Stanford Women's Basketball Facing Major Portal Losses

Early exits have raised questions about how much change is looming, as Stanford navigates an increasingly active transfer portal window

Nunu Agara attempts a shot against Tennessee at Maples | John Todd/ISI Photos

Changes are taking over the Stanford women’s basketball program. Just days after losing in the WBIT, players are beginning to announce their intention to hit the portal for Stanford, with former top prospect, Harper Peterson, putting her name in.

And on Friday, April 3, the Cardinal saw the player exodus continue, with star junior forward Nunu Agara being the second Cardinal player to announce her intention to enter the transfer portal.

Agara, a three year standout for the Cardinal, averaged 15.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game in 2025. She also played a big role for the Cardinal over the last couple of seasons, bringing leadership and experience to an otherwise young core.

Agara was made the star of the program in 2024-25 when Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen departed, while also being a sophomore and dealing with a coaching change and a new conference. This past season she was the veteran with the young guns, and continued putting up terrific numbers across the board.

Entering the portal with one season of eligibility remaining, Agara will garner a lot of interest and should end up being a focal point on whichever program she chooses. This decision is geared towards setting her up for a future in the WNBA. After the Cardinal missed the NCAA tournament the past two seasons, it's hard to argue with the logic here.

Forever grateful❤️

Thank you Stanford🌲 pic.twitter.com/stZGVo104g

— Nunu (@NunuAgara) April 3, 2026

A four-star recruit coming out of high school, Agara attended Hopkins High School in Minnesota— the same one as college basketball legend Paige Bueckers, and played for the USA national team in the 2022 FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup, winning the gold medal. At Hopkins, Agara enjoyed an accolade-filled career, winning numerous awards, most notably two state titles as a freshman and junior. 

Losing Agara is big for the Stanford women's basketball program, especially for a Cardinal team that fell well short of expectations and is now struggling to figure out a long term identity.

While bringing in several five-star recruits ahead of this past season, such as Alexandra Eschmeyer, Lara Somfai and Hailee Swain, the rest of the core is still to be determined moving forward. Now the question is how the Cardinal will address their needs this offseason, because Agara will leave a sizable hole to fill.

Joining Agara in the portal is fellow junior, Mary Ashley Stevenson. The former Big Ten Freshman of the Year at Purdue, Stevenson spent the last two seasons of her career at Stanford, playing a limited role.

Starting in only nine total games out of the 66 games she played in on The Farm, Stevenson averaged 4.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists last season before averaging 2.0 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.6 assists this season.

After Stanford's lone win in the WBIT, head coach Kate Paye heaped praise onto "M.A." calling her a pro for how she goes about her business and how she is always ready to fulfill the needs of her team. With just one year of eligibility remaining, she too is likely looking to put herself in the best position to potentially make a run at the WNBA.

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