The player who initiates the steal gets credit, even if they aren't the one who ultimately gains possession. But obviously the scorekeeper has some discretion there.
From the NCAA Official Basketball Statisticians’ Manual
SECTION 6—STEALS
A steal is credited to a player when the player’s positive, ag- gressive action(s), which includes contact with the ball, causes a turnover by an opponent. This may be accomplished by:
(a) Taking the ball away from an opponent in control of the ball.
(b) Getting a hand on the ball in control of an opponent and causing a held ball to be called, and having his or her team be awarded the ball for a throw-in.
(c) Batting a ball in control of an opponent to a teammate.
(d) Batting a ball in control of an opponent away from and
off the opponent and out of bounds.
(e) Intercepting an opponent’s pass.
(f) Deflecting an opponent’s pass to a teammate.
(g) Deflecting an opponent’s pass away from and off an opponent and out of bounds.
Philosophy. To earn a steal, the defensive player should be
the initiator of the action causing the turnover, not just the benefactor. The steal should be a take-away, not just a recovery and not just a forced error.
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Seems rather clear, but I definitely was not aware that the “benefactor” did not receive any sort of credit.
