Hailee Swain is ranked as the No. 10 recruit in the class of 2025. The 5-foot-10 point guard attends Holy Innocents Episcopal School and committed to Stanford shortly after her freshman year, but things have changed since Swain pledged to the Cardinal.
Legendary coach Tara VanDerveer retired this offseason after 38 seasons at the helm of the program. The staff remained largely the same, as associate head coach Kate Paye was promoted to head coach and the current assistant coaches stayed on staff.
Despite the change in leadership, Swain had no doubts she still wanted to be a Cardinal. It was her dream school. The combination of the program, the staff and obtaining a degree from Stanford made it an easy decision and all of that remains the same, even with a new coach.
“When Tara retired, that wasn’t going to make me change my decision,” Swain said. “I was close with Tara, and we’re still going to continue to be close through my collegiate career. But coach Kate Paye is the one who recruited me the whole time.”
Hailee Swain knew Stanford is home
From the moment Stanford offered Swain, she knew it was the place she wanted to spend her college years. Swain was deep into her recruitment process before NIL was legal, so it wasn’t a factor prior to committing to the Cardinal. However, she continues to grow her brand and surround herself with the right people so that she can capitalize on any opportunities that come her way.
The Atlanta, Georgia native describes her game as versatile and notes that she excels most in transition, can shoot efficiently from mid-range, but wants to continue to improve from beyond the arc.
She’ll have plenty of opportunities to do so this summer. Swain will compete for the U17 USA Basketball team in July before returning to her home state of Georgia to take part in Overtime Select, a new women’s basketball league for top recruits that begins competition in August.
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