Press Release: Stanford WBB to host Tennessee for ACC/SEC Challenge

STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford will renew its storied rivalry with Tennessee when it hosts the Lady Volunteers on Wednesday, Dec. 3 as part of the 2025 ACC/SEC Challenge, which was announced Thursday by the two conferences and ESPN.

Coverage details, including game time and platform designation, will be announced at a later date.

The matchup will be the 40th all-time in a series that began December 1988. Stanford is 14-25 all-time against Tennessee, but is 10-7 in Maples Pavilion and has won the last four in the series. The most recent meeting was a 77-70 win at home on Dec. 18, 2022 behind 21 points, 17 rebounds and six blocks from Cameron Brink.

The game is Stanford’s first announced as part of its 2025-26 slate. The Cardinal’s second season in the ACC will also feature conference home games against California, Clemson, Duke, Louisville, Notre Dame, SMU, Virginia, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

Stanford returns 10 letterwinners to the squad, including All-ACC second team selection Nunu Agara, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder from a season ago.

Joining Agara and the Cardinal are five standout freshmen that comprise the nation’s third-ranked recruiting class in McDonald’s All-Americans Hailee Swain, Lara Somfai and Alex Eschmeyer, along with four-star talents Nora Ezike and Carly Amborn.

Tennessee ended last season ranked No. 15 in the AP Top 25, and No. 16 in the Coaches Poll, so this should be a good challenge for the Cardinal as they look to make it back to the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Vols ended up making it to the Sweet 16 where they were eliminated by No. 1 Texas in a close one, 67-59.

As the press release mentioned, Stanford is welcoming in five freshman and the Cardinal have the No. 3 ranked recruiting class, so how quickly they are integrated into the roster and the rotations will play a big role in how well the program does in 2025-26.

The goal will certainly be to make it back to the tournament this coming season, but further than that, a trip to the Sweet Sixteen would be a nice sign of progress as well. This roster is undergoing some changes, but this should be a return year for the Stanford women's basketball campaign. This game against Tennessee will be a nice measuring stick contest.