Dynasty:  Three NCAA women’s titles in the last five years lifts the Stanford Cardinal into rare air

This article originally appeared in the August issue of NCGA Golf Magazine

By Ron Kroichick

Anne Walker was on the phone this summer, reflecting on her Stanford women’s golf program and its remarkable run of success.

The Cardinal won their third NCAA championship in five years in May, propelling them into lofty company. They joined Arizona State and Duke among women’s college golf dynasties over the past 30-plus years. And in the pantheon of Northern California sports, Stanford’s achievement mirrors the San Francisco Giants’ collection of World Series titles (2010, ’12 and ‘14) and approaches the Golden State Warriors’ haul of NBA championships (2015, ’17 and ’18, plus a fourth in 2022).

“I honestly don’t even know right now that I can appreciate it,” Walker said of her team’s achievement, “because I’m so in it and thinking about what’s next.”

Then, to illustrate her point, Walker mentioned a recruiting call she expected to receive any minute. Moments later, the call came – and off went Walker, chasing another marquee player so Stanford can keep chasing another national championship.

A few days later, when the conversation resumed, Walker widened the scope. She acknowledged this three-in-five feat traces back more than a decade, to Mariah Stackhouse, a dynamic team leader.

Stackhouse led Stanford to its first NCAA title in 2015, clinching the final match on the 19^th hole. That pushed the Cardinal over the hump, showing the nation’s top recruits they could earn a prestigious education and secure golf trophies at Stanford.

As Walker looked back, the Stackhouse-sparked success led to Andrea Lee committing to the program … and then Albane Valenzuela and Rachel Heck and Rose Zhang … and ultimately Megha Ganne, the ringleader for the past two championships.

Ganne once told Walker about watching Stackhouse secure the title in 2015, when Ganne was only 11.

“There’s a line connecting those teams, for sure,” Walker said. “Megha said she was so inspired and motivated by Mariah. Then she watched Albane and Rose and the others, and they kept her motivated to chase her dreams. Megha said she hopes other kids are watching this (2026 success) and will be inspired to chase their dreams. College kids are the ones really inspiring the young kids.”

By this logic, the three titles in five years could bring more elite players and generate more chances for national success. (Also worth noting: Stanford lost 3-2 to Northwestern in the 2025 finals, so this run nearly reached four titles in five years.)

It’s too early to know for sure, but Walker didn’t dispute the premise – this year’s championship, piled atop the 2022 and ’24 titles, should impact her recruiting efforts in the years ahead.

“It definitely doesn’t hurt,” she said. “I’ve said a couple of times, the best predictor of future success is past success. We can stand on our success of the past 10 years, because it speaks volumes about the environment here at Stanford: the facilities, the academics, all the parts creating synergy to help these players become successful.”

Stanford already has secured a commitment from acclaimed junior golfer Asterisk Talley, who will enroll in the fall of 2027. Talley tops the American Junior Golf Association ranking, stands No. 8 in the world amateur ranking, tied for fourth at this year's Augusta National Women's Amateur and already has competed in the U.S. Women's Open three times (including a third-round 66 at Riviera in June).

The thread connecting all these parts is Walker, a generous, amiable and diligent woman with deep history in golf and longtime ties to Northern California. She grew up in Scotland, the game’s ancestral home, and came to the U.S. to play in college at Cal, for longtime Golden Bears coach Nancy McDaniel.

Side note here: Walker and McDaniel grew close enough that Walker later joined McDaniel’s coaching staff. Then, as McDaniel battled breast cancer in recent years, Walker became a public advocate for research and funding to fight the disease, even organizing a benefit tournament to raise money in her friend’s honor. McDaniel passed away in October 2024, at age 57.

Walker went from Berkeley to UC Davis, where she was the head coach before taking over at Stanford in 2012. That’s worked out rather nicely, you might say.

Her most recent star on the course was Ganne, a decorated junior golfer from New Jersey. She loudly announced her presence the summer before her senior year in high school, when she came to The Olympic Club and made a splash in the 2021 U.S. Women’s Open.

Ganne, only 17 at time, held a share of the first-round lead and stayed in contention through Saturday, perpetually smiling and charming galleries along the way. She ultimately tied for 14^th, earning low-amateur honors.

So it was little surprise when Ganne blossomed into a dominant college player at Stanford. She became a three-time All-American, won last year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur and led the Cardinal to their two most recent NCAA titles.

Ganne graduated in June – and, yes, Walker will miss her.

“Megha has just been incredible, a wonderful person and leader,” Walker said. “She’s very gregarious, a great storyteller and amazingly positive person. She was always grateful for the Stanford experience, and that’s infectious. You start to have a team where no one is entitled and everyone is privileged, they feel like they have to give back. ...

“She’s also kind of made for the big moment – she doesn’t shy away from it because it’s not going to define her. Her attitude is, ‘How lucky am I to get this chance?’ That’s a force when you come at a high level of anything with that mentality.”

Ganne’s combination of skill and attitude – alongside All-America teammates in Paula Martin Sampedro, Meja Ortengren, Andrea Revuelta and Kelly Xu – pushed the Cardinal into rare territory. Arizona State won six NCAA championships in a nine-year span (1990-98), probably the gold standard, and Duke took five titles in nine years (1999-2007).

“I kind of feel like we take our place in that history – maybe not quite at that level, but we’re right there in the mix,” Walker said.

It also feels like Stanford isn’t done making history.

Ron Kroichick covers golf for the San Francisco Chronicle.