Aidan Cammann talked about one of the hidden draws at Stanford University:
“It’s pretty much nice all the time. The weather is beautiful all year long.”
Talk about irony. For nearly every minute of his freshman year in Palo Alto, Calif., one athletic “monsoon” rolled in after another.
Andover’s Cammann survived the dissolution of the famed PAC-12 Conference, a red-shirt season on the bench, a coaching change and massive roster turnover – all within a 12-month span. He not only survived. The 6-foot-10 wing player is killing it.
“It definitely has been (a crazy time) with a whole new coaching staff, weights coach, trainers, nine new players on the team,” said Cammann, the 2022 Eagle-Tribune Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
Indeed, with all the upheaval including Kyle Smith taking over the reins of the program from Jerod Haase in March, Cammann was one of only six players to remain in the program.
“I had talks with (Smith) and the coaching staff, right away,” said Cammann.
The new coach was acquainted with Cammann’s game, having seen him play AAU ball with the Middlesex Magic. There was enthusiasm on both sides.
“Coming off the red-shirt year, it’s a little like I’m an incoming freshman for him. I have a full four years of eligibility left,” said Cammann. “I think that helped to make the transition easier.”
The fact that he is at Stanford – one of the world’s most dynamic universities — kept Cammann cemented in his commitment to the school and the program. The transfer portal was never a consideration.
“I feel like Stanford might be the best blend of academics and athletics,” said the three-time Eagle-Tribune All-Star for Dave Fazio at Andover High. “It’s a special place to be. You can be challenged academically and play at such a high-level of basketball.
“All the returning guys have all bought in to what Stanford is all about. It definitely matters.”
It also helped that when the school found itself plunged into athletic limbo, it recovered quite nicely, landing in the Atlantic Coast Conference of all places.
“There was a little bit of chaos, maybe for two weeks, right after UCLA and USC announced (their intentions of moving to the Big-10 and abandoning the PAC-12),” said Cammann, who is still undecided but might be leaning to a psychology major. “That only lasted three weeks or something, though. The athletic department sent out emails, saying ‘bear with us.’ They were on top of things right away.”
There will be more travel, of course. While the Stanford schedule is not out, Cammann does know there will be a trip to Duke and North Carolina in the works.
Boston College will be playing out on the West Coast, but the Cardinal is slated for a trip to Chestnut Hill in 2026.
Opportunity wise, the stretch-four has progressed quite nicely.
“For me, it’s a little early to tell with such a new team. I mean we have nine new players,” he said. “I want to be in the rotation, starting would be great, it’s always the goal.”