The Stanford women's basketball program is in some hot water and in dire need of a change. When top players like Nunu Agara and Lara Somfai entered the portal, along with a large swath of the roster, that raised some eyebrows. 

Now we know a big reason for the Cardinal's skid since Kate Paye took over as the head coach. Missing the tournament in two straight seasons under Paye, questions began circulating about what's going on within the program, with recent reports mentioning a toxic environment created by Paye.

Speaking with the San Francisco Standard, a parent of a player who played for both Paye and VanDerveer said that things have changed drastically under Paye, making the program a shell of its former self.

"Not a great environment," the parent said. "It's not the same program anymore."

Two unnamed former players spoke to the Standard and said that one of the most notable things that Paye has done is conduct 'distressing team meetings' as well as threaten to bench players. This would be while at the same time calling them 'too weak' to play for the team.

In extreme situations, Paye has allegedly gone as far as to threaten to pull scholarships and refuse to give positive recommendations for players looking to get into grad school programs.

Once a top program in the country, making nearly 40 straight NCAA tournaments and winning three national titles, the past two seasons have not been kind to the Cardinal. Stanford has not been ranked since the end of VanDerveer's tenure.

Before Paye took over ahead of the 2024-25 campaign, the Cardinal were a fixture in the top-25 each and every season while setting the second-longest streak of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances in women's college basketball with 36, including 14 Final Four appearances.

Starting with VanDerveer's retirement, as well as seeing star Cameron Brink leave for the WNBA, things have unraveled for the Cardinal. The Cardinal are no longer regularly ranked, and since joining the ACC, they have finished with a losing record in conference play, going 8-10 both seasons. 

But Paye's culture has reportedly made it very hard to get players to buy into the new era of Stanford women's basketball, especially with how she reportedly treats the players and the program as a whole.

Athletic director John Donahoe is aware of the situation and has even observed some practices after hearing about parents' complaints. In some cases, players have reported that there is retribution that occurs if a player speaks out about the perceived toxicity. Part of the report also mentioned that Paye was looking to set a course limit for players so that they are unable to graduate early.

Paye has been a part of the program as a coach since 2007 when she came on as an assistant under VanDerveer, and it seems that she is trying to be a similar type of coach that VanDerveer was. Known for being being hard on her players as well, VanDerveer was ruthless at times — especially with her perfectionism — but she also had the success and pedigree to back it up, something that Paye has yet to earn.

If the reports are true, it is unknown what Paye's future with the program will end up being. She's still the head coach for now, but it's likely that Paye's seat is very hot. Even without the allegations, two straight missed tournaments at Stanford would have most coaches updating their resume. Hard to see a third missed tournament making that seat more comfortable.