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Jeff Borzello, ESPN Staff Writer
Stanford transfer Andrej Stojakovic, the son of former NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic and one of the best available wings in the portal, has committed to Cal, he told ESPN.
Stojakovic visited the Golden Bears’ campus last weekend and came away impressed by coach Mark Madsen’s program. The Sacramento, California, native was pursued by Kentucky, North Carolina and Michigan, among others, but opted to stay close to home.
“It was just the overall transparency from Coach Madsen and his staff,” Stojakovic said. “We had many conversations about a development plan, what me at Cal could look like. Just overall, the consistency with them recruiting me, spending time with myself and my family.”
Madsen made Stojakovic a priority in the portal from the time he entered in mid-March, conducting an in-home visit with the freshman wing and his family early in the process.
“I didn’t know him at all. My dad didn’t know him personally. He came to the house that same week I entered the portal,” Stojakovic said. “The stories and experiences he was able to share with my dad the first time meeting, we kind of bonded over each other’s goals. What he wants to accomplish for his team, but his vision for myself. He truly believes in me, the staff truly believes in me. That’s all someone like me could ask for.”
Stojakovic looked at the success of Jaylon Tyson in Berkeley last season as a potential barometer for what he could do under Madsen. Tyson was a highly touted recruit coming out of high school but didn’t reach his potential until he spent a year each at Texas and Texas Tech before transferring to Cal. He averaged 19.6 points per game in 2023-24.
“What they did with him, if you compare his years at Texas, Texas Tech and Cal, it’s a similar vision as to how they could use me,” Stojakovic said. “Showcase skills I haven’t been able to use in the past and showcase some of my game that I haven’t really worked on myself. … The one thing I asked for from every program was a depth chart. Cal was very transparent with the whole process. Gave me a clear chart of who committed, who they’re trying to get. It looked pretty clear to me.”
Stojakovic was a top-25 recruit coming out of high school in the 2023 class, earning McDonald’s All American honors. He was ranked No. 22 in the ESPN 100, skyrocketing from outside the top 100 to borderline five-star status after a huge spring and summer showing before his senior year.
During his lone season in Palo Alto, Stojakovic averaged 7.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game, shooting just under 33% from 3-point range. He started his career strong, with three double-digit scoring efforts in his first four games, but struggled with inconsistency the rest of the way. Stojakovic scored 16 points against Arizona on New Year’s Eve and had 20 points in February against USC.
He was one of four key Stanford players to enter the portal shortly after coach Jerod Haase was fired. Leading scorer Maxime Raynaud opted to return to Palo Alto after Washington State‘s Kyle Smith was named head coach, while Brandon Angel went to Oregon and Kanaan Carlyle committed to Indiana.
Stojakovic’s father, Peja, averaged 17 points across 804 NBA games. He was a three-time All-Star and won an NBA championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.