Which Stanford sport has the best future?

When you look at the history of all the college sports programs in the nation, Stanford's runs deep. From the John Elway football days, to the Brook Lopez basketball days and everything in between and after, Cardinal sports have churned out stars. Today, the big three of baseball, football and basketball have been unable to replicate their prior successes.

But even through struggle, each program is working diligently to rebuild so that they can return to national relevance and stay there for the foreseeable future. Out of each sport, which one has the brightest future?

When it comes to the football program, there is a lot of uncertainty--and a lot more questions than answers. While Troy Taylor was the head coach, the Cardinal went 3-9 during both of his seasons and gave a sense that the team had an unclear direction. But after Taylor was fired due to workplace misconduct and replaced by interim head coach Frank Reich, the program was set further back.

However, unlike Taylor, Reich's high level NFL coaching background and strong track record of success has reignited some fuel that even if the team struggles record-wise, they can take enormous steps forward in development so that when Reich does not remain as the head coach following the 2025 season, whomever takes over is left in a good spot.

The future for the football team has no real outlook given the state of things, but there is major optimism that Reich can help bring the guys together and oversee the development project. The goal for this coming season will be to start the program on the right path forward.

When it comes to men's basketball, head coach Kyle Smith has the team going in the right direction. Taking over for Jerod Haase after several disappointing seasons, Smith's first season on The Farm brought on a 20-win season for the first time since 2019-20.

Under Smith, several players were able to break out into stars such as former walk-on Maxime Raynaud and transfer Jaylen Blakes, the latter of which went from averaging 1.8 points as a bench player for Duke to averaging nearly 14 points, starting every game he was available for Stanford.

And with a strong recruiting class coming in and with Smith having a full year under his belt, the basketball program could look to make some noise in the ACC next season. Smith utilizes a strategy he dubs 'nerd ball' which incorporates analytics into his decision making process.

By using this, he is able to form a team that fits his system and allows for him to maximize the player's potential. And if year one was any indication of what is to come, don't be surprised if Stanford basketball is back in the NCAA tournament very soon.

Baseball, despite a tough season, could be a major powerhouse soon enough. A new conference combined with young talent made this season one to forget. But with a lot of players returning next season, such as Rintaro Sasaki and soon-to-be sophomores in guys like Tatum Marsh, the Cardinal could look to return to their winning ways.

Stanford baseball is young and now that a lot of the players have another year of experience under their belt, expect them to come out firing in 2026.

Overall, it is hard to say which sport has the brightest future, but with the investments to win being made by each program, it is clear that the Stanford athletics department is eager for their teams to return to the national spotlight and compete for national championships.

Given the starting point, it would appear as though the men's basketball program could be the closest, but they're also losing Raynaud to the NBA Draft next month, which does raise some questions moving forward. Baseball has a lot of talent, but the program is still unproven. Football appears to be headed in the right direction, but we'll need to see more before dubbing any of these three programs ahead of the other.