Lara Somfai: Stanford University's prized Aussie recruit

• Australian rising star Lara Somfai has committed to play for NCAA Division 1 powerhouse Stanford University
• Somfai was a McDonald's All-American in high school and played in the Nike Hoops Summit
• She led SA Metro to the Australian Under-18 Championship gold medal in 2023

When you’re getting calls, letters and offers from just about every major women’s college basketball program under the sun — you must be doing something right.

It’s fair to say the talent and work ethic of Australian Lara Somfai caught the eye of college recruiters, and the offers came in thick and fast from powerhouse colleges across the USA. From UConn, South Carolina and UCLA to Duke, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Arizona, North Carolina, Syracuse and Stanford — they were all vying for her services.

It’s little wonder why she was a five-star recruit who had programs clamouring to get her commitment.

Somfai is a 6’4” forward with a silky smooth outside shot that makes you wonder if she’s a guard stuck in a forward’s body. Then she goes to work in the paint and it all makes sense as her sublime footwork and timing takes over, forcing her way to the bucket or the free throw line as defenders throw in the white flag.

She possesses a deadly combination of outside shooting and dominant paint play that makes her a handful to guard because opposing bigs struggle to get out and defend her on the perimeter, while inside she has a bag full of tricks that allow her to counter each move the defence makes.

After being recruited for years, it wasn’t until Somfai took her official college visits that it finally felt real.

“The visits for me made it feel real,” she told basketball.com.au.

“Obviously being in Australia, when they would call me and send letters, I was like ‘they're just playing around, they might not want me’. Then when I get to the visits, I was like ‘oh my goodness, this is real, I'll actually be going to college and choosing a school’. Up until that point I was waiting for them to choose me, but now I needed to make a choice.”

Her decision ultimately came down to three prestigious schools; UConn, Duke and Stanford. In November last year, Somfai announced her commitment to Stanford University and when asked why she chose to be a Cardinal, Somfai revealed she turned that question on its head.

“When I thought about it, I was like, genuinely, what could be a reason that I wouldn't come here?” she said.

“I kind of reversed the question. Why wouldn't I come here? I could not think of a single thing, there really wasn't anything that would stop me from going there.

“When I visited it felt like such a close-knit community and that was really what I was looking for in a school, as well as the academics and basketball, of course. My three final schools, all of them had the most incredible level of basketball, so I knew wherever I would go, I could not go wrong with my choice.

“It was on top of the basketball, all the extra stuff and especially the academics. I'm a huge, huge nerd — I love school, so that played a huge part for me as well. I'm so excited that I get my number as well. They had my number 12 free, so I thought that was just another sign!”

Somfai heads to Stanford later this year for her freshman season and joins the women’s basketball program in unfamiliar territory; they’re coming off a season in which they didn’t qualify for the NCAA Tournament, ending a 36-year streak.

She will be out to help rectify that and return the program to competing for Final Fours and National Championships. It won’t happen overnight, but Somfai is ready for the challenge.

“Coach Kate [Paye] is the epitome of a Stanford player and a Stanford coach; she’s super, super competitive, so I know every single day in practice, I'm going to be challenged — I'm really going to be challenged coming in and that's what I wanted,” she said.

“I think our team has so much potential and there’s five of us freshman coming in, three of us are McDonald's All-Americans. We have one of the best recruiting classes, so I think she did such an incredible job, and now we just need to work and reward her.”

Somfai had her sights set on college basketball for years and spent the last 18 months preparing by attending high school in America at the famed IMG Academy in Florida. Leaving home as a teenager to attend high school on the other side of the world is no small decision, but if there’s one thing she is going to do, it’s challenge herself and leave no stone unturned in her quest to develop into the best basketball player she can possibly be.

“My goal going over there was to prepare myself for college and to challenge myself that extra bit,” she said.

“I really don't want to get comfortable, every day I try to challenge myself. The environment at IMG was very similar, if not the same to how it is at most colleges and I'm super fortunate to have experienced that.

“It was crazy intense and it took a bit of getting used to. The style of play in America was definitely my biggest adjustment and the year and a half at IMG gave me a lot of time to adjust to how they play. For me, being a bit of a lankier player, I learned how to control my body a lot more and be more physical.”

Those lessons were on full display last year when Somfai shone bright for Australia, first at the FIBA U18 Women's Asia Cup and then at the FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup.

She helped lead Australia to the gold medal in the Asia Cup, earning All-Star Five honours — alongside Saffron Shiels – averaging 17.6 points and 10.8 rebounds per game. In the final, Somfai was tasked with battling inside against the most imposing figure in the tournament; 7’3” Ziyu Zhang. China’s Zhang had shot a ridiculous 82% from the field heading into the gold medal match, but against Australia, she shot just 50% as Somfai and co made it as difficult as possible for Zhang as her teammates continuously fed her the ball.

That Asia Cup campaign will stay with her for a long time. It was at that tournament where she truly realised the places the game of basketball could take her in life.

“The Asia Cup was probably the moment for me,” she said.

“I had a goal for the past three years since I realised I could play at that international level to make an All-Star Five and be up there with some of the top players in the world. Going into the Asia Cup, I wanted to win a gold medal and also prove to myself that I can be up there with the best. When I was up there in that moment with the All-Star Five surrounded by such incredible players like Saf [Saffron Shiels], that was definitely one of the key moments.

“Also this year, another one of those moments was playing in the McDonald's All-American game. I think those two moments, maybe even more so the McDonald's All-American game, because I was like ‘wow, this might actually be my life’.”

Playing for Australia is the ultimate honour for Somfai, and it becomes evident that the longer she spends away from home, the more special it becomes to pull on the green and gold to represent her country.

“Nothing compares to pulling on that Australia jersey with your number on the front and your name on the back,” she said.

“There's truly no other feeling in the world like it. I remember at the World Cup last year, I had lived away from my family for the last two years, so being there and knowing my parents were watching the games, every time the national anthem played — I hope you guys couldn't see on the cameras — I was crying, there was a tear coming down my face.

“I was just so happy and so grateful to be there and every game when the national anthem comes on, all my nerves just go out the window.”

As Somfai continues to take the basketball world by storm, it’s hard not to get excited about the impact she could have at the senior international level. Her skill and hunger to compete would fit seamlessly into the Opals program in the future, but as modest as ever, she still finds it hard to believe Opals coach Sandy Brondello even knows her name.

“I really hope one day I can reach that level,” she said. “I know at the moment I'm nowhere close, but I would really love that opportunity and obviously for any Aussie girl it is a dream. I've seen a couple of interviews where Sandy was talking about the McDonald's All-American game and I still cannot believe it to this day that she even knows I exist.

“I'm the biggest fan of hers and I love what she's doing with Opals — there's truly no one better. That would be a dream and I'm working my butt off every day to hopefully achieve that goal.”

From legendary college coaches to the head coach of the Opals respecting Lara Somfai’s polished game, it won’t be long until fans of women’s basketball across the globe are talking about the Australian freshman at Stanford.

About the Author

Hayley Wildes is passionate about all things Australian women’s basketball and loves to highlight the stories of players from all levels and competitions across the globe. From our own backyard in the WNBL, to the WNBA and the Opals, and everything in between, Hayley has you covered.