Recruit rankings data has been manually collected by TSR contributors from multiple, reliable sources. Transfers and foreign recruits who are not expected to have four years of eligibility are excluded from these rankings. Order of rankings was decided by all TSR contributors. Despite our research, it is possible that certain names have been erroneously omitted.

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One consistently strong program that is bringing in top-tier talent is the Stanford women. It will be difficult to replace Elise Cranny, but with the return of six of their top seven women (for cross country), and hopefully Christina Aragon, Stanford will find themselves competing for a podium finish later this fall. The incoming freshmen are extremely talented and have experience competing in high school national championship meets.

From Arizona, Abi Archer will be traveling to Palo Alto. Archer has experience on the big stage as she finished 10th at NXN in 2018. Archer could make an immediate impact for Stanford thanks to her success in cross country. Her PR of 17:01 for the XC 5k puts her in contention to compete for a top spot on Stanford's roster. She will be entering the program with strong personal bests of 4:53 (1600) and 10:21 (3200) on the track, making her an extremely useful addition among all three seasons.

Joining Archer from Arizona will be Morgan Foster. Foster appears to be more of a middle distance runner with her wicked fast PR's of 2:06 (800) and 4:47 (1600). These times show that Foster has some great foot-speed and could add to the middle distance depth during the track seasons. Bringing in a 2:06 800 runner is a big plus for the Stanford women who haven't always been known for the middle distance accolades.

Kristin Fahy of California will be making the trip from Carlsbad to Palo Alto this fall and will be bringing in some fast PR's on the track and grass, as well as experience at national high school meets. Fahy comes to Stanford after running 2:15 (800), 4:48 (1600), and 10:11 (3200) on the track. She is an accomplished high school star where she won a state title on the track, but she is a force on the cross country course as well. Fahy has run 17:08 for the 5k (XC) and during the 2018 season, she finished 25th at the Footlocker XC Championships.

As for Grace Connolly of Massachusetts, she could very well be the runner who fills Elise Cranny’s place (either now or in a couple years time). Connolly has made numerous headlines during her high school career and is a top recruit for Stanford. The longer the race is, the better Connolly seems to perform. The 8th place finisher at the 2018 Foot Locker XC Championship, Connolly arrives in Palo Alto with a 5k XC PR of 16:35. On the track, Connolly is just as good. Her 2:13 (800), 4:48 (1600), and 10:18 (3200) proves that she has remarkable range. Collectively, she'll provide potential scoring potency for a team that will need another low-stick (or two) to contend for a national title this fall.

We finish off the recruit class with incoming freshman Lily Flynn who is an absolute stud on the track. Her middle distance times of 2:08 (800) and 2:45 (1k) already make her one of the better 800/1k runners in the PAC-12. It feels like the Cardinal are making an effort to improve their middle distance corps with this incoming recruiting class.

When you consider all of this incoming talent and their untapped potential, it's not crazy to suggest that most (maybe all?) of these rising freshmen will have a significant role in their first year. Stanford may have lost one low-stick for cross country, but they also return strong and experienced runners. With the return of Aragon into the lineup and the addition of the ladies mentioned above, don’t count Stanford out for a podium finish (or more) this fall.