2025–26 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team

The 2025–26 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team represented Stanford University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Cardinal were led by second-year head coach Kate Paye and played their home games at Maples Pavilion in Stanford, California. They competed as second-year members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

2025–26 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball
WBIT, Quarterfinals
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Record	21–14 (8–10 ACC)
Head coach	Kate Paye (2nd season)
Associate head coach	Tempie Brown (10th season)
Assistant coaches	Katy Steding (6th season) Heather Oesterle (2nd season) Erica McCall (3rd season) Jeanette Pholen (2nd season)
Home arena	Maples Pavilion

2025–26 ACC women's basketball standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 5 Duke †	16	–	2		.889			27	–	9		.750
No. 11 Louisville	15	–	3		.833			29	–	8		.784
No. 13 North Carolina	14	–	4		.778			28	–	8		.778
NC State	13	–	5		.722			21	–	11		.656
No. 9 Notre Dame	12	–	6		.667			25	–	10		.714
Virginia Tech	12	–	6		.667			23	–	10		.697
Syracuse	12	–	6		.667			24	–	9		.727
No. 19 Virginia	11	–	7		.611			22	–	12		.647
Clemson	11	–	7		.611			21	–	12		.636
California	9	–	9		.500			21	–	15		.583
Georgia Tech	8	–	10		.444			14	–	19		.424
Miami (FL)	8	–	10		.444			18	–	15		.545
Stanford	8	–	10		.444			21	–	14		.600
Florida State	5	–	13		.278			10	–	21		.323
Wake Forest	4	–	14		.222			14	–	18		.438
SMU	2	–	16		.111			9	–	21		.300
Pittsburgh	1	–	17		.056			8	–	23		.258
Boston College	1	–	17		.056			5	–	26		.161
† 2026 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The Cardinal began their season with a seven game winning streak. They took their streak to Las Vegas, Nevada to participate in the Resorts World Classic. They lost the first game by four-points to Florida Gulf Coast but won the second game by two-points over Colorado State. They returned to California to host nineteenth-ranked Tennessee in an ACC–SEC Challenge rivalry game. The Cardinal lost by three-points, 62–65. Stanford opened ACC play with a victory over rivals California. They then defeated twenty-second ranked Washington and Oregon in the Invisalign Bay Area Women's Classic. They began 2026 with an ACC loss to NC State, but followed it with a victory over sixteenth-ranked North Carolina in overtime. They won two of their next three games, with the lone loss coming against Duke. Stanford then went on a stretch where the team lost eight of its next nine games. The lone victory came at Pittsburgh. The losses included a rivaly rematch against California, and the only ranked team the Cardinal played over the stretch was seventh-ranked Louisville. Stanford won its final three games of the regular season, all by double-digits.

The Cardinal finished the season 21–14 overall and 8–10 in ACC play to finish in a three-way tie for eleventh place. As the thirteenth seed in the ACC tournament, they faced twelfth seed Miami in the First Round. The Cardinal lost to the Hurricanes for the second time this season, this time 76–83 in overtime. They received an at-large bid to the WBIT and were the second seed in the BYU section of the bracket. They defeated unseeded Loyola Marymount in the First Round and unseeded Quinnipiac in the Second Round. They lost to first-seed BYU in the Quarterfinals to end their season.

Previous season

Main article: 2024–25 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team

The Cardinal finished the season 16–15 overall and 8–10 in ACC play to finish in a tie for tenth place. As the eleventh seed in the ACC tournament, they faced fourteenth seed Clemson in the First Round. The Cardinal lost to Clemson for the second time this season, this time 63–46. They received an at-large bid to the WBIT and were the second seed in the St. Joseph's section of the bracket. They lost to unseeded Portland 69–68 in overtime, in the First Round to end their season.

Offseason

Departures

Departures

Name	Num.	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Elena Bosgana	20	G	6'2"	Senior	Athens, Greece	Graduated
Brooke Demetre	21	F	6'3"	Senior	Foothill Ranch, California	Graduated
Jzaniya Harriel	32	G	5'10"	Junior	Sacramento, California	Graduated; transferred to SMU
Tess Heal	34	G	5'10"	Junior	Melbourne, Australia	Transferred to Kansas State

Recruiting

Source:

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Carly Amborn G	Larkspur, California	San Domenico	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	N/A
	Recruit ratings: ESPN:    (91)
Alexandra Eschmeyer F	Boulder, Colorado	Peak to Peak	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	N/A	Jan 5, 2024
	Recruit ratings: ESPN:    (96)
Nora Ezike F	La Grange, Illinois	Lyons Township	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	N/A	Jul 1, 2024
	Recruit ratings: ESPN:    (91)
Lara Somfai F	Adelaide, Australia	IMG Academy	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	N/A	Nov 13, 2024
	Recruit ratings: ESPN:    (97)
Hailee Swain G	Marietta, Georgia	Holy Innocents'	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	N/A	Jul 10, 2024
	Recruit ratings: ESPN:    (97)
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources:

Roster

2025–26 Stanford Cardinal women's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown G 2 Hailee Swain 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Fr Holy Innocents' Marietta, GA F 3 Nunu Agara 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Jr Hopkins Minnetonka, MN F 4 Alexandra Eschmeyer 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Fr Peak to Peak Boulder, CO G 6 Shay Ijiwoye 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) So Desert Vista Phoenix, AZ G 10 Talana Lepolo 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) Sr Carondelet Alameda, CA G 11 Carly Amborn 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr San Domenico Larkspur, CA F 12 Lara Somfai 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Fr IMG Academy Adelaide, Australia G 13 Chloe Clardy 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Jr Conway Conway, AR F 15 Harper Peterson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) So Whitney Rocklin, CA F 22 Mary Ashley Stevenson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Jr Dalton Purdue New York, NY G 24 Stavi Papadaki 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Jr 2nd EPAL Chanion Chania, Greece F 25 Nora Ezike 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Lyons Township La Grange, IL G 31 Lauren Green 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) Sr Castro Valley Castro Valley, CA F 40 Courtney Ogden 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Jr Westminster School Atlanta, GA C 45 Kennedy Umeh 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) So McDonogh Columbia, MD	Head coach Kate Paye (Stanford) Assistant coach(es) Tempie Brown (Michigan) Katy Steding (Stanford) Heather Oesterle (Michigan) Erica McCall (Stanford) Jeanette Pholen (Stanford) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: October 13, 2025

Schedule and results

Source:

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 29, 2025* 7:00 p.m.		Cal State LA	W 85-50	—	20 – Clardy	10 – Somfai	3 – Tied	Maples Pavilion (1,976) Stanford, CA
Regular season
November 3, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		UNC Greensboro	W 87–42	1–0	15 – Somfai	10 – Stevenson	4 – Tied	Maples Pavilion (2,068) Stanford, CA
November 6, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Santa Clara	W 79–58	2–0	16 – Lepolo	13 – Somfai	5 – Swain	Maples Pavilion (2,289) Stanford, CA
November 9, 2025* 1:00 p.m., ACCNX		Cal Poly	W 90–55	3–0	16 – Agara	10 – Somfai	4 – Lepolo	Maples Pavilion (2,461) Stanford, CA
November 14, 2025* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Washington State	W 54–46	4–0	10 – Swain	8 – Agara	3 – Tied	Beasley Coliseum (1,318) Pullman, WA
November 16, 2025* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Gonzaga	W 65–52	5–0	20 – Clardy	11 – Agara	4 – Swain	McCarthey Athletic Center (5,584) Spokane, WA
November 20, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		UC Davis	W 70–45	6–0	16 – Agara	16 – Agara	3 – Tied	Maples Pavilion (2,228) Stanford, CA
November 23, 2025* 1:00 p.m., ACCNX		Lehigh	W 98–43	7–0	24 – Agara	7 – Eschmeyer	3 – Tied	Maples Pavilion (2,427) Stanford, CA
November 28, 2025* 5:00 p.m., FloCollege		vs. Florida Gulf Coast Resorts World Classic	L 62–66	7–1	22 – Agara	9 – Agara	3 – Stevenson	Resorts World Arena  Las Vegas, NV
November 29, 2025* 5:00 p.m., FloCollege		vs. Colorado State Resorts World Classic	W 62–60	8–1	18 – Agara	16 – Somfai	3 – Clardy	Resorts World Arena  Las Vegas, NV
December 3, 2025* 6:15 p.m., ESPN2		No. 19 Tennessee ACC–SEC Challenge/Rivalry	L 62–65	8–2	14 – Tied	11 – Agara	3 – Tied	Maples Pavilion (4,499) Stanford, CA
December 14, 2025 1:00 p.m., ACCNX		California Rivalry	W 78–69	9–2 (1–0)	25 – Ogden	13 – Somfai	5 – Agara	Maples Pavilion (2,957) Stanford, CA
December 19, 2025* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		No. 22 Washington	W 67–62	10–2	14 – Somfai	7 – Odgen	2 – Tied	Maples Pavilion (2,533) Stanford, CA
December 21, 2025* 3:00 p.m., ESPN		vs. Oregon Invisalign Bay Area Women's Classic	W 64–53	11–2	20 – Ogden	11 – Tied	5 – Clardy	Chase Center (6,258) San Francisco, CA
December 28, 2025* 1:00 p.m., ACCNX		Cornell	W 82–50	12–2	19 – Agara	18 – Somfai	4 – Ogden	Maples Pavilion (3,397) Stanford, CA
January 1, 2026 11:00 a.m., ACCN		at NC State	L 46–74	12–3 (1–1)	16 – Agara	16 – Somfai	2 – Ijiwoye	Reynolds Coliseum (5,500) Raleigh, NC
January 4, 2026 10:00 a.m., ESPN		at No. 16 North Carolina	W 77–71 OT	13–3 (2–1)	21 – Ogden	9 – Clardy	7 – Lepolo	Carmichael Arena (3,076) Chapel Hill, NC
January 8, 2026 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Wake Forest	W 55–43	14–3 (3–1)	27 – Agara	11 – Eschmeyer	3 – Tied	Maples Pavilion (2,475) Stanford, CA
January 11, 2026 2:00 p.m., ESPN		Duke	L 60–67	14–4 (3–2)	17 – Agara	10 – Agara	4 – Lepolo	Maples Pavilion (3,908) Stanford, CA
January 15, 2026 3:00 p.m., ACCNX		at Boston College	W 77–52	15–4 (4–2)	15 – Swain	9 – Ogden	6 – Ogden	Conte Forum (633) Chestnut Hill, MA
January 18, 2026 11:00 a.m., ACCNX		at Syracuse	L 58–69	15–5 (4–3)	17 – Somfai	13 – Agara	4 – Clardy	JMA Wireless Dome (3,225) Syracuse, NY
January 25, 2026 3:00 p.m., ACCN		at California Rivalry	L 71–78 OT	15–6 (4–4)	16 – Tied	9 – Somfai	2 – Tied	Haas Pavilion (4,519) Berkeley, CA
January 29, 2026 5:00 p.m., ESPN		No. 7 Louisville	L 66–84	15–7 (4–5)	16 – Ogden	8 – Somfai	3 – Ijiwoye	Maples Pavilion (2,594) Stanford, CA
February 1, 2026 1:00 p.m., The CW		Notre Dame	L 66–78	15–8 (4–6)	23 – Ogden	10 – Ogden	3 – Swain	Maples Pavilion (4,119) Stanford, CA
February 5, 2026 3:00 p.m., ACCNX		at Pittsburgh	W 86–65	16–8 (5–6)	26 – Clardy	23 – Somfai	8 – Somfai	Peterson Events Center (571) Pittsburgh, PA
February 8, 2026 11:00 a.m., ACCNX		at Georgia Tech	L 52–74	16–9 (5–7)	19 – Somfai	9 – Somfai	6 – Somfai	McCamish Pavilion (3,056) Atlanta, GA
February 12, 2026 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Virginia Tech	L 67–79	16–10 (5–8)	20 – Clardy	15 – Somfai	2 – Tied	Maples Pavilion (2,503) Stanford, CA
February 15, 2026 11:00 a.m., The CW		Virginia	L 69–75	16–11 (5–9)	21 – Agara	6 – Swain	3 – Odgen	Maples Pavilion (3,358) Stanford, CA
February 19, 2026 5:00 p.m., ACCN		at Miami (FL)	L 51–66	16–12 (5–10)	16 – Swain	10 – Somfai	2 – Tied	Watsco Center (833) Coral Gables, FL
February 22, 2026 11:00 a.m., ACCN		at Florida State	W 77–61	17–12 (6–10)	22 – Agara	14 – Agara	6 – Ogden	Donald Tucker Center (1,686) Tallahassee, FL
February 26, 2026 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		SMU	W 87–57	18–12 (7–10)	19 – Somfai	9 – Agara	3 – Ogden	Maples Pavilion (2,769) Stanford, CA
March 1, 2026 11:00 a.m., The CW		Clemson	W 85–50	19–12 (8–10)	24 – Agara	10 – Agara	6 – Somfai	Maples Pavilion (3,034) Stanford, CA
ACC Women's Tournament
March 4, 2026* 8:00 a.m., ACCN	(13)	vs. (12) Miami (FL) First Round	L 76–83 OT	19–13	22 – Ogden	8 – Agara	6 – Ogden	Gas South Arena (5,192) Duluth, GA
WBIT
March 19, 2026* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	(2)	Loyola Marymount First Round	W 80–76	20–13	26 – Agara	16 – Agara	4 – Swain	Maples Pavilion (944) Stanford, CA
March 22, 2026* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	(2)	Quinnipiac Second Round	W 81–69	21–13	18 – Tied	9 – Stevenson	4 – Agara	Maples Pavilion (874) Stanford, CA
March 26, 2026* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+	(2)	at (1) BYU Quarterfinals	L 61–76	21–14	26 – Ogden	7 – Agara	2 – Tied	Marriott Center (3,541) Provo, UT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in PST.

Rankings

See also: 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	—	RV	RV*	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	RV	RV	—	RV	RV	—	—	RV	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

*AP did not release a week 8 poll.