCAA Tournament Appearances
After two seasons at Idaho, including a 25-6 record in Year 2, VanDerveer returned to Columbus as the head coach. She led the Buckeyes to the inaugural NCAA Tournament in 1982 and returned to the Big Dance in 1984, when they landed in the AP Top 25 for the first time in her tenure.
En route to a fourth straight Big Ten title, Ohio State played at Iowa — then coached by C. Vivian Stringer — near the end of conference play. In what would become a precursor for record-breaking crowds in the state decades later, the teams played in front of 22,157 people at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. That obliterated the previous attendance record for an NCAA women’s basketball game of 10,622 set two years earlier. Team officials originally listed the attendance at 18,500, reportedly to avoid trouble with the fire marshals because the arena’s capacity was 15,450; fans even had to stand in the aisles during the game.
3. Signing a game-changer
1986: Stanford signs Jennifer Azzi
VanDerveer returned to the West after five seasons with the Buckeyes to helm a Stanford team that had gone 9-19 the season before. Her first item of business was to recruit Jennifer Azzi, a point guard from Oak Ridge, Tenn. The Cardinal had been so bad that VanDerveer told Sports Illustrated she didn’t let Azzi watch any practices or game film during her recruitment, but Stanford’s academic pedigree helped convince Azzi to follow her to the Pacific coast and become the program’s first true star.
Azzi helped lead the Cardinal to the NCAA Tournament in 1988 as a sophomore, starting a streak of appearances that continues to this day. She was the Pac-10 player of the year as a junior when Stanford made the Elite Eight and then the national player of the year in 1990 when the Cardinal won their first national championship. Azzi remains the program’s all-time leader in 3-point percentage, ranks second in total assists and places third in steals. The line of greats that have come through Palo Alto, including Sonja Henning, Val Whiting, Kate Starbird, Candice Wiggins, Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike, leading up to Cameron Brink begins with Azzi. She was VanDerveer’s biggest off-court win.
VanDerveer won her first national championship at Tennessee’s Thompson-Boling Arena, 20 minutes away from where Azzi played high school basketball. The Cardinal were fairly dominant throughout the tournament, winning their five games by an average of 15 points. The title game was more back-and-forth, as they went up by 11 early, then trailed by 11 later in the first half. It took a superlative shooting performance from Katy Steding, who hit six 3-pointers to defeat Auburn, sending the Tigers to their third-straight defeat in the championship game.
In her 12th season as a head coach, VanDerveer had reached the pinnacle and established Stanford as a national powerhouse, only the sixth team to ever win an NCAA title. Oddly enough, the Cardinal never earned a No. 1 AP poll ranking during the season, but that would come soon enough. Even though Azzi was graduating, Henning and Whiting remained to carry the torch.
One title put VanDerveer on the map. Two titles made her an icon. In the 30-plus years since this game, only four more programs have won multiple championships (UConn, Notre Dame, Baylor and South Carolina), and those teams’ coaches have become legends in their own right.
The 1992 season was the third consecutive Final Four trip for the Cardinal, but they had to replace three starters from the previous season. Even so, they went 30-3 and dominated Western Kentucky in the final, led by freshman Rachel Hemmer’s 18 points and 15 rebounds. Their toughest matchup came in the Final Four when they held on 66-65 against Dawn Staley and Virginia.
6. Taking down Tennessee
Dec. 15, 1996: Stanford 82, Tennessee 65
VanDerveer took the 1995-1996 season off to coach Team USA leading up to the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and the program continued to thrive in her absence. The combination of Marianne Stanley and Amy Tucker led Stanford to an undefeated Pac-10 record and another trip to the Final Four. Still, VanDerveer’s return resulted in another milestone.
The Lady Vols had won the national title the previous season — what would end up being the first of a three-peat — and four total championships in the past decade. They were the gold standard of the sport under Pat Summitt, and Stanford had yet to beat them on their home court in Thompson-Boling Arena, including a 36-point defeat in Knoxville two years prior. Not this time. The Cardinal went in as the nation’s No. 1 team and took care of No. 5 Tennessee. Starbird was the team’s high scorer with 26 points, outdueling Tamika Catchings, who had 24 on 11-of-28 shooting. The teams both made the Final Four that year, but Stanford lost in the semifinal before a potential rematch in the title game.
This was a short-lived peak for the Cardinal, who wouldn’t win at Tennessee again until 2012 despite playing there every other year.
VanDerveer found the formula for consistency in the 2008 season. (Matt Marriott / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
7. Ending a drought
March 31, 2008: Stanford 98, Maryland 87
VanDerveer and Stanford entered this tournament after a 10-season Final Four drought. The Cardinal had won or tied for the PAC-10 title in eight of those years, but they weren’t experiencing the NCAA Tournament success to which they had grown accustomed. The drought finally ended in 2008, as the Candice Wiggins-led squad broke through against Maryland. Wiggins scored 41 points in the win, making it to the national semifinals as a senior after two previous losses in the Elite Eight. This was a return to the mountaintop for VanDerveer, as Stanford would advance to the Final Four each of the next four seasons.
8. UConn streak-busters
Dec. 30, 2010: Stanford 71, Connecticut 59
Connecticut came into Maples Pavilion having won 90 games in a row, including two national championships. Stanford emphatically put an end to what was then the longest winning streak in NCAA history. Point guard Jeanette Pohlen had 31 points and six assists as the Cardinal exacted minor revenge for losing in the 2010 national championship. They ended up bookending UConn’s streak, having handed the Huskies their most recent loss in the 2008 Final Four.
9. T-Dawg wins again
Dec. 16, 2020: Stanford 104, Pacific 61
VanDerveer became the winningest coach in women’s college basketball history, passing Summitt with her 1,099th win, all but 176 coming at Stanford. The pandemic meant no fans were in attendance for her milestone, but the players presented VanDerveer with a swim jacket that read “T-Dawg” after the final buzzer to mark the occasion. Cameron Brink, who was a freshman on that roster, told The Athletic that the Cardinal have something “funny” planned for the upcoming record.
VanDerveer holds the trophy after beating Arizona for another national championship. (Kirby Lee / USA TODAY Sports)
10. Reaching elite status
April 4, 2021: Stanford 54, Arizona 53
More than three decades after winning her first national championship, VanDerveer collected her third, joining a list that includes only Summitt, Geno Auriemma and Kim Mulkey. This one had the extra significance of featuring another PAC-12 team (Arizona) in the title game. After years of carrying the conference on their back, the Cardinal had some West Coast company in the final weekend and final game of the season.
(Top photo of Tara VanDerveer: Jack Dempsey / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
The 2024 WNBA Draft order is set. Indiana won the draft lottery Sunday, giving the Fever the first pick in what could be one of the deepest drafts in league history. Could is the operative word, as every draft-eligible senior in this class has the opportunity to return to college for a fifth season due to the COVID-19 bonus year given to every player who suited up in 2020-21.
Indiana is the fourth team in the last decade to earn consecutive No. 1 picks after Seattle had the top selections in 2015 and 2016, Las Vegas had a three-year stretch of picking first from 2017-2019, and New York won the lottery in 2020 and 2021. The Storm won two titles with the duo of Jewell Loyd and Breanna Stewart, and the Aces have done the same with the trio of Kelsey Plum, A’ja Wilson and Jackie Young. The Fever hope to shortly follow in their footsteps with the inside-outside combination of Aliyah Boston and Caitlin Clark.
Clark going first has been the expected outcome since the end of last season, but what happens afterward? The Athletic’s first 2024 mock draft attempts to answer that question. This exercise includes every player who is eligible for this year’s draft, though we know some of them will choose to stay an extra year in school. We’ll cross that bridge later in the year. For now, let’s assume every senior who can go pro will do so.
GO DEEPER
Who are the best women’s college basketball players for the 2024 WNBA Draft?
1. Indiana Fever
Caitlin Clark | 6-0 guard | Iowa
This is the easiest decision in the entire draft. Clark is a superlative offensive engine, one of the greatest ever seen in college basketball. She pours on points in a hurry and not just with her logo range; Clark doesn’t shy away from contact in the paint and her midrange shooting gets better every season. She’s one of only 15 players in Division I history to score 3,000 points, and she has a realistic chance of breaking Kelsey Plum’s scoring record this season, in addition to chasing Pete Maravich’s all-time record for men or women.
If, somehow, she can be held in check as a scorer — and good luck with that, no team has kept her below 20 since Maryland in February, a span of 22 games — Clark is also an elite passer. She zips the ball up the court in transition and makes every read in the half court. This is the player who led the nation in points and assists as a sophomore and then improved on both those figures as a junior.
Clark is also a superstar. Iowa sold out its season ticket allotment, and attendance rises in every road arena when the Hawkeyes visit because people want to see Clark. She dazzles in the limelight. She is a marketing dream for any organization; she can handle the pressure of being the face of the franchise. The fact that she’s born and raised in the Midwest and takes great pride in that makes her a slam dunk in Indiana. Furthermore, the basketball fit of Clark and Boston is sublime. After years of competing against each other for national awards — and in one epic NCAA Tournament clash — they’ll get to build each other up as teammates.
The Sparks are ecstatic to be in the position, even if Clark is off the table. The Fever earning the first selection makes it more likely that Clark declares for the draft, giving L.A. its pick of every other player in the country. Although fan sentiment is in favor of Cameron Brink (think about the last time the Sparks selected a Stanford frontcourt star in the lottery), right now, we have the Sparks taking Bueckers.
Bueckers’ injury history — she missed much of the 2021-22 season with a knee issue and then all of 2022-23 with a torn ACL — gives pause, but her play when healthy still portends a future superstar. She can work with the ball in her hands and is absolutely deadly in the midrange while also making 44 percent of her 3s in her UConn career. The only way to keep her from getting to her spots is to deny her the ball, and with her size and ability to read the floor, even that doesn’t always go well for opponents.
She won national player of the year as a freshman and kept UConn’s 14-year Final Four streak alive as a sophomore despite returning from injury two games before the Big East tournament. She’s a big-game player, and the Sparks need that, especially from the guard position. Since Chelsea Gray left in 2021, L.A. has lacked a dynamic playmaker who is also a scoring threat. That’s Paige Bueckers.
It would be more poetic if the Stanford big went to L.A. and the Connecticut guard went to Phoenix, but Brink lands with the Mercury in this mock. It isn’t so much about fit because Phoenix has two starter-level bigs in Brittney Griner and Brianna Turner, but she’s the best player available. Brink is the best frontcourt option in this draft. She’s an absolutely terrifying defensive presence who stifles post players and also sticks with guards on the perimeter. She has a versatile offensive game, mixing in guard skills with the traditional interior scoring of a 6-4 player.
Brink’s the type of player you can imagine being able to guard A’ja Wilson and Breanna Stewart in a couple of years while also being able to switch out onto Clark. Every WNBA team is going to need that.
Jackson’s placement in the lottery assumes that she’ll return soon from an injury that has limited her to two games this season. Because if Jackson regains her form from last season, she’s a professional scorer who belongs on any WNBA roster. She even got to her spots against a Team USA squad that came to Knoxville for an exhibition in November, leading all scorers.
Seattle’s main problem in 2023 was a dearth of offensive options, leaving Loyd to fend with suffocating defensive coverages. Jackson can alleviate that pressure. What she does best is put the ball in the hoop.
Normally, I try to shy away from international players in the first round given their national team commitments and the difficulties of prioritization. But it’s much easier for Australian players to make the move to the WNBA because their domestic league, the WNBL, doesn’t conflict at all with the WNBA calendar. As a result, Puoch is a strong selection for Dallas at No. 5.
Puoch has put up strong performances internationally at the youth level; she particularly dazzled for the world team at the inaugural Nike Hoop Summit in April. Her defensive versatility pops. Even as a wing, Puoch is a dynamic rim protector in help defense. The 19-year-old is also a smooth driver, mixing in Euro steps with powerful takes to the cup and finishing with her left despite being right-handed. She’s connecting on 50 percent of her 3s in the WNBL this season, making her a prototypical 3-and-D wing to complement Dallas’ stars.
Nyadiew Puoch gets better every time she steps on the court. Tonight’s game against Bendigo was next level, as she displayed more of her offensive arsenal than ever before. That hesi move is going to be a nightmare for opponents to deal with for years to come! 17p/9r/3a.#WNBL24pic.twitter.com/qLQgduhuaw
The Mystics love a guard who gets after it on defense, and even if she were subbing in for Brittney Sykes (or potentially Natasha Cloud), there would be no defensive drop-off with Sheldon. She’s been an active full-court defender for five years at Ohio State and absolutely outstanding off-ball in the half court, which fits seamlessly next to the point-of-attack pressure of Sykes. For a team that prides itself on stopping opponents, Sheldon makes a ton of sense.
Washington needs to improve its spacing on offense, and Sheldon also fills that role. She was at or near 35 percent from long range in her first three seasons with the Buckeyes and has raised that to 40.5 percent as a super senior. The Mystics generate a high volume of triples in their system but have connected on them at a below-average rate every year since 2019 when they set a WNBA record for offensive efficiency. Guards who can shoot are a must.
Charlisse Leger-Walker’s size makes her a strong fit for the Lynx at point guard. (Norvik Alaverdian / ATPImages Getty Images)
The Lynx don’t have any point guards under contract for the 2024 season. Although they seem perfectly content finding a floor general from the veteran waiver wire, as they did the last two years, the draft is a prime opportunity for Minnesota to find another franchise tentpole to pair with Napheesa Collier and Diamond Miller.
Cheryl Reeve seems to prefer lead guards with a little more size (hence the Tiffany Mitchell and Rachel Banham experiments at point), which is why Leger-Walker is the pick. She’s a dynamite passer, not just in the pick-and-roll but also on skip passes out of drives. She can get to the basket on her own and off cuts, and she has a smooth midrange game, particularly when she posts up smaller guards. Her shooting range hasn’t yet expanded consistently to the 3-point line, but being a career 80 percent shooter from the foul line suggests it is possible. As a defender, Leger-Walker is physical and rebounds well. She’ll need work in one-on-one defense, however, most rookies do. Assuming Leger-Walker can get up to snuff on the defensive end, she would fit well offensively on the Lynx, who get a lot of shot creation out of their frontcourt.
Watching the Dream in the playoffs last year — and in some of their disappointing fall-from-ahead defeats in the regular season — the major need on this roster is a veteran point guard who can settle Atlanta in the run of play. Unfortunately, drafts don’t yield veterans, which means the Dream might be best suited trading this pick if they can’t land a floor general in free agency.
If we stick with the best player available, Cardoso gets the nod. She would help beef up a somewhat undersized frontcourt; she could back up Cheyenne Parker or even play next to her, considering Parker’s perimeter skills. The Dream were mauled on the glass in the postseason against Dallas and had no bigger options on the bench to turn to — Cardoso solves that problem. And unlike many draftees who struggle with the adjustment of playing in the second unit, Cardoso has done that for much of her collegiate career.
The Wings employed Crystal Dangerfield as their starting point guard for most of last season but didn’t seem fully sold on Dangerfield at that position, ultimately benching her in the second round of the playoffs. Both she and Veronica Burton are still under contract, but neither has a protected deal, meaning this spot is very much up for grabs in Dallas. Amoore could be the player who finally brings stability at point guard.
Amoore has become an outstanding distributor, with her assist percentage jumping above 40 this year after hovering around 27 her first three seasons. She’s kept her turnovers constant in the process, making her even more dangerous with the ball in her hands. The Australian guard is also a legitimate scoring threat, with the ability to finish creatively at the rim and score in the midrange on pull-ups and floaters. But her trademark is the sidestep beyond the arc which allows her to put up a high volume of 3-pointers. Amoore runs a lot of pick-and-rolls, and one can only imagine what she would do with the space afforded by a Teaira McCowan screen. Her 3-point percentage is slightly down this season, but that seems to be an issue of overuse. If Amoore were ever set up by a teammate — which rarely happens at Virginia Tech — she’s an excellent spot-up shooter. She’s a shooter defenders wouldn’t want to leave alone, even if she’s sharing the court with McCowan or Arike Ogunbowale.
Amoore’s size presents concerns about her ability to hold up defensively in the WNBA, which is why she slots behind other guards. However, Dallas survived defensively with Dangerfield, and Amoore adds more on offense. She could step right into an existing role with the Wings.
Te-Hina Paopao is one of the nation’s top offensive guards. Who will take her? (Lance King / Getty Images)
Every offseason, I dream of ways the Sun could get some spacing, and we’re going to manifest it by sending them Paopao. She is one of the best overall offensive guards in college basketball. Paopao is exceptional at running an offense, especially in the pick-and-roll, but she is also exceptional off the ball as a spot-up shooter, which is important when Alyssa Thomas will often be handling the rock. Paopao isn’t the best point-of-attack defender but does well in help and works hard boxing out. She and Ty Harris (another Gamecocks product!) would complement each other well.
I considered putting Charisma Osborne in this spot, since her defensive mindset is a pretty obvious fit with the Sun. Osborne is a good rebounder and playmaker who doesn’t provide the same level of individual offense as Paopao, however, and the latter’s edge in shooting was enough to earn her this spot.
Truthfully, I don’t really know what kind of minutes Reese would get in a lineup that already has Breanna Stewart and (presumably) Jonquel Jones — though I’d love to see some jumbo looks with all three since Stewart and Jones can both space the floor. But Reese is far too talented to pass over at this point. In April, one WNBA GM said Reese was one of two players in this draft (along with Clark) who had an opportunity to be “generational.” Depending on Brionna Jones’ Achilles recovery in Connecticut, it might even make sense for the Sun to select her.
GO DEEPER
Anonymous WNBA GMs on Angel Reese: ‘She’s a guaranteed lock impact player, All-Star.’
Reese brings instant physicality and a presence on the glass at both ends. She creates extra possessions, her motor is unending, and LSU feeds off her energy. There’s a toughness in Reese’s game that would be a helpful addition to New York, and she’s the kind of star personality who would thrive in that market.
There is some uncertainty around Reese given her recent unexplained absence from the Tigers, and, as noted in our anonymous GM poll, there were questions about her maturity even prior to that. The team that drafts Reese should have a stable locker room full of veterans, and the Liberty fit the bill.
The Sparks defended hard in 2023. With Jordin Canada at the point of attack and Nneka Ogwumike anchoring the frontcourt, Los Angeles had the ability to contain even the best offenses in the league. But the Sparks made offense look hard for themselves, too, and they could use a player who can score efficiently and in a variety of ways.
Pili is one of the nation’s most versatile offensive players, a post savant who can also step out. She can attack the basket on the catch or off cuts. She does everything, and L.A. needs that offensive juice. The way she poured it on against a stout South Carolina defense suggests that Pili can hang against WNBA-level defenses despite her shorter stature. She simply gets buckets.
If the hope was that two weeks of basketball would have given a clearer picture of the hierarchy in women’s college basketball this season, that has not been the case. In fact, most of my conversations since Nov. 6 have featured some variation of, “Wait, is Team X good?”
Aside from South Carolina at the top — stop me if you’ve heard that before — every other projected contender has taken its lumps. While the Gamecocks roll through their opposition, most teams around the country need some time to figure out new rosters and systems. Growing pains were expected, like LSU and Virginia Tech integrating new transfers, or Maryland and Indiana dealing with the graduations of WNBA first-round picks.
Nevertheless, on the whole, the quality of play around the country has been better than expected. But given my regional biases, and the fact that this is the final year of the Pac-12 as we know it, these inaugural rankings will focus out west on the conference that is in the midst of an epic going-away party.
Is the promise of Stanford’s frontcourt being realized?
The Cardinal had an embarrassment of riches at the forward positions last season, but there were too many options for any individual players – other than Cameron Brink – to get sufficient run, especially since Stanford so often went small with Haley Jones at the four. Now the rotation is shorter, and the primary beneficiary is Kiki Iriafen, who is thriving with the larger minutes load.
Carolyn Peck called Iriafen a mix of Chiney and Nneka Ogwumike with a dash of A’ja Wilson on the Stanford-Duke broadcast Sunday, and though the praise seems hyperbolic, Iriafen’s start has been noteworthy. The junior is averaging 21 points and nine rebounds per game through four contests, blowing away her per-minute averages from the prior two seasons. The Cardinal were already a good paint offense in 2022-23, converting 63 percent of their shot attempts at the rim; Iriafen’s success rate thus far is almost comically impressive, as she has made 25 of 31 shots at the basket. Brink’s ability to space the floor as a shooter and a high-low passer allows Iriafen the room to operate, and that frontcourt tandem is the primary reason Stanford sits undefeated despite welcoming two strong opponents (Indiana and Duke) to Maples Pavilion to start the year.
One of the most confounding storylines of Stanford’s 2022-23 campaign was the way the Cardinal used (or perhaps, failed to use) Lauren Betts. The No. 1 recruit in the country was an afterthought in Stanford’s rotation, averaging fewer than 10 minutes and getting DNP-ed twice, so it wasn’t exactly surprising that Betts sought out a different location for the rest of her collegiate career.
Betts’ move to Los Angeles cleared up the frontcourt situation for the Cardinal, and it’s also been a boon for the Bruins. UCLA plays an active brand of defense, swarming ballhandlers and applying heavy ball pressure, but that can create openings at the rim if the opponent gets behind the defense, especially when the Bruins spent much of the season without a traditional center on the court. That is no longer an issue with Betts, who serves as an eraser in the paint, but more often deters opponents from even attempting shots in her vicinity. Opponents are taking less than 15 percent of their shots at the rim against UCLA, better than 97 percent of defenses, per CBB Analytics.
What’s interesting is that Betts’ impact has actually been more pronounced on offense. Through four games, UCLA is 38 points per 100 possessions better with Betts on the floor, with 25 of those points coming on offense. She works hard to seal her defender so that the Bruins can deliver her the ball inside, but when that doesn’t work, she’s a willing and effective screener who creates space for her guards to get to the basket. Against Princeton, Betts made all nine of her field-goal attempts through three quarters, but didn’t get any shot attempts in the fourth as the Tigers did whatever they could to deny her the ball. She responded by playing pick-and-roll with Charisma Osborne, and as one defender stayed glued to Betts, Osborne had open jumpers and driving lanes.
Charisma Osborne & Lauren Betts combined for 4️⃣3️⃣ points to push No. 3 UCLA past Princeton at Pauley on Friday 😤
Iriafen, Brink and Betts have brought the goods to start the season, and although the Utes were the first Pac-12 team to register a loss in 2023-24, that doesn’t diminish how good the reigning conference player of the year has been. The only way to stop Alissa Pili is by getting her off the court, because Pili can do just about anything on offense. She entered Sunday having made nearly 79 percent of her field goals on the season; her jumper has been on point, an almost unfair complement to her beautiful footwork in the post.
This reverse finish from Pili against Baylor high off the glass was hard to even comprehend in real time.
This is honestly solid defense, but Alissa Pili just has angles and footwork down to a mastery
Like backwards off the spin off the top off the glass? Who does that lmao
At a later date, we’ll dive into the defensive improvements Utah needs to make and how it can stay afloat when Pili is in foul trouble. For now, it’s more fun to simply appreciate what a uniquely skilled offensive player Pili is.
Why the Buffs are in the national conversation
We’re weeks away from conference play, and I’m already giddy about the potential Pac-12 player of the year race. The league is filled with dominant frontcourt players, but through two weeks, I can’t take my eyes off of Jaylyn Sherrod. At 5-foot-7, she finishes 60 percent of her shots in the restricted area and gets there nearly five times per game. It takes a rare combination of speed and strength to make her way to the basket so often and so effectively, especially when her long-range jumper is essentially nonexistent. Even when defenses go under on Sherrod since she isn’t a threat to pull up off a screen, they can’t corral her on her path to the hoop.
What’s been most impressive about Sherrod is her ability to adapt to any pace. Colorado is comfortable executing in the half court, whether that’s letting Sherrod dictate the action from the top of the key or using its forwards as hand-off hubs on the elbows. Sherrod can also push the ball down opponents’ throats with her speed in transition. Against LSU in the opener, the Buffaloes excelled in the open court, and against SMU Saturday, Colorado had to execute against a set defense. Both games resulted in comfortable victories.
From a fifth-year senior to an audacious rookie, the state of guard play in college basketball is at an all-time high. It’s hard to believe that Hidalgo is in her first year at Notre Dame, because she has commanded that team on both ends of the floor like a seasoned veteran. The injuries to Olivia Miles and now Sonia Citron (though coach Niele Ivey was relieved to reveal that Citron should be back in a few weeks) have given Hidalgo more responsibility for the Irish, but it seems like — with her confidence — she would have seized a larger role regardless.
Hidalgo has been a one-woman wrecking crew for Notre Dame, and it’s fitting that the player who sealed a gold medal for Team USA at the FIBA U-19 World Cup this summer with a steal has brought that level of defensive prowess to South Bend. She is averaging nearly seven takeaways per game — for context, 117 teams in Division I are recording fewer — and had a 12-steal night that tied a program record with fellow New Jersey fireball Marina Mabrey.
It’s baffling to see opposing teams try to bring the ball up against her full-court pressure or go right at Hidalgo on defense without attempting to screen her off the ball. She has an unending motor as a point-of-attack defender and tremendous instincts in help defense. Notre Dame is 22.1 points per 100 possessions better on defense alone when Hidalgo is on the court, which seems like a misprint until you realize opponents turn over the ball 11 percent more often in those minutes. Two weeks into her college career, Hidalgo might be the most exciting defensive playmaker in the country.
Monika Czinano attempted 10.6 field goals per game last season, with another 7.7 coming from McKenna Warnock. That’s about 18 shots per night that Iowa had to reallocate for this season. The ideal outcome would be Hannah Stuelke assuming the bulk of that workload, but she’s added only four more attempts per game. Sharon Goodman and Addison O’Grady have each added three more shot attempts to their averages, but that still leaves about eight more field goals per contest, and most of those are going to Caitlin Clark.
In theory, giving more shots to the best offensive player in the country isn’t a problem, but Clark’s workload is a little overwhelming for Iowa right now. And the reigning national player of the year admitted after the Hawkeyes’ loss to Kansas State that she needs to be better at getting everyone involved. Coach Lisa Bluder further drove that point home when she said about her post players: “We have to have more faith in them.”
The magic Clark created with Czinano can’t be easily replicated, even if it seems like Iowa is constantly churning out one great post after another. But the only hope of that happening is for Clark to at least give Stuelke, Goodman and O’Grady a chance.
(Photo of Te-Hina Paopao: Jacob Kupferman / Getty Images)
The 2022-23 women’s college basketball season ended on a high note as nearly 10 million viewers tuned in to watch LSU and Iowa — two teams on seemingly fate-driven runs — collide in the national championship. The Tigers took home their first title under Kim Mulkey and then turned the offseason into more wins by signing the top two players out of the transfer portal and welcomed the No. 1 high school recruiting class to Baton Rouge.
But now, it’s a new season. Every team is 0-0. And though the Tigers remain the top team in our preseason projections, several other programs — some perennial powers, some new faces and some programs with chips on their shoulders — look like they could be holding the trophy in Cleveland in April.
As squads rebuilt, reloaded and re-tooled this offseason, The Athletic took notice (and took lots of notes). With teams across the country kicking off practices this week, it’s the perfect time to debut our preseason top 25.
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LSU has an abundance of offensive talent, starting with the 2023 Final Four Most Outstanding Player Angel Reese. Nobody works harder in the paint than Reese, who relentlessly attacks the offensive glass and has a superior second jump that keeps her in every play. The Tigers’ offensive rebound percentage of 45.3 last season was due in large part to Reese rebounding one-fifth of the Tigers’ misses. Reese is also a great rebounder on the other end of the floor and showed the ability to grab-and-go on occasion, giving LSU another way to score in transition.
In addition to Reese, Flau’jae Johnson is guaranteed to get into the paint on drives. Aneesah Morrow scored efficiently at the rim and in the midrange to the tune of 25.7 points per game last year. Hailey Van Lith is another big-game player who averaged 21.1 points during last season’s conference and NCAA tournaments and can consistently get her shot in isolation. Add in super freshman Mikaylah Williams and Kateri Poole’s 38 percent shooting from 3-point range, and there are plenty of sources of scoring on this roster.
The graduations of two veterans could create some holes. Ladazhia Williams was LSU’s best rim protector, and the Tigers’ only true center now is freshman Aalyah Del Rosario, who will need some time to adjust to the speed of the college game. LSU also relied heavily on Alexis Morris to organize the offense, and none of their perimeter stars are true point guards. One will have to shift her game to run the show – likely Van Lith, since that’s the role she’ll have to play at the next level – but it isn’t certain they’ll adapt as well as Morris.
Nevertheless, there’s too much talent on this roster to count out the Tigers, even if they take time to grow into themselves like last season. They should be favorites to once again cut down the nets.
+Star power
+Championship experience
+Paint scoring
+Offensive rebounding
+Depth
–Rim protection
–Point guard play
Is this the season when all of the injuries and adversity that hit Storrs over the past two years finally makes sense? As if it was building to something? Think of it this way: The silver lining of injuries to stars — like Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd — is that it forces other players to step up, and step up the Huskies did. Nika Mühl has made a name for herself in a vaunted history of UConn point guards, Aaliyah Edwards expanded her role and has become a top player heading into her senior season, Caroline Ducharme played like a former top-10 recruit who wasn’t just complementary to other top-10 recruits. And if all of those players can come together for the Huskies this season, the end of UConn’s historic Final Four streak could feel like a distant memory if this team is hanging a banner in Gampel Pavilion.
But then comes in the cloud that has hung over UConn the past two years: Can the Huskies stay healthy? Because every time this group seemed as if it were finding momentum, there was an injury. Can that be avoided this season? And specifically, can it be avoided when it comes to Bueckers and Fudd. Even without those two, this is one of the most talented rosters in the country. But it needs those two to be healthy (or heck, even one of them) if the Huskies are going to make a run to the national title.
Edwards, the reigning Big East’s Most Improved Player, will anchor the paint alongside Griffin, but Geno Auriemma will need to fill out depth behind them. Ayanna Patterson and Amari DeBerry got limited minutes last season, and freshman Qadence Samuels got some run with the starting group in Europe when Ducharme was out with injury, but the Huskies will want to be able to run with a deeper rotation in the paint.
+Azzi Fudd and Paige Bueckers together
+Backcourt play
+Talent
–Remaining healthy
–Experienced post depth
Aubrey Griffin
Guard / Forward
UCLA returns eight players from a rotation that went nine deep last season, headlined by fifth-year guard Charisma Osborne and sophomore Kiki Rice. Between Osborne and Rice, the Bruins have an abundance of shot creation and one of the stouter defensive backcourts in the country. Both guards need to expand their shooting range for UCLA to hit a higher offensive ceiling — Osborne was effective in the midrange and corners but stands to improve above the break, and Rice was paint-bound other than the left elbow.
The paint will be more occupied this season with the addition of 6-7 Lauren Betts. The Bruins needed a fulcrum in the paint, as they played mostly without a traditional center, and she should immediately be the team’s most efficient scorer. That will allow Emily Bessoir and Lina Sontag to defend down a position and play on the perimeter on offense. Both players are gifted passers as well, opening up the possibility for high-lows with Betts.
UCLA will be able to shape-shift depending on the matchup given their surfeit of depth. Londynn Jones provides an active point-of-attack defender off the bench who can also hit 3s. Fellow sophomore Gabriela Jaquez has some old-school post moves to bully smaller wings, while veteran Camryn Brown is another potential defensive stopper on bigger guards. But the Bruins need their stars to be among the nation’s best.
+Playmaking
+Depth
+Offensive rebounding
+Continuity
–Shooting
–Defending without fouling
It feels fair to say that we’ll never see another class quite like The Freshies (especially with the advent of the transfer portal). Led by Aliyah Boston, South Carolina’s 2019 recruiting class went 129-9 (including 60-1 at home) during their four years. Given the amount of talent and experience with that group, there was obviously a bit of a vacuum when it came to experience for players outside of The Freshies. So, entering 2023-24, Dawn Staley will be going through a transition and rebuild, though she certainly has the kind of roster talent needed for a deep run.
Kamilla Cardoso is one of the country’s most exciting players. At 6-7 (and with a wingspan that can feel like 7-6 to opposing players), Cardoso will anchor both ends of the floor. If Staley can bring out a bit more of an edge in her, there won’t be a team in the country that can contend on every play in the paint against the Gamecocks. Cardoso could simply be that good and that dominant if she takes her game to the next level.
The big remaining question will be the same one that was a downfall for South Carolina last season: lack of consistent outside shooters. There seem to be options, though. Bree Hall was a 36 percent shooter in limited minutes last season, and Te-Hina Paopao should help out in that area — the Oregon transfer shot a career-best 42 percent from long range last season — as will the freshman star MiLaysia Fulwiley, who is dangerous from deep.
+Defense
+Paint play
+Rebounding
+Ballhandling
–Experience
–Outside shooting
The Utes came into last season flying under the radar. They were unranked to start the season and didn’t crack the top 15 until Week 5, when they were 7-0. Under coach Lynne Roberts, Utah has built methodically. But with a regular-season Pac-12 title, a run to the Sweet 16 last year, and the return of its starting five this season, there’s no doubt: Utah has arrived. So, what do they do now that they’re here? (And, especially now that everyone knows it.) Handling that pressure will be one of the biggest storylines to watch with this motivated group that played eventual champs LSU the best of any tournament opponent.
On the floor, Gianna Kneepkens, Kennady McQueen and Maty Wilke — the Wisconsin transfer — will stretch the floor with their 3-point shooting while Alissa Pili takes advantage of any space defenders give her. She and Jenna Johnson should be able to contend in the paint with any Pac-12 team, but the big remaining question is what happens when Roberts needs to turn to her bench for some post depth and production. Dasia Young and Samantha Crispe provide college experience, but a major potential difference-maker is Néné Sow, the 6-8 JUCO transfer from Belgium. She redshirted last year, so she has had a chance to get acclimated in the system, and if she’s ready to go, her length and size would be a real change up for a post group that could be the difference between a Final Four run or another second-weekend tournament exit.
+Continuity
+3-point shooting
+Go-to scorers
–Post depth
–Being targeted
Last season’s assignment for opponents will be the same this year: Stop (or, at least, slow) Caitlin Clark. This season, there are a few wrinkles. Though Clark is a thrilling scorer and playmaker, part of her efficiency last season was that defenses couldn’t sell out on her entirely. They still had to contend with Monika Czinano in the paint and the established chemistry those two had using one another. Now, Czinano is gone, and Addison O’Grady and Hannah Stuelke — who can both be effective and efficient in their own ways — are not going to be stepping into Czinano’s shoes entirely on their own.
If Gabbie Marshall or Kate Martin become similar complementary scorers to Clark that Czinano was a season ago, that will take some pressure off the paint and off Clark, helping the Hawkeyes find ways to win. But make no bones about it: Iowa will go as Clark goes. If she’s dropping 40-point triple-doubles, watch out. If she’s not, there better be at least two others going for 15-plus.
Ultimately, more questions linger for Iowa than most teams. But the Hawkeyes have a player no other team has, and the kind of player who can more than make up for a plethora of questions.
+Caitlin Clark’s scoring
+Perimeter shooting
–Paint play
–Scorers outside Clark
–Depth
Addison O’Grady
Forward / Center
How does the Ohio State defense that led power conferences in steals per game last season (11.3) come into this season even more terrifying? Just go ahead and add the ACC defensive player of the year to your backcourt, why don’t ya? Celeste Taylor’s pickup was one of the best overall fits for any player coming out of the portal. Coach Kevin McGuff will have the ability to rotate through Taylor, Jacy Sheldon, Taylor Thierry and Rikki Harris — all of whom are absolute ball hawks — as the Buckeyes ramp up their full-court defensive pressure and drive opponents into mistakes and turnovers.
With Taylor Mikesell’s graduation, the Buckeyes’ offensive identity needs to evolve. Mikesell accounted for almost a quarter of Ohio State’s shot attempts over the past two seasons, including more than one-third of its 3-point attempts. In her absence, Cotie McMahon — the reigning Big Ten freshman of the year — should become an even larger offensive centerpiece, especially as the Buckeyes don’t return any long-range shooters who are nearly as consistent as Mikesell.
Though the Buckeyes lack a tall, traditional big who would be able to match up one-on-one with some of the posts on the other top-10 teams, it ultimately might not be as big of an issue for OSU given the potential of its full-court pressure and pestering perimeter defense.
+Backcourt play
+Full-court press
+Perimeter defense
+Guard depth
–3-point shooting
–One-on-one post depth
Taylor Thierry
Guard / Forward
Rebeka Mikulášiková
Forward
The return of Elizabeth Kitley and Cayla King for another season, alongside Georgia Amoore, guaranteed this group would be a preseason top-10 team and the ACC favorites. That trio is well established in Kenny Brooks’ system, and they’ll be able to help this group weather early season bumps that come along with a slew of transfers and young players entering the rotation.
Last season, Virginia Tech relied on its starters more than almost any other team in the country. The five starters played 81 percent of the Hokies’ minutes and accounted for 88 percent of their scoring. And though Amoore, King and Kitley are talented and have an established chemistry, they won’t be able to carry the full load through the full season. But by bringing in so many transfers, it seems to indicate that Brooks might go a bit deeper into his bench if the Hokies can get production and efficiency out of that group. And that’s a fair wager considering Virginia Tech’s recent success with transfers — look no further than Taylor Soule, who came in as a grad transfer and was a bedrock for a team that went to the program’s first Final Four.
+Rebounding
+Outside shooting
+Half-court offense
–Bench production
–Rotation
Matilda Ekh
Guard / Forward
Olivia Summiel
Guard / Forward
Indiana played eight games in the middle of the season with this starting five when Grace Berger was hurt, and the Hoosiers finished 7-1 against quality opponents, including tournament teams North Carolina and Illinois. This group knows how to play together and has a dominant offensive unit, even if there is nothing flashy about it. Mackenzie Holmes is one of the best screeners and pick-and-roll finishers in college basketball, and she’s afforded the space to work thanks to shooting threats surrounding her. Sara Scalia, Sydney Parrish and Yarden Garzon all shot at least 38.7 percent from 3-point range last season, and Chloe Moore-McNeil wasn’t too far behind at 36.2 percent.
Defensively, Indiana is solid, if predictable. The Hoosiers execute man coverages well and don’t send extra help on the pick-and-roll, trusting their guards to maneuver through screens and Holmes to navigate the space between the ballhandler and the roller. A healthy Holmes had the mobility to contend with just about everyone the Hoosiers faced last season other than Caitlin Clark.
The formula works, but Indiana will have to introduce some wrinkles to adapt to specific opponents. The Hoosiers don’t have a great answer for teams with deep shooting threats or athletic guards who can muscle their way to the basket. Indiana needs to find some diversity in its blueprint during the regular season to avoid being matchup-dependent in March.
+Offensive flow
+Pick-and-roll scoring
+Ball control
–Depth
–Athleticism
–Paint defense
Rori Harmon will be the focal point on both ends of the floor — the defensive stalwart and first point of attack in full-court pressure, and the offensive catalyst that makes Texas run. As a junior and three-year starter, she’s an obvious name in the small circle of the most elite point guards in the country, and Vic Shaefer should rest easy that Harmon is his coach on the floor.
While every Shaefer team is known for its defense (and this year’s iteration will be no different), the reigning Big 12 champs were also one of the country’s most balanced offensive teams last season. But without a single focal point, Texas struggled to close out tight games when it needed a scorer to step up. Case in point: The Longhorns didn’t lose a single regular-season game by more than 10 points last season. The other side of that coin? In games decided by 10 or fewer points, Texas went 4-9.
One puzzle piece that could help there: Aaliyah Moore, a player who seemed like she would have grown into that last year. But the junior suffered a season-ending ACL tear nine games into the 2022-23 season. Her status hasn’t been made public yet but her return would be key. If she’s not ready right away, Texas won’t need to fret — Shaylee Gonzales, Taylor Jones, DeYona Gaston and Harmon can carry the load while working freshman Madison Booker into the mix.
+Defensive pressure
+Transition offense
+Point guard play
–Free-throw shooting
–Avoiding fouling
–Closing out games
Notre Dame had an outside chance at national title contention before two knee injuries derailed last season, and the injury to Olivia Miles is the biggest cloud hovering over this year.
Even without Miles available at the start, this is one of the best guard groups in the country. Sonia Citron is an elite shooting guard who made 51 percent of her 2-pointers and 40 percent of her 3-pointers as a sophomore while routinely guarding opponents’ best players. The Irish should be able to leverage her off the ball even more as KK Bransford and Cassandre Prosper grow as ballhandlers and with the addition of super freshman Hannah Hidalgo. Hidalgo’s rampage through the U19 World Cup over the summer showcased her advanced playmaking on both ends of the court — a team that struggled to create turnovers last season now has a ball hawk at the point of attack.
The path to victory will be pushing the pace and letting the guards get downhill early and often because the Irish are a little small, and beyond Citron, a little light on shooting. Transfer Anna DeWolfe made 35 percent of her 3-pointers at Fordham, and Maddy Westbeld was at 34.4 percent, but neither is the long-range shooter that defenses have to stay glued to. The Irish will be at their best leaning into their speed by being disruptive on defense and playing in transition offense as much as possible. When Miles returns, she’ll fit in seamlessly to that style.
+Playmaking
+Pace
+Paint scoring
–Olivia Miles’ knee
–Jump shooting
–Post depth
The potential scoring trifecta that Jewel Spear, Rickea Jackson and Tamari Key could be this season is really something, giving the Lady Vols a “pick your poison” type offense for opponents to try to stop. The addition of Wells — the Belmont transfer who dropped 22 on Tennessee during the 2022 NCAA Tournament — gives the Lady Vols a fourth double-digit scorer in the form of a point guard who can be both a pass-first player and a shot hunter (she shot 46 percent from beyond the arc last season).
Even with all that offensive potential, this is Tennessee after all, so defense will be prioritized. And even without Key for the full season, the Lady Vols’ interior defense performed well, holding opponents to 47 percent shooting at the rim, per Pivot Analysis. Having Key (6-6), Jillian Hollingshead (6-5) and Jackson (6-2) gives them defensive length, versatility and shot adjusting potential in the paint that could take this defense into pretty terrifying territory. Tennessee lost its leading rebounder in Jordan Horston, but this trio should be able to clean up the glass.
Tennessee hasn’t won the regular-season conference title in nearly a decade, but there are some promising indicators that this season in Knoxville could be special (which is something we’ve said before to no avail). But with the returners as well as the personnel turnover on other SEC teams, could this be the year that Kellie Harper gets Tennessee over the hump and brings her first banner to Rocky Top?
+Rebounding
+Scoring potential
+Half-court defense
+Late shot-clock defense
–Bench production
–Transition defense
Jillian Hollingshead
Forward
Tess Darby
Guard / Forward
Sara Puckett
Guard / Forward
Coach Courtney Banghart’s first recruiting class has reached its senior season, and this should be the best North Carolina team yet of her tenure. The Tar Heels needed to add some offensive firepower this offseason, and they did so in two distinct and important ways. Lexi Donarski helps fill the role of Eva Hodgson as a designated spacer, but the former Big 12 defensive player of the year also has some teeth at the other end as a perimeter stopper. Maria Gakdeng is an offensive hub in the post as a rim protector and by providing efficient scoring, which North Carolina sorely missed last year.
UNC resorted to one-on-one basketball too often last season — its assist percentage was in the 19th percentile of Division I, per CBB analytics. Deja Kelly turning into more of a distributor will help, but having more capable ballhandlers on the floor should improve the overall flow on offense. Paulina Paris at least took care of the ball as a freshman; now she has to figure out how to move it. Transfer Indya Nivar didn’t get much time on the ball at Stanford but should get a chance to show off what made the Apex, N.C., product one of the nation’s top guard recruits.
North Carolina has depth in the frontcourt, too, with returning starters Alyssa Ustby and Anya Poole complemented by Gakdeng and incoming freshman Cierra Toomey, who was No. 4 in ESPN’s rankings of the class of 2023. Rotating in more bodies is a necessity considering how physically the Tar Heels play.
+Rim pressure
+Transition defense
–Outside shooting
–Rebounding
–Ball movement
Alyssa Ustby
Guard / Forward
Maria Gakdeng
Forward / Center
A year ago, no one was talking about Ole Miss. Heck, heading into the NCAA Tournament last season, no one was talking about Ole Miss. The Rebels didn’t appear in a single AP Top 25 last season. Even though they played LSU and South Carolina well in mid-February, few outside of Oxford took notice. Then they held perennial mid-major power Gonzaga to 48 points in the first round and knocked off No. 1 seed Stanford in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. People across the country took notice of Yolett McPhee-McCuin’s vaunted defensive team.
Now, as a top-15 team with a lot of hype coming into this season — and in the SEC that feels a bit more up-for-grabs this year — how do the Rebels respond … especially with so many new faces on this roster?
Ole Miss added transfers Kennedy Todd-Williams (North Carolina), KK Deans (Florida) and Kharyssa Richardson (Auburn). As she predicted, McPhee-McCuin did “damage in the portal,” complementing an already-established Davis-Collins-Scott starting core. So, the talent is there and the fits — on defense, especially — seem obvious.
Offensively, considering the Rebels lost five games last season by single digits, this side of the ball could see some growth. One big area: the 3-point line. Though Ole Miss’ offensive system isn’t predicated on a ton of long-range shots, the Rebels shot worse than 30 percent from deep last season (and their highest-volume 3-point shooter only 28 percent). That’s not a great recipe for success even if the 3 ball isn’t the highest priority. But McPhee-McCuin might’ve started to answer part of this question with two transfers — Deans shot 38 percent while Todd-Williams hit 32 percent on 3s last season.
+Defensive execution
+Paint protection
+Rebounding
+Transition defense
–3-point shooting
–Handling increased expectations
Kennedy Todd-Williams
Guard
Kharyssa Richardson
Forward
No matter how much continuity Maryland has, Brenda Freese manages to consistently construct one of the country’s best offenses. The Terrapins play fast and have pristine spacing. Abby Meyers may be gone, but Maryland still has three players who shot at least 39 percent from 3-point range last season (Lavender Briggs, Brinae Alexander and Bri McDaniel), plus Jakia Brown-Turner, who made nearly 42 percent of her 3s in four seasons at NC State.
The problem for the Terrapins is lack of playmaking. Shyanne Sellers returns as the point guard, but she’ll have to score more with the graduations of Meyers and Diamond Miller, and there isn’t as much ballhandling in the starting lineup. Perhaps Maryland won’t have to worry about half-court execution if it can get out in transition and rain 3-pointers, but defenses that can slow the pace may find success against the Terrapins.
Maryland’s depth could be an issue. Three of last season’s freshmen transferred, leaving five returnees and two incoming transfers. The good news is that the Terrapins brought in the No. 7 freshman class in the country, led by McDonald’s All-American wing Riley Nelson. Hawa Doumbouya also adds some needed size in the middle – at 6-7, she’s the only player on the roster taller than 6-2. They could be called upon to contribute right away.
+Coaching
+Offensive spacing
+Transition
–Frontcourt rotation
–Isolation scoring
–Depth
Brinae Alexander
Guard / Forward
Faith Masonius
Guard / Forward
The Seminoles return their three top scorers while adding multiple players who should bolster their offensive potential. Alexis Tucker, the UCSB transfer, averaged 14 points a game last season while Sakyia White averaged 18. Throw into the mix Carla Viegas, the Spanish sharpshooter who shot 45 percent from beyond the arc at the FIBA U18 European Championship. She and Amaya Bonner will bring a one-two scoring punch off the bench.
Those additional scorers should make life slightly less difficult for Ta’Niya Latson, the reigning ACC freshman of the year who was an absolute matchup nightmare last season. Though FSU should have scoring threats across the board, make no bones about it, Latson will be the No. 1 option. Despite missing the postseason with an injury, she has been 100 percent since the spring and will come into this season with a similar offensive propensity, but with a focus on becoming a more disciplined defender.
Post depth and paint presence will be the real question marks for the Seminoles, who have only three players 6-2 or taller. Makayla Timpson was one of 11 power conference players to average more than two blocks per game last season (she averaged 2.6), and the Seminoles’ overall rim protection was quite good (per Pivot Analysis, FSU’s opponents shot just 44 percent at the rim). But developing depth in the paint will be key to fight Virginia Tech and Notre Dame for control of the ACC.
+Transition offense
+Pace
+Latson’s injury recovery
Fresh off its first Sweet 16 appearance in 21 years, Colorado returns six of its top seven players in total minutes and is in prime position to contend for a Pac-12 title in the conference’s swan song.
The Buffaloes are once again led by Quay Miller and Jaylyn Sherrod. Miller’s versatility as a forward shines, especially in her ability to operate in the midrange and beyond the arc as a scorer and passer. Sherrod’s game is a little more paint-bound than ideal for a 5-7 guard, but her ability to turn the corner, get to the basket and spray out to the 3-point line is useful when she’s surrounded by shooters. Miller has upped her 3-point percentage every year at Colorado, getting to 33 percent in 2022-23, and she’s joined by some veritable scorers in Frida Formann, Kindyll Wetta and incoming players Maddie Nolan and Kennedy Sanders.
With a frontcourt of Miller and Aaronette Vonleh each standing at 6-3, the Buffaloes can get outmatched inside. They shot just above league-average in the paint and weren’t very good at getting second-chance opportunities or blocking shots last season. The defense holds up due to its speed and activity, especially on the perimeter. However, bigger opposing posts like Rayah Marshall and Cameron Brink, along with guards who put pressure on the rim, could present a problem.
+Continuity
+Forcing turnovers
+Transition offense
–Fouling on defense
–Drawing fouls
–Interior size
Outside of Cameron Brink, Hannah Jump and Haley Jones, rotations for the Cardinal last season seemed to vary wildly. That might not be as much of an issue this season given the shorter roster for Tara VanDerveer. And though that lack of depth could be a downfall (especially if particular players get into foul trouble — cough, Cam Brink, cough), fewer players might also end up being a good thing as Stanford potentially settles on — by necessity — a core group more quickly.
With that smaller rotation, every player will need to expand her game. While Brink will anchor both ends of the floor, she’ll need to make sure she plays within herself and the system so her minutes aren’t limited by fouls. Stanford will be significantly worse off anytime Brink needs to be on the bench. If Talana Lepolo makes a jump similar to Kiana Williams from her freshman to sophomore seasons, the Cardinal could be in good hands as she becomes more consistent and gets more involved as a scorer. Jump has been an excellent 3-point shooter, but if she can at least threaten more as a three-level scorer and distributor, Stanford will be much better off.
Kiki Iriafen could raise the ceiling. Her potential on offense and defense could help separate this group. Her free-throw shooting needs to improve, especially as she gets more involved in the paint on offense, but the possibilities for Iriafen and Brink playing in tandem and off one another could give the Cardinal a dynamic unit to build around.
+Rebounding
+3-point shooting
–Depth
–Multiple distributors
Jeff Walz is well aware of the new reality of college basketball. As he said during the NCAA Tournament: There’s Selection Sunday, then Portal Monday. And even though the Cardinals lost one of the country’s best players (Hailey Van Lith) as a transfer, Walz reloaded in impressive fashion.
Jayda Curry is the new jitterbug scoring guard running the show, and her hot shooting stretch (48 percent on 2-pointers and 3-pointers in the last five games) to end the season for Cal provides excitement for playing off the ball with more help. She’ll get that in the form of Sydney Taylor, who averaged at least 15.6 points each of the last three seasons while improving her 3-point percentage every year, and Kiki Jefferson, who put up at least 16.2 points per game the last three seasons. Combined with Olivia Cochran inside, scoring shouldn’t be an issue. Curry and Jefferson will need a crash course in defending the Louisville way, however, because neither came from programs that emphasized that end of the floor.
The Cardinals have grown accustomed to integrating hordes of transfers over the past few years. But Walz doesn’t have a veteran floor general or even a natural point guard this year with the departures of Van Lith and Mykasa Robinson. Still, expect Louisville to once again coalesce by March, even if there are growing pains.
+Coaching
+Shot creation
+Perimeter scoring
–Post depth
–Point guard play
–Chemistry
In coach Nicki Collen’s third season, Baylor has a serious chance to put up massive offensive numbers despite losing two of its top-three scorers. Andrews returns as the Bears’ leading scorer (15 points per game last season), and she has around her five others who scored in double digits in their most recent full seasons — Darianna Littlepage-Buggs (11 PPG, Baylor), Aijha Blackwell (15 PPG, Missouri 2021-22), Jada Walker (13 PPG, Kentucky), Dre’Una Edwards (17 PPG, Kentucky 2021-22) and Madison Bartley (14 PPG, Belmont). Balancing expectations and shot distribution with so many scorers is ultimately a good problem, but it’s a problem nonetheless.
Add to that core scoring group Yaya Felder, the Ohio transfer who can attack the paint and put pressure on defenses, as well as 6-7 freshman Lety Vasconcelos, a solid passer with good touch around the rim who gives Baylor a lob option deep. Each brings a unique skillset, allowing the Bears to go through different players as Collen throws out versatile lineups without many redundancies at each position.
The flip side? Players will need to adjust to working in Baylor’s schemes with teammates who attack the game in distinct manners. Building cohesion while maintaining that versatility will be Collen’s priority through camp and in early games.
+Scoring potential
+Ball movement
+Depth
+Pick-and-roll action
–Cohesion
–Shot distribution
Bella Fontleroy
Guard / Forward
Aijha Blackwell
Guard / Forward
Darianna Littlepage-Buggs
Guard / Forward
In Shauna Green’s first year, Illinois put together one of the most impressive year-over-year turnarounds in women’s college hoops. Now in Year 2, with all five starters returning, the Illini are a dangerous top-25 team in a conference that could prepare them for a deeper postseason run.
Last year, lack of depth hurt the Illini, especially as the season wore on, but with another full season of recruiting (and transfer portal recruiting), Illinois could prove to be a deeper team. Illinois’ top six will look the same but the two key additions — Camille Hobby and Gretchen Dolan — could be big difference makers.
Hobby comes to Illinois from NC State, where she averaged eight points and four rebounds a game as a senior. As a 6-3 center, she gives the Illini more depth in the paint alongside Kendall Bostic and Brynn Shoup-Hill. Dolan, a freshman, averaged 39 points a game as a senior and ended her high school career with 2,622 points. To bring Hobby, Jada Peebles and Dolan off the bench should give Green the kind of depth and fresh legs she didn’t have last season.
+Experience
+Half-court offense
+3-point shooting
–Defensive consistency
–Rebounding
Last season, USC played in the muck. The Trojans worked so hard to slow the pace and be disruptive on defense to break opponents’ offensive flow. It was tough to execute, and tough to watch for long stretches, but it was how they had to play to account for their offensive deficiencies.
Now, the Trojans have 3-point shooters by raiding the Ivy League for McKenzie Forbes (Harvard) and Kayla Padilla (Penn) and adding an off-the-bounce scorer and creator in JuJu Watkins. If Watkins is as dynamic as advertised, she’ll be an offense unto herself. She and Rayah Marshall, who was already one of the nation’s finest defensive centers as a sophomore, are the foundations for USC on both ends. For the Trojans to take a meaningful step forward, however, Marshall has to become a passable scorer — her true shooting percentage of 42.4 was in the bottom fifth for centers last year.
This is the second straight season that Gottlieb must weave together a patchwork roster, as only three rotation players (plus Clarice Akunwafo) remain from last year’s roster. The hope is that Watkins can provide some structure on offense while the defensive integrity from 2022-23 remains.
+Interior defense
+Athleticism
+3-point shooting
–Passing
–Experience
–Paint scoring
It’s not out of the question to think Wes Moore might have four freshmen in his main rotation, as the Wolfpack welcome four top-100 recruits, including ninth-ranked Zoe Brooks, who famously won the 2022 WNBA All-Star skills challenge alongside Sabrina Ionescu. But at the start of the season, expect Moore to lean on whatever continuity and veteran presence NC State does have, as well as the Wolfpack’s pace.
Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers are two of the nation’s fastest players with the ball, each dynamite at getting into the paint, and together create a devastating open floor attack. The two guards had the best plus-minuses on the team last season, suggesting the Wolfpack are better off when they lean on that athleticism. Neither is a pure point guard, but their ability to turn the corner on defenders allows them to make plays. Brooks has this same burst to keep the tempo going when she comes off the bench.
Katie Peneueta arrives from Sacramento State having canned 46 percent of her 3-pointers over two seasons, and River Baldwin likes to spot up from distance and hit trail jumpers in transition. But if the frontcourt needs shaking up, reigning WAC defensive player of the year Lizzy Williamson is ready to step in for Baldwin, and Madison Hayes provides a small-ball spacing element that Mimi Collins doesn’t.
+Speed
+Athleticism
+Dribble penetration
–Youth
–Chemistry
–Ball movement
Creighton is a model of consistency in an otherwise chaotic college basketball landscape. Jim Flanery has been a part of the program for more than 30 years, the last 20 as head coach, and his offensive system has remained relatively unchanged the past few seasons. It helps that the core four Bluejays (Lauren Jensen, Morgan Maly, Molly Mogensen and Emma Ronsiek) are all entering at least their third year at Creighton. The Bluejays will get into their offense deliberately and methodically, using east-west ball movement and screening actions to get layups and 3s. Their shot chart is an analytics dream.
The only problem on offense is when jumpers don’t fall. Opponents can’t really take them out of what the Bluejays do — the movement generally works, but there is volatility in relying on such a high percentage of outside shots. Defense is another story. Creighton still doesn’t have the size inside to effectively protect the rim, and teams with more strength and athleticism can blow by its perimeter defense. Creighton should try more switching this year considering the players’ familiarity with one another and the like-sized rotation, or even throw out some junk defenses to keep opponents out of the paint. Flanery needs to take advantage of team chemistry on defense as well.
+Offensive system
+Continuity
+Efficiency
–Size
–Interior Defense
–Athleticism
Morgan Maly
Guard / Forward
The only team on this list that didn’t make the tournament last year, Texas A&M is in line to be one of the most improved programs in the country. Fortunately, there’s nowhere to go but up after finishing 9-20 overall and 2-14 in the SEC last season.
The main source for optimism is second-year forward Janiah Barker, who was an absolute force in the 19 games she was available during her freshman year. Barker is excellent driving to her right and is an awesome play finisher on cuts, as a spot-up shooter, and in transition. The less creating she has to do, the better, which makes it important that the Aggies cleaned up in the transfer portal, starting with point guard Endyia Rogers.
Rogers has been a disciplined distributor at two stops before College Station and has oodles of talent to work with between Barker, Sydney Bowles, and transfers Lauren Ware and Aicha Coulibaly. Texas A&M also brings in three top-100 perimeter recruits in Kylie Marshall, Solè Williams and Erica Moon, allowing Joni Taylor to use multiple ballhandlers when necessary.
Coulibaly and Ware add paint protection to a team that has struggled defensively. Ware can play next to Barker in the frontcourt in smaller lineups, or the Aggies have enough depth with Jada Malone off the bench to play units with three bigs. Things didn’t come together for Texas A&M in Year 1 of the Taylor era, but Gary Blair went 2-14 in the SEC in his first year with the Aggies, too. There’s reason to have hope with this new roster.
(Illustration: John Bradford / The Athletic; Photos, from left, of Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers: Maddie Meyer, Justin Tofoya, G Fiume / Getty Images)
STANFORD, Calif. (AP) — Sobbing as she received hugs from friends, family and administrators, Mississippi coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin tried to grasp the magnitude of her team’s stunning win against top-seeded Stanford when someone reminded her there’s more basketball to be played.
Her two young daughters danced for joy on the floor.
Her proud father provided a shoutout to everybody back home in The Bahamas.
Her team posed at midcourt and shouted, “Seattle!” That’s where the Rebels are headed next.
Madison Scott hit a pair of free throws with 23 seconds left that gave Mississippi the lead for good, Angel Baker scored 13 points, and the Rebels delivered on their declaration to get defensive, stunning top-seeded Stanford 54-49 on Sunday night to reach the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16 for the first time in 16 years.
“First of all just incredibly grateful. I have a lot of mentors in my life and one of my mentors would always say to me that the person with the experience is at the mercy of the one with the anointing,” the 40-year-old McPhee-McCuin said in reference to Hall of Famer and winningest women’s coach Tara VanDerveer. “He spoke that over my life maybe 10 years ago. And so to be in this situation right now, to take down an historical program like Stanford, a coach and a woman that I admire I have watched is incredible.”
Behind the entire game and never with a lead, Stanford called timeout with 28 seconds left then Hannah Jump turned the ball over and Scott converted. Haley Jones lost the ball out of bounds on the Cardinal’s last possession with a chance to tie then again in the waning moments.
Marquesha Davis hit a pair of free throws with 15.4 seconds to play as Ole Miss overcame not making a field goal over the final 5:47, going 0 for 8.
“This is such a big accomplishment. A lot of us came here to make history and that’s what we’re doing,” freshman Ayanna Thompson said.
These upstart Rebels (25-8) advance to the Seattle Regional semifinal next weekend, while VanDerveer’s Stanford team (29-6) is eliminated far earlier than this group envisioned — the season ending on the Cardinal’s home floor. Jones fought tears after her final game, finishing with 16 points and eight rebounds but five turnovers.
“Some of the things we did were self-inflicted. The turnovers really hurt us,” VanDerveer said. “They’re really a tough team, they’re a lot better than (No.) 8 teams we’ve played before. Sometimes you don’t have a really good matchup.”
Only four No. 1 seeds had lost before the Sweet 16 since 1994, with Duke the last one in 2009. Stanford did so once before, falling to 16th-seeded Harvard in the first round of the 1998 tournament.
The Cardinal had reached 14 straight Sweet 16s and hadn’t lost in the first or second rounds since No. 10 seed Florida State shocked the fifth-seeded Cardinal 68-61 at Maples Pavilion in the second round exactly 16 years ago to the day before on March 19, 2007.
Cameron Brink came back from a one-game absence because of a stomach bug to finish with 20 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocked shots, but Stanford never led and tried to come from behind all night. The program’s career blocks leader, the junior star finished with 118 on the season and has 297 total.
“Cam wasn’t 100% today but I thought she really battled,” VanDerveer said.
Stanford had won 21 consecutive NCAA games on its home floor and is 41-5 all-time at Maples during March Madness.
Ole Miss led the entire first half on the way to a 29-20 advantage at the break at raucous Maples Pavilion, where the crowd went wild when Brink blocked three straight shots in the same sequence by Rita Igbokwe midway through the second quarter. About two minutes later, Igbokwe grabbed at her mouth after being hit.
The Rebels got a scare when senior guard Myah Taylor went down hard grabbing at her chest with 6:41 left in the third after colliding with Francesca Belibi while moving to defend Indya Nivar. After a short break to catch her breath, Taylor was back running the point.
The Rebels declared from Day 1 arriving in the Bay Area they were ready to play their tenacious defense to make a mark on the NCAA Tournament. Stanford’s layups regularly rolled out. The Cardinal got called for repeated offensive fouls. They made mistakes when it mattered most.
“It brought tears to my eyes,” said Gladstone McPhee, coach McPhee-McCuin’s father. “It’s beautiful. This is what you wait for.”
BIG PICTURE Ole Miss: Parents Gladstone and Daisy cheered on fifth-year coach McPhee-McCuin as her team reached the second round after last year’s first-round exit by South Dakota. Her daughters, 10-year-old Yasmine and Yuri, 5, rooted the team all the way, with Yasmine yelling, “That’s my mom!” when Ole Miss came out before tipoff. … The Rebels advanced to the Elite Eight in 2007. After grabbing 24 offensive rebounds in the win against Gonzaga, the Rebels crashed the boards again to create second chances with 20 more.
Stanford: The Cardinal also never led in the first half of 55-46 loss at USC on Jan. 15. … They had a 14-game home winning streak since a 76-71 overtime loss to No. 1 South Carolina on Nov. 20. … VanDerveer announced Jump plans to return for another year of eligibility. Jones will turn pro and Belibi has been accepted into a program at Harvard.
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AP March Madness coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25
On Saturday, Clemson turned the ball over four times, trailed by as much as 14, benched its starting QB and won. That, Dabo Swinney said, is the headline.
Got it?
No, don’t ask about that quarterback controversy. It doesn’t exist. Figment of your imagination. Swinney is essentially Kevin Bacon at the end of “Animal House,” standing in the midst of a stampede and yelling, “All is well!”
Swinney spent the entire offseason hyping DJ Uiagalelei, despite his struggles in 2021. The coach has spent the first seven weeks of this season dishing out one “I told you so” after another, including as recently as last week, when he called doubts of Uiagalelei “embarrassing” and a product of “the world we live in now.”
And when Clemson was trailing by 10 and Uiagalelei coughed up his third turnover of the game midway through the third quarter, Swinney came with the hook.
Why? Swinney believed freshman Cade Klubnik could give the offense a spark, and the move worked. Clemson scored on three of its next four drives. Sure, Klubnik completed just two passes in the game, so his inspiration was more Rob Schneider in “The Waterboy” than Bill Pullman in “Independence Day.” But hey, a win is a win.
In the aftermath, Swinney emphatically assured Clemson fans that Uiagalelei is still the starter as the Tigers, now 8-0, head into an off week with their ACC Atlantic Division crown all but assured. They will not play another ranked opponent this year.
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Clemson switches quarterbacks in the second half and overcomes four turnovers to beat Syracuse 24-21.
But Swinney is right. The world is a cold, callous place, and so we must also ask the bigger question: Is this an 8-0 team capable of winning a national championship?
Before last season, the answer might have been an emphatic, “Yes!” After all, we’d seen Clemson shrug off mediocrity before and still keep winning. Look back at Swinney’s first national title in the 2016 campaign. That season, the Tigers struggled against Troy, only beat NC State because of a missed chip shot as time expired and lost to Pitt. But Deshaun Watson still found Hunter Renfrow in the back corner of the end zone at Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium in the title game against Alabama, and no one needed to remember those regular-season struggles after that.
But then 2021 happened, and despite its 10-3 finish Clemson was clearly vulnerable. The wins were less destiny than they were rugged determination. That is commendable but perhaps not sustainable.
Clemson needed double overtime to get past Wake Forest and nearly coughed up a big lead a week ago against Florida State. And if not for Syracuse‘s utterly mind-boggling decision to put Sean Tucker into witness protection Saturday — “I felt like he was the one guy who could flat-out beat us,” Swinney said afterward — there’s every reason to think this might be more 2021 than 2016.
And yet, is this question any different from the ones posed at Oregon or Alabama or Michigan and on down the line?
The Ducks demolished UCLA on Saturday and established themselves as the clear front-runner in the Pac-12, but does that matter when they’ve already been curb-stomped by Georgia in the opener?
Should we forget the way the Bulldogs demolished them way back when if the recent data points are far more impressive? Do we need a rematch of a game that was over by the end of the first quarter? It’s complicated.
Ole Miss offered the SEC an alternative to the Crimson Tide, but LSU sent the Rebels scurrying on out of Louisiana like a crawdad in a steam pot, as Brian Kelly would say.
But Lane Kiffin’s crew will still get its shot at Alabama, and if it should win, wouldn’t the Rebels be a playoff team? It’s complicated.
Or how about those Crimson Tide? Nick Saban likely spent this week of practice like Jigsaw, planning ever more sadistic dilemmas for his team to maneuver, but the rat poison was successfully expelled from Alabama’s system with a 30-6 win over Mississippi State. Yes, the Tide have appeared vulnerable against Texas and A&M and lost to Tennessee, but does anyone really think Alabama can’t be a playoff team? Well, it’s complicated.
Despite the easy win, Alabama finished with just 290 yards of total offense — its lowest production in an SEC game since 2014.
Are we sold on Tennessee? Has Georgia just been easing into the season like it’s a warm bath? Is Michigan a fitting adversary for Ohio State?
Max Duggan wasn’t perfect Saturday in the 38-28 TCU win, but he was exceptional when he had to be, and the Horned Frogs’ ground game pounded away at Kansas State until the Wildcats finally gave way. TCU has been tied or behind in the second half of each of its last three games, including against Kansas State’s backup QB on Saturday, all of which might underscore just how narrow the margin is for the Horned Frogs, but it’s a line they’ve yet to cross. Does that make TCU a playoff team? Well, it’s complicated.
If we’re nitpicking, we’ll find nearly all teams left wanting. In other words, it’s all complicated.
But Swinney isn’t nitpicking. Well, sure, he picked a few nits with his starting quarterback Saturday, but bygones are bygones now. The point is, Clemson won. So, too, did Alabama and Oregon and Penn State and Oklahoma State. Their chase continues.
In the end, Clemson is 8-0, one of just six teams (Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio State, Michigan and TCU) left with a zero in the loss column.
And when it comes time for the committee to pick nits and split hairs, that zero looms awfully large because winning every game is the one way to erase all the complications and make the committee’s decision simple.
Nix, Ducks roll past UCLA
We would like to issue a formal apology to Bo Nix. He is not the reason Auburn fans spent four years beating their heads against a wall, shouting “Make it stop! Make it stop!”
Nix bested UCLA 45-30 with a brilliant performance Saturday, completing 22-of-28 passes for 283 yards and five touchdowns. He ran for 51 more yards. He electrified a fan base that remains blissfully unaware of all the pain he once helped inflict in his old life.
Yes, the numbers at Auburn seemed to suggest Nix was at the root of the problem, but as Mark Twain said, there are lies, damned lies and statistics, and Nix’s numbers were the most insidious of lies.
Yes, we watched Nix struggle in his Oregon debut as the Ducks were steamrolled by Georgia, but that was an unfair sample. It was like starting fresh at a new high school with a chance to finally fit in with the cool kids, only to bump into an old classmate at the mall. Georgia knew Auburn Bo Nix too well.
But look past all that. Look at what Nix has become now that he’s clear of Auburn, past Gus Malzahn and Bryan Harsin and … boy, it feels like there were six or seven other coaches in there, too. Oh, sure, Nix was an Auburn legacy and a five-star recruit, but The Plains has eaten up better men than that. But after years of tumult, Nix finally realized that this relationship was toxic, that he had to move on. Nothing in Taylor Swift’s discography captures the emotion of this breakup.
And when Nix left, he got as far away as he could go. And at long last, he was free.
Nix has Oregon at 6-1 and undefeated in Pac-12 play. Despite that brutal opener against Georgia, the Ducks have miraculously forced their way back into playoff conversation. Nix’s performance Saturday helped the Oregon fan base fully exorcise one of its demons, forcing Chip Kelly to return, defeated, to the sad suburban condo with the empty pool that we all assume he lives at.
What happened at Auburn was inevitable. Nix just happened to be playing QB at the time, like the activities director on the Titanic. So, consider this Nix’s “Good Will Hunting” moment. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault. It’s not your fault.
Eight is enough
Over the summer, Mario Cristobal wanted to assure the public that Miami was serious about winning and didn’t need any gimmicks to get the job done. So, Cristobal said, no more turnover chain.
Big mistake.
The turnover chain was not a gimmick. It was a sacred relic, and its destruction has signaled the end times in Coral Gables.
Duke annihilated Miami 45-21 on Saturday, as the Hurricanes coughed up the football eight times.
Eight. Times.
Now, it’d be easy enough to chalk up all the turnovers to the simple fact that Miami is a very bad football team. But that would be like suggesting there are so many “Fast and Furious” movies because Vin Diesel is America’s greatest living thespian. Both things are true, but those facts alone cannot explain such prolific output.
No, for Miami there can be but one obvious culprit: Cristobal angered the football gods, and he must now go on a mythic quest, through corridors haunted by the ghosts of Al Golden and Randy Shannon, scale the unconquerable mountains of the ACC Coastal Division and survive an epic freestyle battle with Uncle Luke to retrieve the turnover chain and return it to its rightful place on Miami’s sideline.
Quinn Ewers has had some rough moments this season. His car was towed. He hurt his shoulder. He had to watch Oklahoma play for an entire game. But Saturday was his rock bottom.
Ewers completed just 19 of 49 throws and tossed three interceptions in Texas’ 41-34 loss at Oklahoma State.
The Pokes were playing with a battered offensive line, but Spencer Sanders still delivered some critical throws, tossing two touchdowns, while Jaden Nixon showed he could’ve run over Texas’ defense wearing bedroom slippers.
It was a huge bounce-back win for Oklahoma State after blowing a late lead against TCU last week. The Cowboys are 6-1, and Sanders has firmly established himself as either the best bad QB or worst good QB in the country.
After the Longhorns lost twice without Ewers earlier this season, Saturday’s defeat can at least remove any linger “What if” debates and allow Texas to completely turn its attention to keeping trick-or-treaters safe from monkey attacks this week.
Iowa finally benched Spencer Petras on Saturday, after he managed just eight completions — six to his team, and two to Ohio State. But honestly, benching isn’t enough salvation for Petras. It’s time Quarterback Protective Services steps in and removes him from his home. He deserves to run free on a farm upstate.
Even after Petras was benched, things didn’t get better for the Hawkeyes. Alex Padilla completed just five of 10 passes for 32 yards and an interception, essentially assuring Iowa’s QB depth chart is just the two Spider-Mans pointing at each other meme.
How bad was it?
Iowa was 1-of-13 on third-down tries.
Iowa had six turnovers. (Miami can expect a thank-you card from coordinator Brian Ferentz this week.)
Iowa averaged 2.2 yards per run and yet the QBs were so bad the Hawkeyes still chose to run it 35 times.
There’s only one logical solution to Iowa’s offensive woes at this point. It’s time for Kirk Ferentz to fire his son and hire Jeff Bowden.
Under-the-radar play of the week
If you missed the ending to Stanford vs. Arizona State, we understand. Watching that game was punishment for shoplifting in several states. And perhaps fittingly, the final moments were every bit as unfortunate as a matchup between two bad teams would suggest.
Trailing 15-14, Arizona State chucked a Hail Mary throw down the sideline on fourth-and-19, which appeared to be hauled in by Elijhah Badger to set up a game-winning field goal with just seconds remaining.
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Arizona State falls to Stanford in the final seconds as Emory Jones has one foot out on the 4th-and-19 catch that would have set up a game-winning field goal.
Upon replay review, however, the call was overturned, with officials saying Badger had a toe out of bounds on the catch, allowing Stanford to snap a 10-game conference losing streak.
Under-the-radar game of the week
Rhode Island and Monmouth put on a marathon Saturday, playing seven overtimes before the Rams emerged with a 48-46 win. Not since the famed Texas A&M-LSU epic has a college football game between two teams no one cared about gone on so very, very long.
The game featured seven ties and four lead changes. Monmouth QB Tony Muskett — who also may have been a character on “Bonanza” — threw for three touchdowns. Rhode Island QB Kasim Hill threw for 352 yards and three touchdowns, including a 73-yarder to Marques DeShields with 3:23 remaining to tie the game at 35, but he also tossed three picks.
In the first OT, both teams traded touchdowns. Both went scoreless in the second frame. Then it went to 2-point tries, and the Rams and Hawks stayed even through four more frames. In the seventh OT, Rhode Island broke up a pass in the end zone, and Hill completed his throw to Ed Lee to secure the win.
Sadly, Jimbo Fisher’s nephew was not able to attend, so this seven-OT game did not end with fisticuffs, and frankly, we cannot truly embrace seven overtimes unless someone wearing khakis starts taking swings at complete strangers.
We hate to be the ones to bring this up, but it needs to be said: Liberty is 7-1.
We know, we know: When quarterback Malik Willis left, we all hoped we could safely stop paying attention to the Flames. But somehow, they’ve kept winning, including a 41-14 stomping of BYU on Saturday behind 213 rushing yards from Dae Dae Hunter.
Liberty’s lone loss came on a missed 2-point try against 6-1 Wake Forest.
Liberty has won with three different starting QBs.
Liberty is — deep breaths — good.
Is it possible Hugh Freeze is fueled by the country’s anger at him, like the emperor in “Star Wars?” (We also assume that if Twitter existed in a galaxy far, far away, Palpatine would slide into Obi-Wan’s DMs to complain about rebel criticisms too.) There’s simply no keeping the guy down (even when he is literally kept down).
So, do we need to take Liberty seriously? The only acceptable answer is yes. To embrace Freeze is to take away his power. Or, if not that, maybe Iowa should hire him.
Heisman Five
Even in a week in which three of the nine remaining undefeated teams lost, there wasn’t much room for shake-ups at the top of the Heisman hopeful list.
Tee Martin won a national championship at Tennessee. UT Martin, on the other hand, struggled badly at Tennessee on Saturday. The Skyhawks had no answers for Hooker, who averaged more than 11 yards per throw and tossed three more touchdowns.
Exposure to the Hawkeyes’ offense took its toll on Stroud, who struggled through the first half, but thankfully Ryan Day was able to perform a full Iowa exorcism (it involves spewing creamed corn instead of pea soup) and Stroud rebounded with four second-half TD throws.
Young did all he could to pull Alabama over the finish line last week against Tennessee, but we were still worried he might catch some strays from Saban during practice this week. Thankfully, he survived, and he returned with another strong day, throwing for 249 yards and two touchdowns in the Tide’s 30-0 win over Mississippi State.
Wake is 6-1 after drubbing Boston College, and in the lone loss, Hartman had six touchdown passes. He nearly matched that total Saturday, throwing for five touchdowns and running for a sixth in the win. Hartman now has the third-most passing TDs in ACC history (93), trailing only Tajh Boyd and Philip Rivers, all despite also working part time as a 1920s mafia hit man.
No. 2 Sam Hartman, Wake
Really good balance between clean lines and fullness of the beard. Worked better before he cut his hair though. He looks like a shampoo commercial model now rather than last year’s Unfrozen Caveman Lawyer. Borderline elite, 4.5 stars pic.twitter.com/sRh8c0Urfy
The most college football thing to happen Saturday
We talk often about the plague of #CollegeKickers, with flubbed chip shots invariably costing teams a needed win on an almost weekly basis. Long-snappers, on the other hand, tend to fly below the radar.
Unfortunately for Weber State‘s Grant Sands, his Saturday will be remembered for a long time.
Sands snapped the football over the punter’s head and out of the back of the end zone for a safety four times against Montana State on Saturday, handing the Bobcats eight points in a game that Montana State ultimately won 43-38.
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Weber State is on the wrong end of the record books as it surrenders four safeties on errant special teams snaps.
Big bets and bad beats
Miami has been favored to win four times this season. The Hurricanes are now 1-3 in those games after a miserable eight-turnover loss to Duke on Saturday. Miami has now lost as a 25.5-point favorite to Middle Tennessee, a 10-point favorite to Duke and a four-point favorite to North Carolina. The Hurricanes’ lone win as a favorite came against Virginia Tech, after they failed to cover a nine-point spread in a 20-14 victory.
Clemson trailed Syracuse 21-10 at the half on Saturday, which was just about the perfect spot for the Tigers — or at least for sharp bettors. The Tigers were -9.5 in the second half, and they covered that number easily, outscoring the Orange 17-0 in the final two frames. That makes Clemson coach Dabo Swinney 11-2 against the second-half spread in his career when trailing at halftime.
