NCAA Basketball: Top 25 recruiting programs of the 2010’s

T-24. Stanford Cardinal (Pac-12)

Average recruiting ranking: 38.10

Stanford is one of the most intriguing inclusions in this list. Even though their recruiting numbers have been very solid, the program has not been very successful on the court. During the 2010’s, the Cardinal only made one NCAA Tournament appearance and that came as a No. 10 seed in the 2013-14 season. This has clearly been a disappointing stretch, especially when you consider the program made 12 appearances in 13 years from 1994-2008. Neither Johnny Dawkins nor Jerod Haase has been able to replicate the on-the-court successes started by Mike Montgomery and Trent Johnson.

Despite their overall lack of on-the-court success compared to many of the other teams on this list, Stanford has landed some top-rated players. Most notably, Dwight Powell and Reid Travis both put together solid careers with their time in the program. Both players were two-time All-Pac-12 performers while consistently starting games. Additionally, Stanford’s 2017 recruiting class, which finished at No. 14 in the land, featured a pair of strong recruits in KZ Okpala and Daejon Davis.

Stanford has not been the most successful program on the court in recent years and it does not look like that is destined to change in the next few years. Although the Cardinal are bringing in a fringe top-100 point guard in Tyrell Terry from the 2019 class, they need more than just one difference-maker to rise up the national rankings. As a result, it is hard to predict a ton of success in the upcoming decade. The program is not necessarily on an upward trend nor has it been consistently solid for years. That could easily change, though.