Stanford's Top Athletes

Author:
SI Staff
Publish date:
Jun 19, 2008

Stanford's Top Athletes

Candice Wiggins

The all-time leading women's scorer for Stanford and the Pac-10, Wiggins led the Cardinal to four Elite Eight appearances and a combined 118-20 record. An All-America and three-time Pac-10 Player of the Year, she was named the Women's NCAA Basketball Player of the Year before being drafted third overall by the Minnesota Lynx.

Summer Sanders

The only Stanford swimmer to win two NCAA Swimmer of the Year awards, Summer Sanders also won individual NCAA titles and four relay championships while helping Stanford win the national championship in 1992. At the Barcelona Olympics that year, she won a gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly and the 400-meter medley relay, while winning a silver and bronze medal in the 200-meter individual medley and 400-meter individual medley, respectively.

Mike Mussina

During his three years at Stanford, the All-America right-handed pitcher went 31-16 with a 3.89 ERA and two College World Series appearances. His standout season came in 1990 when he finished 14-5 with a 3.50 ERA before being drafted in the first round (20th pick overall) by the Baltimore Orioles.

Kerri Walsh

A four-year first-team All-America volleyball player, Kerri Walsh helped the Cardinal win the NCAA women's volleyball championship in 1996, when she was named Freshman of the Year and Final Four MVP, and another championship in 1997. As a senior she won co-National Player of the Year honors before becoming one of the most well-known faces in professional beach volleyball in the AVP.

Bob Mathias

Already having won a decathlon gold medal in the 1948 Olympics at age 17, Bob Mathias enrolled in Stanford and became a football fullback. In 1952, Mathias became the first person to compete in the Olympics and a Rose Bowl in the same year. Despite being drafted by the Washington Redskins in 1953, he never went on to play in the NFL.

Julie Foudy

A four-time NSCAA All-America midfielder, Julie Foudy was the 1989 Soccer America Freshman of the Year and 1991 Player of the Year. She finished her Stanford career with 52 goals, 32 assists and 136 points. She played on the Women's USA National Team for seventeen years, scoring 45 goals and making 271 appearances. She won an Olympic gold medal in 1996 and was captain of the team in 2000 and 2004 when they won a silver and gold medal, respectively.

John McEnroe

Despite reaching the Wimbledon semifinals as an 18-year-old, John McEnroe decided to remain an amateur and attend Stanford. In 1978, he won the NCAA singles title and led the Cardinal to an undefeated dual match record and national championship before finally turning pro. He went on to have an extremely successful professional career, winning 77 singles titles (7 Grand Slams) and 71 doubles titles (9 Grand Slams).

Jim Plunkett

Despite undergoing thyroid surgery as a freshman, Jim Plunkett became Stanford's first Heisman trophy winner in 1970. He finished his senior season with 18 passing touchdowns and 3 rushing, along with a conference-record 2,715 passing yards. To finish his college career, he led the Cardinal to their first Rose Bowl victory since 1941 and became the first pick in the NFL draft. He went on to have a 15-year NFL career.

John Elway

Drafted by the Kansas City Royals out of high school, John Elway turned down professional baseball to play baseball and football at Stanford, where he became an All-America quarterback who threw for a total of 9,349 yards and 77 touchdowns. He set NCAA Division I records for passing attempts, completions, and most games with at least 200 passing yards (30) and became the first pick in the 1983 NFL Draft. Also a talented baseball player, Elway was drafted by the Yankees after hitting .361 during his senior year. Spending his entire NFL career with the Denver Broncos, Elway was a nine-time Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl winner.

Tiger Woods

As a freshman, Tiger Woods defended his U.S. Amateur title and was voted Pac-10 Player of the Year and NCAA first team All-America. That same year he played in his first PGA major, tying for 41st at The Masters as the only amateur to make the cut. In 1996, Woods won the NCAA individual golf championship and became the first golfer to win three consecutive U.S. Amateur titles. After two years, he dropped out of Stanford and turned pro.