Stanford Pipeline Continues: Lynx Star to Join Unrivaled in 2026

Another Stanford alum will join the new offseason basketball league

Jun 1, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; The game ball with the WNBA commissioner's cup logo sits on the court during the second quarter of the game between the Golden State Valkyries and the Minnesota Lynx at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The 2025 WNBA Finals are set to begin on Friday, with the Phoenix Mercury taking on the Las Vegas Aces. Yet, all of the former Stanford Cardinal that are in the W are currently in offseason mode. Part of those offseason plans for a number of former Cardinal involve playing in the second season of Unrivaled.

Unrivaled is where the WNBA's best players will come together in the second season of the 3-on-3 offseason league and grow their games ahead of the new season. This is a great opportunity to not only earn a little extra money, but also get some offseason reps against some of the best in the world to prepare for the next WNBA season.

In the 2026 edition, several new players will join, including former Stanford legend and current Minnesota Lynx star, Alanna Smith.

ALANNA SMITH IS UNRIVALED ✅
Presented by @ally 

Catch her in Season 2 starting Jan. 5 on TNT, truTV and Max. 📺 pic.twitter.com/F44EPt5gTW

— Unrivaled Basketball (@Unrivaledwbb) September 30, 2025

It is still unknown which team Smith will join, but coming off of a season in which she won the WNBA co-Defensive Player of the Year Award, sharing it with MVP A'ja Wilson, and cementing her status as one of the league's best, getting her to join the league is a big deal. Last year she was dealing with injuries following Lynx run to the WNBA Finals.

Smith's 2025 campaign was still very good nonetheless, averaging 9.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists while recording 80 blocks in 42 games played. Her strong play was a big reason why the Lynx were able to finish with the league's best regular season record at 34-10 despite a disappointing playoff exit in the semifinals.

Smith's accolades stem far beyond the WNBA floor, with her being very accomplished at the international level representing her native Australia. A 2024 Olympic Bronze Medalist, Smith also was named to the 2024 Olympic All-Star Five and is a silver medal winner at the FIBA World Cup.

At Stanford, Smith played a pivotal role during her four year stint, winning a plethora of accolades while helping the Cardinal stay in the upper echelon of women's college basketball. Averaging a total of 11.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists in her 143 game college career, Smith broke out as a senior in 2018-19, starting all 36 games while averaging 19.9 points, 8.6 rebounds and 1.9 assists.

Her college accolades include being a named a Second-team All-American by AP in 2019, being named Pac-12 Tournament MOP in 2019, the Pac-12 All-Defensive Team in 2019 as well as being named to the All-Pac-12 Team in both 2018 and 2019. Her strong college career led to her being drafted 8th overall by the Phoenix Mercury in the 2019 WNBA Draft.

Smith has improved significantly over the years, going from being a bench player with a limited role early in her career to a cornerstone franchise player with the Lynx. And with Unrivaled gaining major traction and proving its popularity last year, Smith now joins in on the fun and not only gets a chance to improve her game even more, but she can firmly place herself on the women's basketball map.