Both teams are playing this week. The men are in playing in the Prestige in La Quinta. After round 1, they sat in 14 place out of 24 teams and they rose to 7th place after round 2, bettering their round 1 score by 14 strokes. The team is being led by Karl Vilips who is tied for 7th. Thorbjornsen is T25th and has been consistent as he strides to get back to form after his back issue. He's only his six college rounds since coming back and still holds onto to his #1 ranking in the PGA University Tour.
After the NCAA D-I Men’s National Championship in May, the top-25 players in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking earn membership on the PGA TOUR (No. 1), Korn Ferry Tour (Nos. 2-10), or PGA TOUR Americas (Nos. 11-25).

The women are in the Pac-12 Preview on the big island. After round 1, they were in 4th but are tied for 1st with UCLA at -7 with USC one stroke behind. The big news is that Rachel Heck didn't make the trip. She's still on the recovery road and time will tell if she's back in form for the NCAA's. Meanwhile, she has dropped to 64th on the WAGR and is #273 in the NCAA individual rankings mainly due from her only having played 6 rounds.
The team is being led Paula Martin Sampedro with a -7 and in first and Sadie Englemann is right behind in second with a -6. Kelly Xu had a good round going but finished with bogies on 3 of the last 4 holes. Megha was +3 for the front 9 but shot 3 birds on the back to finish even. Caroline Sturdza was -2 after 13, but was +4 for the last 5 holes.
The top 4 teams are paired together for the final round.

Just a wild guess that we may not see Rachel tee it up in college match until the end of March at the Ping/ASU tournament with lots of time on the range and playing.

Read that here.

Read that here.

Firing this up now. Let's see what Christian Lim can do. It would be great if he had strong outing on the mound today.

Game is at 2:30 PM PT on ESPN+.

The ACC has unveiled their schedule pairings for next men's basketball season. Stanford's release on that with the pairings is here. Stanford will face Cal, SMU, and Wake Forest twice. Everyone else once either at home or away. Duke/UNC will be on the road for those that are curious.

Read that here.

I’m about to hop on my plane back to the Bay, but wanted to fire this up for all of you to discuss today’s game. Game starts at 11 AM PT. Nick Dugan gets the start on the mound. KZSU radio and ESPN+ on the call. I’ll join in after I land. Cardinal will be going for the sweep.

The Fox announcer, Gus Johnson, is ballyhooing Clark breaking Pistol Pete’s scoring record. He’s announcing Ohio State vs Iowa.
They didn’t have 3 pointers in Pete’s day so breaking his record is true, but doesn’t show the entire picture, Also, Pete wasn’t allowed to play his freshman year. He played 83 college games and Clark has played 129 plus this years post season. They also didn’t have a shot clock and some coaches would use stall ball to minimize scoring. They take away Clark’s frosh year and then count every 3 pointer as a two and then compare.
This stupid announcer would have said that Fran Belibi had more dunks than Lew Alcindor at UCLA.
sorry for the rant, but I hate announcers that hype without facts.

Troy Clardy released a TreeCast interview with Troy Taylor on Wednesday. Reactions:

* I am grateful for this interview. I know as well as anybody how nationally irrelevant Stanford football is at the moment (hopefully to be changed by a competent coaching staff with a plan) and how low-key our head coach's approach to public relations is, but even still it's been jarring to me how little football buzz or content there has been the last few months. I wasn't expecting there to be no press conference with the second Signing Day and no public opportunity whatsoever, as far as I know, to get a real post-mortem on 2023 and outlook on 2024. We've had the one recruiting-focused Signing Day and then basically radio silence. An optimistic read is that the staff is quietly going about their business, getting back in the lab, and working hard to turn the program around as actions will speak louder than words. At the same time it seems plainly true that there is very little by the way of PR or buzz building. In that climate, getting a quality interview with Taylor is much appreciated.

* I have been wanting to hear a little bit of a level-setting post mortem on what Taylor thought of 2023 and am glad Clardy gave us that. Taylor didn't give a lot but at least it's something. His answer was that we knew going into the year how challenging it would be with our roster but that he was proud of the guys for how they prepared and competed. Obviously Taylor knows it was a really crappy team. He's not blind or delusional.

* Coupling the immediate reference to how challenging the roster situation was with the quick pivot to how we need to recruit well, this answer reinforces what we already could pick up pretty easily, that Taylor thinks very little of the quality of our roster. So much of this rebuild is about turning over the roster and getting his own players in there. By my count we have 47 scholarship players who never played for Shaw. That's a big chunk of the way to roster turnover but there's another year or two to go. Beyond the sheer numbers of guys coming up in the Taylor culture vs. the Shaw culture, there's the equally pivotal issue of how good the guys actually are. Taylor called the 2024 class great and used the same word for the start of the 2025 class. As I've outlined elsewhere, I view the recruiting so far more as stabilizing and stanching the bleeding of where Shaw left the program than actually injecting talent we should be excited about. But it's really important to acknowledge that a whole new staff changes all the variables when it comes to player evaluation, positional coaching, strength and conditioning, and culture, so we are facing the complete unknown when it comes to what Taylor and Co. will get out of a given recruiting class. It could end up being much, much more than Shaw was getting out of more highly-regarded classes. Here's hoping.

* There were three references in that 30-ish second post mortem answer referring to depth. This is code for "our roster sucks." No need to belabor this. It's the same issue of Taylor grinding to get to the point where the roster has turned over and he's no longer dealing with his inheritance. I guess if we were to belabor this the question would be whether we can expect better "depth" in 2024 than in 2023. Maybe if the strength and conditioning has made the strides we're told about. I don't think the on-paper quality of the roster is much better in 2024 than it was in 2023 aside from an improvement in our retention of fifth and sixth year players, which will produce a somewhat more efficient use of the 85 scholarships than last year. The real story is the retention of Rogers, McLaughlin, and Phillips. I think the extent to which the roster is better than last year is basically those three players. We can expect better play in the trenches, especially on offense (can't forget the blow of losing Moi on defense). So I would say the roster is better this year overall but not dramatically so.

* To my knowledge Taylor has never been asked about how bad the 2023 defense was and whether that concerns him or if any changes have been made to get more out of the talent going forward. It's a major blind spot in our awareness of a critical issue facing the team and at almost any other major program these questions would be asked, but our coach isn't subjected to very many settings in which he has to talk about the program period. We have to settle for essentially official propaganda outlets (not a knock on Clardy, as I said grateful to at least get some chance to hear from the coach).

* That said, one can pick up mood pretty easily nonetheless from what Taylor was asked in this interview. The very first answer focuses on how it's good to be settled in and how we feel much further ahead this year than last year. The unspoken flip side of that is an unease last year in being thrust in mid-recruiting and having to do all the transitional things of building familiarity between players and coaches, installing systems, inculcating a new approach to strength and conditioning, and all the rest. That's probably as explicit as we're going to get that last year was a throwaway/practice round and that we're turning the page with high hopes that being more "settled" will make a difference.

* Taylor highlighted having the same coaching staff all back as being great. This is a classic issue in football of wanting to have continuity so you can build something year-to-year and avoid disruptions that come with changes to chemistry and instructional approaches. At the same time, you want to make sure you have the right guys. At this stage of the rebuild I am inclined to agree with Taylor that continuity is good, especially in building culture. We need more data points than just one year to know if we have the right guys on staff. We're probably talking three years, but it definitely seems like more than one, especially considering the difficult roster situation the coaches inherited. We should be hopeful that stringing together some continuity will help produce stability and better culture. But I am watching whether coaches deliver. We don't really have anything to judge yet for our jaw-droppingly inexperienced offensive staff since last year wasn't Taylor's real offense/a roster that had a prayer. On defense, April's first year was a disaster but we can hope there is major learning after his first season as a coordinator. Let's just keep evaluating (and I hope/trust Taylor is). At this stage it's appropriate to think continuity is a good thing as they're trying to build.

* Taylor also brought up the "phenomenal" new weight room early on, connecting it to a broader point that players now better understand how we train and condition. S&C is an area hard for outsiders to evaluate and ultimately the proof will be in the pudding but it seems like one of the main areas for optimism that things will start to turn around. We need to change players' bodies and hopefully the strength staff and overall culture are doing a good job of that.

Read that here.

Read that here.

Read that here.

Read that here.

Called up to the Giants a month ago.

Alrighty, time for the February recruiting notes thread to launch. If you missed any action from the January thread, click here.


Stanford has already put out an offer in February. @SamuelMcF posted this at the bottom of the January thread. I'm just re-posting at the start of this thread since it is February: 2025 4-star running back Jamarion Morrow has been offered. Listed as an All-Purpose Back out of Germantown, TN. My mom's oldest brother raised his family in Germantown. Random fact. He has a bunch of offers and has a 5.8 Rivals rating, so a low 4-star. But still a 4-star.

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One of the things to look for on the immediate horizon is how Stanford rounds out their 2024 class. They've already landed several preferred walk-ons, but the chance that they add another preferred walk-on or two is possible. One name specifically to keep an eye on is 2024 Harvard commit Kieran Corr. He's a a really good kicker and visited for the Elite Day on January 20th. So, maybe he's all that's left out there in the preferred walk-on category, but he's one to keep a close eye on. He'd be a nice get.

And then based on my intel, they are not done adding transfers. I've been told there is supposed to be more action closer to the regular February 7th signing day and I'm getting the sense that means more transfers. And then even beyond that, I would expect a transfer or two to trickle in during the spring. The Stanford application process is more robust than other schools and so that's why there is a bit of a delay between when other schools add transfers and when they land transfers. It just takes longer for Stanford to make sure all their i's are dotted and their t's are crossed.

In the very near future as in the coming days, we should get word of who the mystery commit is that has been alluded to in the January thread. I don't know for certain when he'll announce, but if typical timeline patterns hold, that should be made public within a few days. Usually the staff doesn't signal a commit if they are a week or more out from announcing. I don't know if it's a transfer or a high school commit, but I do have good reason to believe it's someone to genuinely be excited about. So that's good news.

Things are already picking up steam on the 2025 and 2026 side. I'm getting something set up with 2025 4-star outside linebacker CJ Jimcoily who just visited as well as 2026 4-star wide receiver Madden Williams. So that's content you all can look forward to. Obviously, you guys can scroll through the offers list to get a full picture of everyone who has been offered and visited, but the key names to keep an eye on in 2025 as of now are 4-star quarterback Bear Bachmeier (who might be nearing a decision), 4-star cornerback Chuck McDonald III (who is close with the Bachmeier family), Jimcoily as mentioned above, 4-star OT Josh Petty, and 4-star wide receiver Taz Williams, Jr.

Bachmeier has visited multiple times, McDonald visited for Big Game, Petty visited last summer, and then Williams also visited last summer. Petty it seems like they're very actively on right now. Williams I haven't heard much on as of late, but I'm just mentioning him because he visited in the summer and is one of the highest rated guys in the class that Stanford has offered.

I feel like Stanford is in a good spot with Bachmeier. Brother Tiger is on the team, family loves Stanford, and as a whole are very impressed with Troy Taylor. I think Stanford has good odds to land him. And then given that Bear and Chuck McDonald III are such good friends, if Stanford lands Bear, that would of course help them land McDonald, so that's something to be aware of.

As far as who could be the first commit in the 2025 class, wide receiver Liam Thorpe is in the running for that. His dad Allen is heavily involved in Lifetime Cardinal LLC and he visited for the Elite Day on January 20th. All signs point to him committing to Stanford. The only question is when. And then Bear Bachmeier could end up being an early commit as well. His brother Tiger committed in March of 2022 and ended up being an early enrollee for the 2023 class. So, I'm sure that's part of what might be factoring into the equation for him a bit. His brother committed fairly early and might be telling him the benefits of having a decision out of the way.

So, that's kinda where things sit right now. Obviously, there's a bunch of kids they are on in both the 2025 and 2026 classes. I don't wanna just rally off all those names since that's what the offers list is for as well as the visits tabs, but hopefully this snap shot helps for February specifically. Gonna be interesting to see who they add in the 2024 class and more specifically what transfers they get. If anyone wants to refresh themselves on the offers list and visitors lists, just click here. Unlike other sites, I keep track of every offer and visit as they come in.

Read that here.

JH should be fired tonight. Montgomery has an announcing job that he may not be able to get out of, but it would be fun if Monty came in to coach these guys the rest of the season as interim coach. He wouldn't want the full time job, but he at least could bring some energy and hope to the rest of the season. The players and the fans deserve that.

Read that here.

Stanford was 295th in scoring defense going into tonight, giving up 76.4 PPG. After getting torched for 90 tonight, they should drop to 300/301.

This is the biggest story of the season. A team that was, recently, known for tough nosed and aggressive defense is now 11th in the PAC. Stanford has played much better offense this season, but they can’t stop anyone.

I am, sadly, at the stage where I take solace in each ugly loss being another nail in a long overdue coffin.

Read that here.

The team release on that is here. Format is simpler for women's hoops because it's 18 league games. Stanford will play Cal twice and then everyone else once either home or away.

Read that here.

They won 3-2 in Hawaii. One match each won in two games and the other three went to 3 games.

Read that here. Brink is back. Lepolo is out with a knee injury. That's your injury update.