Stanford's Nunu Agara Earning Preseason Recognition

Despite a down year last season, a lot of hype surrounds Stanford women's basketball in 2025-26. Putting together a strong recruiting class, the Cardinal will look to return to the national spotlight this season and make a run to the NCAA tournament after a one year absence. In order to do that, Stanford will rely on their veterans, along with their infusion of talented freshmen.

But early in the season, it looks like the Cardinal already have an idea of who their marquee player will be for this campaign. Enjoying a breakout year last season, junior forward Nunu Agara enters this season with a lot to prove, hoping to become that superstar player that the Cardinal were lacking last year.

Agara is well on her way as on Thursday morning, it was announced that she one of 50 players named to the Naismith Award Watch List.

Despite Stanford missing its first NCAA tournament in nearly 40 years, Agara was a very big bright spot on the rebuilding Cardinal, starting 23 out the 25 games that she played in, averaging a career best of 15.4 points with 7.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists.

A bench player as a true freshman on a team that had stars such as Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen, Agara got her chance to shine last year and took full advantage of her opportunity to lead the program into its next phase.

Now in her upperclassmen years, Agara will look to keep her run of greatness going and not only help the Cardinal return to the national spotlight, but help her WNBA draft stock rise considerably.

Below is a press release sent out by Stanford Athletics on Thursday morning.

Nunu Agara Named to Naismith Award Watch List

STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford junior Nunu Agara is one of 50 players under consideration for the 2026 Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year, the Atlanta Tipoff Club announced Thursday.

The Atlanta Tipoff Club administers the Naismith Awards, which have become the most prestigious national honors in all of college basketball. Named in honor of Dr. James Naismith, inventor of the game of basketball, the Naismith Trophy recognizes the top Men’s and Women’s College Basketball Players of the Year.

Stanford has had two players take home the Naismith National Player of the Year honors, Jennifer Azzi in 1990 and Kate Starbird in 1997. Two seasons ago, Cameron Brink was the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year.

An All-ACC second team selection last season, Agara was also voted to the 10-person Preseason All-ACC Team. She was Stanford’s leading scorer (15.8 ppg) and rebounder (7.6 rpg) a season ago and is the ACC’s third-leading returning scorer (Hannah Hidalgo – Notre Dame; Kymora Johnson - Virginia) and its second-lead­ing returning rebounder (Jessica Peterson - Miami).

She scored in double figures in 21 games, had six 20-point efforts and tied for eighth in the ACC with nine double-doubles.

Agara increased her scoring average by 10.4 points and her rebounding average by 4.7 boards over her freshman year and was one of seven major conference underclassmen to average 15.0 points and 7.0 rebounds per game.

She had 29 points and 13 rebounds in an overtime loss at No. 5 LSU on Dec. 5 and shot 75.0 percent from the floor (12-of-16), becoming the fifth DI player since 2002-03 to have 29 points and 13 rebounds in a true road game against an AP top five opponent and the only one to do it on better than 60.0 percent shooting.

Agara and the Cardinal begin their regular season at home on Monday, Nov. 3 against UNC Greensboro (7 p.m.).