Stanford Women's Basketball a Team to Watch Out for Next Season

A former player under VanDerveer from 1991-1995, Paye also spent three years in the WNBA from 2000-2002 with the Minnesota Lynx and Seattle Storm.

She has been with Stanford as a coach since 2007 and knows what it takes for the program to be successful. Even though signees such as Eschmeyer and Swain committed to the program before VanDerveer retired, Paye played a big role in their recruitment and has shown during her time as an assistant that she is elite at developing talent.

The Cardinal's struggles from this past season were understandable considering the numerous changes, but the lack of a true superstar was a big factor as well. Under VanDerveer, especially in more recent seasons, the Cardinal pretty much always had a superstar--whether it was Nneka Ogwumike in the late 2000s or Cameron Brink in the 2020s.

There are also a number of current stars in the WNBA that have either graduated from Stanford, or have at the very least passed through.

But last season, even though the team had four players average double figures in scoring, they did not have any big name star to takeover games. Swain, Eschmeyer and Lara Somfai will most likely change that next season and begin the list of big name stars to play under Paye.

Having all three of those players in 2025-26 could see big things coming for Stanford. A year of experience in the ACC will help, and while other teams in the conference look to reestablish their identities, the Cardinal will go in with a star studded roster hungry to show that this past season was just a fluke.

There is no doubt that the ACC will be tough this season. While programs like Notre Dame and Duke are expected to be strong once again, teams such as SMU are on the rise and could surprise a lot of people. Stanford will have its work cut out for them, but if their aggression during recruiting is any indication, expect the Cardinal to return to prominence sooner rather than later.