The Pipeline Stanford's Kyle Smith Could Build in the Transfer Portal

Over the last few days, the Saint Mary’s Gaels program has been through massive changes. They lost in the conference semifinal to the Santa Clara Broncos, falling far below typical expectations. Then, despite being a seven seed in the NCAA Tournament, fell to the 10 seed Texas A&M Aggies in the first round. It's not the biggest upset ever, but it's still disappointing for the program.

After another failed season for the Gaels, legendary head coach Randy Bennett took the Arizona State Sun Devils head coaching job, after it opened, due to a firing of Bobby Hurley during the Big 12 Tournament.

We're already seeing the beginnings of a chain reaction that could cause the majority of the team to hit the transfer portal.

Saint Mary’s star Paulius Murauskas has officially entered the transfer portal. And it’s expected that others are soon to follow. This could end up being as simple as a number of the players that enter the portal just choosing to follow their coach to Arizona State. Two factors that could hinder that plan are sheer roster size, and how his old players would mesh schematically with the new ones.

That means there could potentially be a few open spots for the Stanford Cardinal to pounce upon if the opportunity arises, and the Cardinal have a pretty solid recruiting pitch.

The St. Mary's to Stanford pipeline?

First, Stanford is very close by to Saint Mary’s, with Palo Alto and Moraga separated by just a quick cross over the bridge. If a player is in love with the Bay Area, staying could be a great option, and a school like Stanford is a great next step. In addition, most of Saint Mary’s roster is made up of Californians, which could be an advantage to the Cardinal in recruiting.

Second, Stanford has some of the best academics in the country, and is a top institution both academically and athletically. It’s a perfect step up from Saint Mary’s.

And third, head coach Kyle Smith is doing a great job at leading Stanford to the NCAA tournament. In his first two years with the Cardinal, he has led them to back-to-back 20 win seasons, pushing the Cardinal to become an up and coming program. For players that want a new opportunity with a power conference program, Stanford could be the perfect place for them.

It's also important to mention that Coach Smith was an assistant coach for Saint Mary's just a few years ago, so there are connections to the Gaels built in.

It may be a stretch that Paulius Murauskas would head to Stanford over Arizona State, but there are certainly a few other players that could be intriguing for the Cardinal. Mikey Lewis averaged 13.9 points per game as a sophomore, and is a Bay Area raised player.

Joshua Dent is a sophomore that averaged 13.2 points a game. Even sophomore center Andrew McKeever, a Bay Area born and raised player, averaged 8.2 points and 9.2 rebounds per game as a sophomore.

It’s going to be interesting to see if any Saint Mary’s players actually decide to go to Arizona State, or even enter the transfer portal in the first place. If they do, Stanford may be the perfect opportunity for them to provide a change of scenery, an opportunity with a proven basketball coach, and some terrific academics to boot.

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