Stanford Basketball Already Being Recognized Nationally

We are only a week into the 2025-26 Stanford basketball season, but so much has already happened. We saw the Cardinal get scrimmage and exhibition wins over two rivals, San Francisco and Oregon, as well as two regular season wins against the top two Big Sky teams, Montana and Portland State. The Cardinal have had a solid start, but the play style is what makes Stanford so unique.

With a deep roster and rotation, Stanford has been able to schematically take down every opponent in front of them. And all the credit should be given to Kyle Smith and the coaching staff, who have helped the Cardinal succeed.

Stanford's early hot start against some of the best that the Big Sky has to offer has also caught the attention of at least one person nationally, as the Cardinal earned a vote in the AP Top-25 Poll that came out this week.

The full list of programs receiving votes: NC State 87, San Diego St. 67, Indiana 45, Oregon 43, Vanderbilt 37, Ohio St. 17, Baylor 14, Southern Cal 12, Kansas St 5, Missouri 4, Mississippi 4, Mississippi St. 3, Georgia 2, Stanford 1, Oklahoma St. 1, Texas 1, Georgetown 1, Utah St. 1, Iowa 1, Virginia Tech 1. Kansas, who ranked No. 25, racked up 130 votes total.

KenPom, a well-regarded college basketball rating system, uses analytics to rank every Division I team 1-365. Those teams that share a single vote with Stanford are ranked 50, 36, 72, 38, 39, and 66, respectively. Stanford is number 85. Essentially, the Cardinal are either being underrated by ranking sites, or slightly overrated by the AP Poll.

This is massive news for the Cardinal. Despite being overlooked all across college basketball media, Kyle Smith and Stanford, once again, have defied expectations in the early going. Now the real question is, can they keep it up?

Stanford is favored in their next three games before a matchup with Minnesota on November 27th. That game will provide a real opportunity for the Cardinal. If Stanford stays undefeated by until that point, they could have a real shot at being a part of the AP Top 25 for the first time in two seasons.

Getting one vote is great, and being in the vacinity of the top-25 early on is a step in the right direction. But the ultimate goal for this season will be to make the NCAA Tournament in March. That journey is just beginning.