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Like a lot of ACC programs lately, Stanford upgraded its coaching, hiring Kyle Smith in March 2024.
He arrived after successful stints at Columbia, San Francisco, and Washington State. San Francisco has a glorious history, but most of it is from the 1950s and the Bill Russell era, with a sort of coda during the Bill Cartwright years of 1975-1979 (the program ran afoul of NCAA rules and ultimately, school president Father Lo Schiavo shut it down for three years).
Like Columbia, it is a difficult place to win.
Apparently liking challenges, Smith left the Dons for the Washington State job. That is no easy assignment either, but he never had a losing season there and won 25 games in his final year, leading the Cougars to the NCAA Tournament.
For Smith, Stanford has always been a dream job, and when he got the chance, he took it, but basketball was not the only reason.
His middle son, Bo, has a form of autism that became more pronounced after early childhood. It has been a profound challenge for the family: Bo has lost nearly all of his ability to speak and can have difficult outbursts. As he matures, it’s become more difficult to manage, particularly for Mrs. Smith, when she is the only one available.
Stanford, however, has superb resources for the family, and they are in about the best situation they can be in for their son.
Smith is a cerebral coach, celebrated for his analytics-driven “Nerdball” system and for consistently competing at a high level even when he has not had the best talent.
For the most part, our ACC previews have not focused heavily on personnel losses.In Stanford’s case, you cannot skip that, because Ebuka Okorie was simply brilliant.
He was well regarded coming in as a freshman, but almost no one outside the Stanford staff expected him to become what he became.
Okorie averaged 23.2 points and 3.6 assists, shot 35.4 percent from three and 46.5 percent from the field (52.8 percent effective field-goal percentage), and added 3.6 rebounds and 1.6 steals.
He led the ACC in scoring and made All-ACC First Team as a freshman. If not for Cameron Boozer, he would have been a strong candidate for ACC Rookie of the Year.
But he is gone, as are Chisom Okpara, Benny Gealer, Jeremy Dent-Smith, AJ Rohosy, Ryan Agarwal, and Oskar Giltay, who entered the portal, landing at UConn.
That’s a lot to lose. This is 2026, though, and lots of teams overhaul their rosters. Losing a starting lineup is not the disaster it once was.
So what does Smith have to work with this year? More than you might think. First, he has seven players back, which is unusual these days.
Aidan Cammann, a 6-10 senior, played about 21.7 minutes a night last season and averaged 6.5 points and 3.8 rebounds. He is a cerebral player with a versatile offensive game. He is not hugely athletic, but he understands the game.
Donavin Young, a 6-8 junior, offers athleticism and defense. He played in 21 games last year at 15.3 minutes a night and is an adequate rebounder at 2.3 boards in that role. He is good for hustle plays. He is not a particularly good shooter, but other guys can handle that.
Evan Stinson, a 6-7 junior, played only four games last season before getting injured. He showed he can be a competent, versatile defender across multiple positions and flashed some perimeter shooting. It is hard to know what to expect after such a small sample, though.
Injuries also limited Kristers Skrinda last season. The 6-10 Latvian played only nine games, none against ACC competition. He is still something of a mystery, but he is said to shoot well, have solid all-around skills, and a sturdy frame. We will have to see what he brings to the court, though.
Tallis Toure is a 6-11 junior who played only six minutes in two games last year. Unless he has made a huge leap over the summer, do not expect much.
Anthony Batson Jr. sat out last season as a redshirt and is said to be athletic. If the 6-3 junior can help on defense, that’s a role he could build on.
Myles Jones, a 6-3 combo guard, also sat out to develop. He is described as a good passer with excellent court vision, and good defensive hands. He probably got plenty of work defending Okorie in practice last year, which should pay off.
Then come the portal additions. Christian Bliss spent two years at Virginia, never played a minute, then transferred to Delaware, where he was terrific. He averaged 16.7 points, 5.2 rebounds, and a very impressive 5.9 assists for the Blue Hens. That earned him CUSA Freshman of the Year.
You can probably pencil him in at point guard, but he’ll have some competition there, which we’ll get to shortly.
Austin Maurer is a 7-0 junior transfer from Seattle. Smith thinks he can shoot well enough to space the floor, and he’s also a solid interior defender. He should be a significant factor.
Nick Townsend is a 6-7, 240-pound fifth-year forward from Yale, where he was Ivy League Player of the Year after averaging 16.3 points and 7.4 rebounds. Yale won the Ivy in 2023 and 2025 during his time there as well.
Townsend can play on the perimeter, but is strong enough to work inside as well. He shot 46.3 percent from the bonusphere last season, which is superb. He could be an excellent fit.
The jewel of the freshman class appears to be Aziz Olajuwon, the son of NBA great Hakeem Olajuwon. Aziz is not 7-0 like his father, which may actually be a break, because no one is expecting him to be his dad. Who could possibly follow that? Who would even want to try?
What he is, though, is pretty good: an athletic wing who can play at least two positions. At Peach Jam, he hit 42 percent of his threes. He is said to read defenses well and to pass well.
Interestingly, he was teammates with Duke’s Maxime Meyer at IMG Academy.
Julius Price is a 6-2 guard Smith wanted because he can score in bunches. He hit 44 percent of his threes at the FIBA U18 European Championships for Sweden and is also said to be an excellent defender.
Isaiah Rogers is a pass-first point guard who handles the ball well and can withstand defensive pressure. He can shoot, too, and was an excellent leader at Corona Centennial. He could push Bliss at the point.
Elias Obenyah is a bit unusual: at 6-5, he can play 1 through 4 on offense and is reportedly able to guard 1 through 5 if needed. That kind of versatility should earn him minutes. He was also an excellent high school student with a 4.5 GPA and is a gym rat. That sounds perfect for Stanford.
Drew Anderson, at 6-9, can bang inside and hit threes. Like several other teammates, he can guard multiple positions and rebound well. They will find things for him to do.
When Stanford hired Smith, the school had a pretty good idea of what it was getting with Nerdball. He has designed algorithms for his teams and to identify recruits who fit his system, too. He is highly intelligent and has consistently competed at a high level even without the best talent.
This roster is pretty good, and the Cardinal should be competitive if the freshmen are ready. Even so, Smith faces the same problem Cal’s Mark Madsen, Florida State’s Luke Loucks, SMU’s Andy Enfield, and Virginia Tech’s Mike Young all face: they may have put together decent teams, but the ACC is full of good teams this year. Moving up will not be easy.
By the way, one very nice note to end on: guess who the new Director of Player Personnel for Stanford is?
Former Blue Devil Jaylen freakin’ Blakes, that’s who.
Apparently it’s true that the cream rises to the top.
The Roster
Returnees
- Aidan Cammann – 6-10 – SR
- Donavin Young – 6-8 – JR
- Evan Stinson – 6-7 – JR
- Kristers Skrinda – 6-10 – SO
- Tallis Toure – 6-11 JR
- Anthony Batson – 6-3 JR
- Myles Jones – 6-3 SO
Portal
- Christian Bliss – 6-4 JR (Delaware)
- Austin Maurer – 7-0 JR (Seattle)
- Nick Townsend – 6-7 GR (Yale)
Freshmen
- Aziz Olajuwon – 6-7 FR
- Julius Price – 6-2 – FR
- Isaiah Rogers – 6-3 – FR
- Elias Obenyah – 6-5 FR
- Drew Anderson – 6-9 FR
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