Stanford Basketball Lands Former New Mexico Commit

Richard Pitino's New Mexico departure allowed Stanford to land a star

Feb 10, 2024; Stanford, California, USA; The Stanford Cardinal logo at center court before the game between the Stanford Cardinal and the USC Trojans at Maples Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images | Robert Edwards-Imagn Images

Stanford basketball's roster continues to take shape ahead of the 2025-26 season. With head coaches leaving for new jobs and a lot of players expected to hit the portal when that happens, big name talent could very well be up for grabs.

And luckily for Stanford, one team's loss was their gain as it was recently announced that former New Mexico commit, Jaylen Petty, was flipping his commitment to Stanford.

A star out of Rainier Beach High School in Seattle and the consensus Washington state MVP, the four-star recruit was originally committed to play under Richard Pitino at New Mexico, but after Pitino took the Xavier head coaching job, Petty the asked to be released from his NLI, allowing him to sign elsewhere.

With Stanford being one of his original finalists and feeling it would be a good fit, Petty revealed that he would sign with Stanford and play for Kyle Smith.

Can’t wait! 🌲 @StanfordMBB pic.twitter.com/PA6nXUb84y

— Jaylen Petty (@jaylen_petty1) April 7, 2025

In signing with Stanford, Petty not only gives the Cardinal some more star power to make up for the impending losses of Jaylen Blakes and Maxime Raynaud, but it is also the first time that a Rainier High School product that has played under head coach, Mike Bethea, has signed with Stanford.

One of the only schools that he took an official visit with, along with UC Santa Barbara, Petty joins a Stanford program that has lofty expectations heading into year two in the ACC.

Other schools that showed interest and extended an offer to Petty include Fresno State, Oklahoma, Pepperdine, UNLV and Washington.

Petty's senior season in high school was one for the ages. Averaging 24.5 points, 5.9 rebounds, 3.2 steals and 5.5 assists, Petty helped guide Rainier Beach to Class 3A state championship and was named the co-3A Metro Player of the Year for his strong efforts this season.

In addition, he also won the Class 3A tournament MVP, the WIBCA Mr. Basketball award, the Gatorade State Player of the Year and was named the Washington State Player of the Year by High School On SI/SB Live.

After Pitino left for Xavier, it was reported that Stanford started to really recruit him hard again, with representatives from the program visiting him in Seattle twice last week. Now firmly committed to Stanford, expect Petty to play a big role in helping the program build off of the 20-win season that they had this past season.

Signing Petty is no doubt a big pick up, and for a Cardinal program that is eager to return to the NCAA tournament for the first time in well over a decade, this could be a very important first step.