Two Stanford women's basketball's '25 signees make award watch list

The future is bright on The Farm as the Cardinal are set to add some real star power in their quest for greatness in the ACC.

Jan 11, 2022; Stanford, California, USA; Basketballs with the Stanford Cardinal logo sit on the court before the game between the Stanford Cardinal and the USC Trojans at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

It looks like Stanford’s 2025 recruiting class is poised to be one for the ages. In Kate Paye’s first ever recruiting class, she was able to land some dominant players, signing two four-star prospects and three five star prospects, helping Stanford rank as the nation’s No. 3 class for 2025. And it looks like this class keeps getting better and better as two of the signings, Lara Somfai and Hailee Swan, were named to the Naismith Trophy High School Girls Player of the Year watch list as announced by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.

The award, in which only 50 players get selected for the watch list, is one of amateur basketball’s most prestigious awards as it is given to the best boys/girls basketball player in the country. With Somfai and Swan earning watch selections, it puts Stanford as one of only three schools to have multiple players make the list. Since the award was first established in 1987, Stanford has had two players in its history win the award, with Chiney Ogwumike winning it in 2010 and Haley Jones winning it in 2019.

Somfai and Swann, who are both five-star prospects, join other five-star forward Alexandra Eschmeyer (Peak to Peak Charter School-Colorado), four-star forward Nora Ezike (Lyons Township HS-Illinois) and four-star wing Carly Amborn (San Domenico School-CA) in Stanford’s class and hope to bring big name superstars back to The Farm since the departure of players such as Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen.

Somfai, who is originally from Australia, is a 6’4” forward who is dominant on both sides of the floor. She has represented Australia in multiple international competitions, including in Mexico for the 2023 FIBA U17 Women’s Championship, where she led her nation to a fifth place finish while leading the team with 14.4 points per game and 5.3 rebounds in seven games. 

In June of this year, Somfai was named an All-Star at the FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Cup that took place in China, where she averaged 17.6 points and 10.8 rebounds as she led Australia to the title. 

Swain, who is listed at 5’11”, is rated as the ninth best player in the nation. Having won two gold medals as a member of the United States National Team, she won her first one at the 2023 FIBA U16 Women’s Americas Championship, averaging 10.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 2.5 steals. Her second gold came in the 2024 FIBA U17 World Cup, where she averaged 10.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists in seven games played. 

Committed to Stanford since July of 2022, just after her freshman season, she has been a vital piece to her high school team, helping guide them to the Georgia High School Association AAAA quarterfinals last season, as a junior, while averaging 23.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.6 steals and 2.8 assists per game.