Stanford Lands Another Biggie

The Cardinal adds one of the Class of 2007's top prospects to its mother lode from the Class of 2006, which was ranked among the elite signing classes in the country. This is a commitment that truly makes the already big much bigger.

In the 2006 class Stanford landed the country’s top- rated ‘five’ in Jayne Appel. The Cardinal must have a thing for No. 1s as last night they received a verbal commitment from Kayla Pedersen, arguably the best ‘four’ in the country.

“I’ve always wanted to go to Stanford,” said Pedersen, who whittled her top 10 down to USC, Duke and ultimately Stanford. “I went on those visits just to see if something else clicked. I really liked USC and I really liked Duke.”

At 6-foot-4 you would expect a post-up game and Pedersen has it. Her turnaround jumper is as smooth and fluid as any you will see. She pivots well, finishes with both hands and for her age she is a capable post defender as well. She also has the skills to play the wing and gives the Cardinal a player they can plug into at least three and maybe four positions. Even the fifth position, point guard, she has had to play at times for Red Mountain High School in Mesa, Ariz.

INCOMING
Stanford's next two incoming classes include some of the nation's top prospects, according to HoopGurlz.com rankings:

Jayne Appel, 2006, ranked No. 3
Kayla Pedersen, 2007, No. 4
JJ Hones, 2006, No. 32
Michelle Harrison, 2006, No. 40
Melanie Murphy, 2006, No. 49

Pedersen runs the floor well, passes like a guard and has extended her shooting range out to the three point line. Her handle has improved, too. This desert dandy had a chance to visit all of her top schools of interest before making her decision. She chose Stanford over Arizona State, Duke, LSU, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas, UCLA and USC.

“I developed a great relationship with the coaches,” Pedersen said. “I think the No. 1 thing is the bring out the best in you in any situation – they make you so much better.”

Stanford is not used to getting commitments this early in the year because of the school’s stringent admissions process. Having a strong GPA or test score isn’t enough to warrant admission in all cases and, as such Stanford, does not extend scholarship offers to prospects until they have been admitted. Her academic profile was strong enough to not only warrant an early application but also acceptance by the university.

“Academics were No. 1,” Pedersen said of the reasons for picking Stanford. “With a degree from Stanford I can have almost any job I want.”

Pedersen’s work ethic in the classroom trickles into her basketball life as well. She is the definition of a gym rat. She is in the gym every day working on her game or working on building strength and conditioning. She’s also not a player who is sold on a certain position. “I’ll play wherever there’s a mismatch,” Pedersen said. Smaller players won’t be able to defend her turn around jumper or any of her other post moves and her perimeter play has grown by leaps and bounds in the last year that the bigs will have a hard time keeping her in front of them too.

Pedersen is as good of a start as Cardinal coaches and fans could hope for after their nationally ranked 2006 recruiting class that included Appel, 6-3 forward Michelle Harrison and point guards Melanie Murphy and JJ Hones. There is still a wealth of talent on the board for Stanford in the 2007 class. Ashley Cimino, Jeanette Pohlen, Danielle Robinson, Hannah Donaghe and Stephanie Wilber are some of the prospects looking at Stanford.

“I looked at how I’m going to play with the players coming in there and in my class and it seemed like I would fit right in,” Pedersen said. “I can see playing for a national championship.”

With Appel ready to go in 2006 and Pedersen following behind, there is a pretty talented and imposing front court on the horizon for the Cardinal.

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Chris Hansen is the National Director of Scouting for Women's Basketball at HoopGurlz.com and Scout.com. Chris leads the panel that evaluates and ranks girl's basketball prospects nationally for HoopGurlz, Scout.com and Full Court Press (www.FullCourt.com). Chris has been involved in the women’s basketball community since 1998 as a coach, trainer, evaluator and reporter. He can be reached at [e-mail].