[Softball Fan]

Thanks BobK.  Cawa actually looks very good in some highlight videos I watched.  The coach of her high school and club teams is a fan of Stanford.  I wouldn't be surprised if he occasionally gives tips to Hambly about prep prospects.  He coached Gubbins until she went beach only.

[Softball Fan]

Thanks BobK.  Cawa actually looks very good in some highlight videos I watched.  The coach of her high school and club teams is a fan of Stanford.  I wouldn't be surprised if he occasionally gives tips to Hambly about prep prospects.  He coached Gubbins until she went beach only.

[BobK]

Back to the lack of depth at MBer. Let’s not forget how what a brobdingnagian loss Leilah Smith was with her knee injuries.

[BobK]

Back to the lack of depth at MBer. Let’s not forget how what a brobdingnagian loss Leilah Smith was with her knee injuries.

[BigJohn043]

Back to the lack of depth at MBer.  Let’s not forget how what a of immense proportions loss Leilah Smith was with her knee injuries.

Totally agree.  And don't take my comments on lack of MB depth as a criticism of the staff.  Even if you have 4 MBs losing even one puts you in a tough situation.

I also think there are far fewer elite MBs than pins.  Most decent teams in the NCAA have three decent pins but lots have MBs that just aren't that good.

But I think we should be recruiting more MBs.  The other plus of recruiting MBs is that many can also play OPP as we have seen a bunch of times at Stanford.

Andrews in 2024 is a good start.  But we probably need at least two in 2025.  At least.  With Hazel off the board I would we have good line of sight to those recruits.  This is further complicated by the fact that MBs tend to mature a little later.....

[BigJohn043]

Back to the lack of depth at MBer.  Let’s not forget how what a of immense proportions loss Leilah Smith was with her knee injuries.

Totally agree.  And don't take my comments on lack of MB depth as a criticism of the staff.  Even if you have 4 MBs losing even one puts you in a tough situation.

I also think there are far fewer elite MBs than pins.  Most decent teams in the NCAA have three decent pins but lots have MBs that just aren't that good.

But I think we should be recruiting more MBs.  The other plus of recruiting MBs is that many can also play OPP as we have seen a bunch of times at Stanford.

Andrews in 2024 is a good start.  But we probably need at least two in 2025.  At least.  With Hazel off the board I would we have good line of sight to those recruits.  This is further complicated by the fact that MBs tend to mature a little later.....

[CompSci87]

Hambly having been an MB ought to be a factor in drawing MB recruits who want to learn to be great.

[CompSci87]

Hambly having been an MB ought to be a factor in drawing MB recruits who want to learn to be great.

[Softball Fan]

Hambly having been an MB ought to be a factor in drawing MB recruits who want to learn to be great.

Yes that could help and Hambly was an All-American MB at BYU.  But you still need to find elite MBs who view Stanford as their dream school and are willing to wait out the admission process.  Some recent examples of recruited MBs who chose other schools:

6’5” 2022 Maggie Mendelson; she had the grades and was strongly recruited by Hambly.  Ultimately she insisted on the option to play both VB and BB which ruled out Stanford.  She chose Nebraska.

6'5" 2025 Natalie Wardlow; recruited by Hambly.  Already has committed to Wisconsin.

6'6" 2025 Hazel Alevok; recruited by Hambly.  Already has committed to UCLA.  I get the feeling there is no way she was going to wait around to find out if she would be admitted by Stanford.

I agree with BigJohn that Hambly is doing a good job in recruiting.  One problem is finding elite prep MBs willing to wait out admissions while receiving all kinds of offers and probably some tempting NIL.

---

Ipar Kurt at OH puts up a nice block with Francis. That looks like Pringle wearing libero jersey but I'm not sure. I remember last season Pringle missed three serves against Nebraska and was put in Hambly's dog house. I don't think she ever got out last season.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/StanfordWVB/status/1673098559896563712/video/1[/tweet]

[Softball Fan]

Hambly having been an MB ought to be a factor in drawing MB recruits who want to learn to be great.

Yes that could help and Hambly was an All-American MB at BYU.  But you still need to find elite MBs who view Stanford as their dream school and are willing to wait out the admission process.  Some recent examples of recruited MBs who chose other schools:

6’5” 2022 Maggie Mendelson; she had the grades and was strongly recruited by Hambly.  Ultimately she insisted on the option to play both VB and BB which ruled out Stanford.  She chose Nebraska.

6'5" 2025 Natalie Wardlow; recruited by Hambly.  Already has committed to Wisconsin.

6'6" 2025 Hazel Alevok; recruited by Hambly.  Already has committed to UCLA.  I get the feeling there is no way she was going to wait around to find out if she would be admitted by Stanford.

I agree with BigJohn that Hambly is doing a good job in recruiting.  One problem is finding elite prep MBs willing to wait out admissions while receiving all kinds of offers and probably some tempting NIL.

---

Ipar Kurt at OH puts up a nice block with Francis. That looks like Pringle wearing libero jersey but I'm not sure. I remember last season Pringle missed three serves against Nebraska and was put in Hambly's dog house. I don't think she ever got out last season.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/StanfordWVB/status/1673098559896563712/video/1[/tweet]

[BigJohn043]

Hambly having been an MB ought to be a factor in drawing MB recruits who want to learn to be great.

Yes that could help and Hambly was an All-American MB at BYU.  But you still need to find elite MBs who view Stanford as their dream school and are willing to wait out the admission process.  Some recent examples of recruited MBs who chose other schools:

6’5” 2022 Maggie Mendelson; she had the grades and was strongly recruited by Hambly.  Ultimately she insisted on the option to play both VB and BB which ruled out Stanford.  She chose Nebraska.

6'5" 2025 Natalie Wardlow; recruited by Hambly.  Already has committed to Wisconsin.

6'6" 2025 Hazel Alevok; recruited by Hambly.  Already has committed to UCLA.  I get the feeling there is no way she was going to wait around to find out if she would be admitted by Stanford.

I agree with BigJohn that Hambly is doing a good job in recruiting.  One problem is finding elite prep MBs willing to wait out admissions while receiving all kinds of offers and probably some tempting NIL.

---

Ipar Kurt at OH puts up a nice block with Francis.  That looks like Pringle wearing libero jersey but I'm not sure.  I remember last season Pringle missed three serves against Nebraska and was put in Hambly's dog house.  I don't think she ever got out last season.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/StanfordWVB/status/1673098559896563712/video/1[/tweet]

So we lost out on Mendelson because of Tara.

Not sure how you even know we are recruiting Hazel & Natalie.  Coaches have only been able to talk to them for the last 10 days.  I saw Stanford at a reasonably small tournament.  They watched Hazel.  They also watched Kelly & Charlotte.  My sense is Hazel was getting a lot of interest but the elite teams were waiting to watch her a bit more.  It seems like our staff's evaluation was similar to Texas.

FWIW, Kevin is a rock star on the club circuit.  A rock star.  The Stanford coach always will be but it helps that he is youngish and frankly good looking.  I also think he has built a great culture on the team.  I don't think he has had a single girl transfer out since he came.  That speaks to the culture and club coaches know that.

There are a limited number of elite MBs.  Many of them won't have Stanford grades or want to buy into the academic side.

I would just like to see us lean into more of these elite MBs.  We need a minimum of 2 in the 2025 class.  Even that leaves us a bit short.

[BigJohn043]

Hambly having been an MB ought to be a factor in drawing MB recruits who want to learn to be great.

Yes that could help and Hambly was an All-American MB at BYU.  But you still need to find elite MBs who view Stanford as their dream school and are willing to wait out the admission process.  Some recent examples of recruited MBs who chose other schools:

6’5” 2022 Maggie Mendelson; she had the grades and was strongly recruited by Hambly.  Ultimately she insisted on the option to play both VB and BB which ruled out Stanford.  She chose Nebraska.

6'5" 2025 Natalie Wardlow; recruited by Hambly.  Already has committed to Wisconsin.

6'6" 2025 Hazel Alevok; recruited by Hambly.  Already has committed to UCLA.  I get the feeling there is no way she was going to wait around to find out if she would be admitted by Stanford.

I agree with BigJohn that Hambly is doing a good job in recruiting.  One problem is finding elite prep MBs willing to wait out admissions while receiving all kinds of offers and probably some tempting NIL.

---

Ipar Kurt at OH puts up a nice block with Francis.  That looks like Pringle wearing libero jersey but I'm not sure.  I remember last season Pringle missed three serves against Nebraska and was put in Hambly's dog house.  I don't think she ever got out last season.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/StanfordWVB/status/1673098559896563712/video/1[/tweet]

So we lost out on Mendelson because of Tara.

Not sure how you even know we are recruiting Hazel & Natalie.  Coaches have only been able to talk to them for the last 10 days.  I saw Stanford at a reasonably small tournament.  They watched Hazel.  They also watched Kelly & Charlotte.  My sense is Hazel was getting a lot of interest but the elite teams were waiting to watch her a bit more.  It seems like our staff's evaluation was similar to Texas.

FWIW, Kevin is a rock star on the club circuit.  A rock star.  The Stanford coach always will be but it helps that he is youngish and frankly good looking.  I also think he has built a great culture on the team.  I don't think he has had a single girl transfer out since he came.  That speaks to the culture and club coaches know that.

There are a limited number of elite MBs.  Many of them won't have Stanford grades or want to buy into the academic side.

I would just like to see us lean into more of these elite MBs.  We need a minimum of 2 in the 2025 class.  Even that leaves us a bit short.

[qwerty49]

Please refresh my memory: are 2-sport WVB/WBB athletes not allowed at Stanford these days? What has changed since Folkl and Wiggins? And Sara the MB who played post?

[qwerty49]

Please refresh my memory: are 2-sport WVB/WBB athletes not allowed at Stanford these days? What has changed since Folkl and Wiggins? And Sara the MB who played post?

[johnbar]

Please refresh my memory: are 2-sport WVB/WBB athletes not allowed at Stanford these days? What has changed since Folkl and Wiggins? And Sara the MB who played post?

I think you are referring to Sara McGee, who is the last player to play both WVB and WBB, I think, c.2002.
(IIRC, Candice Wiggins never played VB, even though she was on the 2004 roster and got a championship ring.)  

I don't think playing both is "forbidden". What I recall hearing is that Tara VanDerveer will not let a player be a starter if she plays another sport  So if an SA really wants a shot at being a WBB starter, she can't do both at Stanford.   The overlapping seasons are an issue. 

Please correct me if I am wrong.

OTOH, I recall hearing VanDerveer being so impressed by the athleticism of some Stanford WVB player, she did make a remark to the effect that the SA would be welcome on the WBB team.

Maybe in the new era of NIL and transfer portal, more flexibility is needed.

[johnbar]

Please refresh my memory: are 2-sport WVB/WBB athletes not allowed at Stanford these days? What has changed since Folkl and Wiggins? And Sara the MB who played post?

I think you are referring to Sara McGee, who is the last player to play both WVB and WBB, I think, c.2002.
(IIRC, Candice Wiggins never played VB, even though she was on the 2004 roster and got a championship ring.)  

I don't think playing both is "forbidden". What I recall hearing is that Tara VanDerveer will not let a player be a starter if she plays another sport  So if an SA really wants a shot at being a WBB starter, she can't do both at Stanford.   The overlapping seasons are an issue. 

Please correct me if I am wrong.

OTOH, I recall hearing VanDerveer being so impressed by the athleticism of some Stanford WVB player, she did make a remark to the effect that the SA would be welcome on the WBB team.

Maybe in the new era of NIL and transfer portal, more flexibility is needed.

[BobK]

Given that many college sports are year around unlike 20 years ago it’s very hard to play two sports. We have had football players on the track team very recently. We have an incoming football player who will play baseball. But it’s just too hard to play two sports these days.
Mendelson averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds Just saying.
So back to MBers I looked at both prep dig and also prep volleyball top 100 players for 2024 and I don’t see many not already committed.

[BobK]

Given that many college sports are year around unlike 20 years ago it’s very hard to play two sports. We have had football players on the track team very recently. We have an incoming football player who will play baseball. But it’s just too hard to play two sports these days.
Mendelson averaged 2 points and 2 rebounds Just saying.
So back to MBers I looked at both prep dig and also prep volleyball top 100 players for 2024 and I don’t see many not already committed.

[CompSci87]

Also probably a factor is that if someone plays both WBB and WVB on an athletic scholarship, it counts against WBB. Tara may be unwilling to use one of her program's scholarships on someone who is primarily a VB player and just joins the BB team after the VB season is over.

[CompSci87]

Also probably a factor is that if someone plays both WBB and WVB on an athletic scholarship, it counts against WBB. Tara may be unwilling to use one of her program's scholarships on someone who is primarily a VB player and just joins the BB team after the VB season is over.

[johnbar]

Also probably a factor is that if someone plays both WBB and WVB on an athletic scholarship, it counts against WBB. Tara may be unwilling to use one of her program's scholarships on someone who is primarily a VB player and just joins the BB team after the VB season is over.

Right, that is another factor I had forgotten.

[johnbar]

Also probably a factor is that if someone plays both WBB and WVB on an athletic scholarship, it counts against WBB. Tara may be unwilling to use one of her program's scholarships on someone who is primarily a VB player and just joins the BB team after the VB season is over.

Right, that is another factor I had forgotten.

[BobK]

Thanks compsci. That explains all

[BobK]

Thanks compsci. That explains all

[Softball Fan]

It's hard to believe WVB ranks third in NIL dollars of all college sports.  Actually I don't believe it ranks higher than WBB.  I don't ever read about blockbuster NIL deals with any Stanford WVB players.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/SBJ/status/1671231502087012382/photo/1[/tweet]

[Softball Fan]

It's hard to believe WVB ranks third in NIL dollars of all college sports.  Actually I don't believe it ranks higher than WBB.  I don't ever read about blockbuster NIL deals with any Stanford WVB players.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/SBJ/status/1671231502087012382/photo/1[/tweet]

[GK3]

It's hard to believe WVB ranks third in NIL dollars of all college sports.  Actually I don't believe it ranks higher than WBB.  I don't ever read about blockbuster NIL deals with any Stanford WVB players.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/SBJ/status/1671231502087012382/photo/1[/tweet]

As I recall Canady was a 4* basketball player, averaging 20 points a game but obviously no basketball in her future now.

[GK3]

It's hard to believe WVB ranks third in NIL dollars of all college sports.  Actually I don't believe it ranks higher than WBB.  I don't ever read about blockbuster NIL deals with any Stanford WVB players.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/SBJ/status/1671231502087012382/photo/1[/tweet]

As I recall Canady was a 4* basketball player, averaging 20 points a game but obviously no basketball in her future now.

[johnbar]

It's hard to believe WVB ranks third in NIL dollars of all college sports.  Actually I don't believe it ranks higher than WBB.  I don't ever read about blockbuster NIL deals with any Stanford WVB players.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/SBJ/status/1671231502087012382/photo/1[/tweet]

I'm assuming these are percentages of players who have NIL deals, not based on dollar amounts.
I can believe the percentage of WVB players with NIL edges out WBB, though I would not have guessed that in advance.
I don't follow WBB enough to know what is going on there.  But a number of the Stanford WVB players obviously have endorsement deals that they promote on social media.  (Although maybe I am thinking of BVB players...)

[johnbar]

It's hard to believe WVB ranks third in NIL dollars of all college sports.  Actually I don't believe it ranks higher than WBB.  I don't ever read about blockbuster NIL deals with any Stanford WVB players.

[tweet]https://twitter.com/SBJ/status/1671231502087012382/photo/1[/tweet]

I'm assuming these are percentages of players who have NIL deals, not based on dollar amounts.
I can believe the percentage of WVB players with NIL edges out WBB, though I would not have guessed that in advance.
I don't follow WBB enough to know what is going on there.  But a number of the Stanford WVB players obviously have endorsement deals that they promote on social media.  (Although maybe I am thinking of BVB players...)

[BobK]

2025 MBer Kenna Cogil to Oregon

[BobK]

2025 MBer Kenna Cogil to Oregon

[Softball Fan]

Bummer, the 2025 field of elite MBs is rapidly decreasing.  I'm sure Kenna had good reasons for choosing the school she did.  It's a well coached team.  But it's also a little puzzling she expressed interest in a school with less than a 4% admit rate and decides on a school with a 93% admit rate.  Maybe it's mostly about feeling the most comfortable with a coach or teammates. 

I'm getting nervous about the MB position moving forward 2024 through 2026.  Is there any scenario for Vicini to play in 2024?  It may be time for Hambly to start making some international trips for recruiting.

[Softball Fan]

Bummer, the 2025 field of elite MBs is rapidly decreasing.  I'm sure Kenna had good reasons for choosing the school she did.  It's a well coached team.  But it's also a little puzzling she expressed interest in a school with less than a 4% admit rate and decides on a school with a 93% admit rate.  Maybe it's mostly about feeling the most comfortable with a coach or teammates. 

I'm getting nervous about the MB position moving forward 2024 through 2026.  Is there any scenario for Vicini to play in 2024?  It may be time for Hambly to start making some international trips for recruiting.

[BobK]

That’s why Stanford is playing 19U and 17u teams on their European trip Maybe

Stanford admissions can be hard

[BobK]

That’s why Stanford is playing 19U and 17u teams on their European trip Maybe

Stanford admissions can be hard

[Softball Fan]

Foreign tour is over.  That didn't seem to last very long and not many match videos.  Oh well, I look forward to a pre-season scrimmage at Stanford; hopefully the third week in August.

https://twitter.com/StanfordWVB/status/1...gr%5Etweet

[Softball Fan]

Foreign tour is over.  That didn't seem to last very long and not many match videos.  Oh well, I look forward to a pre-season scrimmage at Stanford; hopefully the third week in August.

https://twitter.com/StanfordWVB/status/1...gr%5Etweet

[BigJohn043]

Bummer, the 2025 field of elite MBs is rapidly decreasing.  I'm sure Kenna had good reasons for choosing the school she did.  It's a well coached team.  But it's also a little puzzling she expressed interest in a school with less than a 4% admit rate and decides on a school with a 93% admit rate.  Maybe it's mostly about feeling the most comfortable with a coach or teammates. 

I'm getting nervous about the MB position moving forward 2024 through 2026.  Is there any scenario for Vicini to play in 2024?  It may be time for Hambly to start making some international trips for recruiting.

We are done with 2024s.  Andrews is one of the best in that class.  And we also got a walk on for a bit of depth.  Reasonable outcome.

I would like two more MBs in 2025.  I am assuming we have line of sight on at least one and hopefully two.  Anyone that goes to UCLA was clearly not a recruiting priority for us.  I feel the same way about Oregon.  Hard to believe these are players we really wanted.

[BigJohn043]

Bummer, the 2025 field of elite MBs is rapidly decreasing.  I'm sure Kenna had good reasons for choosing the school she did.  It's a well coached team.  But it's also a little puzzling she expressed interest in a school with less than a 4% admit rate and decides on a school with a 93% admit rate.  Maybe it's mostly about feeling the most comfortable with a coach or teammates. 

I'm getting nervous about the MB position moving forward 2024 through 2026.  Is there any scenario for Vicini to play in 2024?  It may be time for Hambly to start making some international trips for recruiting.

We are done with 2024s.  Andrews is one of the best in that class.  And we also got a walk on for a bit of depth.  Reasonable outcome.

I would like two more MBs in 2025.  I am assuming we have line of sight on at least one and hopefully two.  Anyone that goes to UCLA was clearly not a recruiting priority for us.  I feel the same way about Oregon.  Hard to believe these are players we really wanted.