Stanford aims to stay menacing at home, opens vs. Portland State

As it continues to reestablish Maples Pavilion as one of college basketball's toughest venues for opponents, Stanford begins its second season under coach Kyle Smith on Nov. 4 against visiting Portland State.

The Cardinal went 17-3 at their home court in Smith's 2024-25 debut, with the 17 wins matching a program record.

"(We are) just incredibly grateful for what Coach Smith did to the program so far," guard Benny Gealer said. "How he brought all our guys together when we entered a new league, and he was obviously a new coach with a ton of new players. Last year was just an amazing, amazing year for us. Projected 17th (in the ACC); ended up finishing seventh."

Stanford opens 2025-26 with more roster continuity than a season ago, including the former walk-on Gealer. He will step into a more prominent role after coming off the bench as a 3-point-shooting spark plug, hitting 45 a season ago.

The Cardinal also return Ryan Agarwal, who averaged 7.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, but Stanford is faced with replacing Maxime Raynaud. The standout big man posted 20.2 points and 10.6 rebounds per game for the 21-win Cardinal before being drafted in the second round by the Sacramento Kings.

Portland State, meanwhile, opens the 2025-26 season with designs on competing for a Big Sky Conference championship. The Vikings have seen steady progress under coach Jase Coburn, with last year's team reaching 19 wins.

Portland State welcomes back guard Jaylin Henderson, one of three Vikings appearing on the preseason All-Big Sky team. Henderson averaged 13 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, and he joined fellow preseason all-league selection Terri Miller Jr. in averaging more than a steal per contest.

Miller also produced 12.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He's part of a formidable frontcourt with Tre-Vaughn Minott, a 6-foot-9 center who averaged almost eight points and eight rebounds per game last season.

"This team is good enough to win a championship and I don't mind saying that," Coburn said, via the official Portland State athletics website. "But just because we say it, or think it, that doesn't mean anything. We have to prove it."

--Field Level Media