Wednesday was the first day of the Fall National Signing Period, and women’s basketball head coach Tara VanDerveer announced the four newest members of the Cardinal. The four –– 6’2 guard Elena Bosgana (Athens, Greece/American Community School of Athens), 6’3 guard Brooke Demetre (Foothill Ranch, California/Mater Dei), 5’10 guard Jzaniya Harriel (Sacramento, California/Antelope) and 6’3 forward Kiki Iriafen (Porter Ranch, California/Harvard-Westlake) –– make up the No. 6 ranked recruiting class in the country, according to espnW HoopGurlz, and will arrive on the Farm next fall.
Hailing from Athens, Greece, Bosgana committed to Stanford in July and will be the first European women’s basketball player to suit up for the Cardinal. espnW does not rank overseas prospects, but that has not stopped her from making a name for herself in the basketball world. Last year, she averaged 19.3 points per game and 8.3 rebounds per game at the FIBA U16 European Women’s Championship.
Demetre is the highest-rated recruit in this Cardinal class, slotting in at No. 11 in the country. The California native committed to the Cardinal going into her junior year. She averaged 12.5 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game that season. Demetre can play multiple positions on the floor, and will be a versatile piece for Hall-of-Fame coach VanDerveer.
The No. 78 ranked recruit, Harriel is known for being a force on the offensive end, having already scored over 2,000 points in her high school career. Last season, she averaged a double-double –– 25.9 point per game and 10.4 rebounds per game. Harriel hails from Sacramento.
Last but not least, No. 19 ranked Iriafen joins the program as the class’ only forward. Iriafen had a dominant junior campaign, averaging 23.3 points per game and 15 rebounds per game, and was named Los Angeles Daily News Player of the Year. She just started playing basketball in her freshman year of high school and will continue to develop under VanDerveer’s watch.
Coach VanDerveer has now landed back-to-back No. 6 ranked recruiting classes. With the 2021 class now wrapped up, she can focus her attention on the upcoming season beginning in 14 days. There are high expectations for this year’s squad, debuting at No. 2 in the Preseason AP Poll. The team will tip off against Cal Poly on Nov. 25.
Contact Ells Boone at eboone24 ‘at’ stanford.edu.