Stanford men's basketball starting five for opener vs. Denver

Jason Burke | Nov 2, 2024

Mar 14, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Stanford Cardinal forward Maxime Raynaud (42) is introduced before the game against the Washington State Cougars at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The college basketball season is nearly upon us, with both the Stanford men's and women's teams set to tip-off on Monday. The men's game will be at 1 p.m. with the women set for primetime at 7 p.m. Both programs will be adjusting to life in the ACC, and each squad will also be under new leadership, with Kyle Smith taking over as the men's coach, while Kate Paye will be in charge of the women.

The men's team has already set their lineup for Monday's afternoon start against Denver, according to the game notes.

At guard, Stanford is expected to roll with Benny Gealer and Jaylen Blakes. Gealer, a junior, was noted for his shooting and ball handling when Stanford Cardinal on SI spoke with coach Smith last week, while Blakes is a grad transfer from Duke that should be instrumental in helping the Cardinal program during the 2024-25 season.

At forward, the starting lineup has both 7-foot-1 Maxime Raynaud and 6-foot-10 Aidan Cammann listed, though Raynaud will likely slide to center while Ryan Agarwal, who is listed at 6-foot-6 and a third guard, moves to a forward position.

Agarwal is a redshirt sophomore and was named to the Pac-12 honor roll last season, and was a four-star recruit according to ESPN and Rivals coming out of high school. Being in the starting lineup to open the season should bode well for his year.

Raynaud was just named one of the best 100 players in college basketball, ranking as highly as No. 25 by On3. In his final season, he will be a huge piece of Kyle Smith's plans for the Stanford program this season. He's basically the only member of the team that's guaranteed playing time given his past production.

Finally, there is Cammann, a redshirt freshman and three-star forward that has the ability to bang inside as well as drop them in from the perimeter.

The team isn't going to be filled with household names just yet, but there are some reasons to be intrigued in what the men's side is doing this season. The Stanford men will have five home games during the first two weeks of the season.