Less than a day after Olivia Miles unexpectedly announced she would enter the transfer portal, the Notre Dame women's basketball team has been bitten by that portal twice more. It's the latest example of the current era of college athletics.
Kate Koval and Emma Risch are the latest Irish players who have been confirmed to be entering the portal. That brings the number of Irish players who had made this decision to three.
The 6-foot-5 Koval is coming off an ACC All-Freshman campaign in which she ranked fourth in the conference at 1.7 blocks a game and also averaged 5.3 points and 4.7 rebounds. Risch was hampered by injuries during her time with the Irish, but she averaged 5.3 points in 20 games over two seasons.
The 2025-26 Irish look like they will be a much different team from the 2024-25 iteration that was expected to at least get to the Final Four but fell two rounds short. In fact, Tyler Horka of Blue and Gold Illustrated has spelled out the grim state of the current roster:
Niele Ivey and Notre Dame are down to 5 scholarship players on the 2025-26 roster...
— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) April 1, 2025
Leah Macy
KK Bransford
Hannah Hidalgo
Cassandre Prosper
Kylee Watson
Bransford and Watson medically redshirted in 2024-25. Macy is rehabbing a severe knee injury.https://t.co/DYpR87vcfNpic.twitter.com/LyCnsLJLg8
That third national championship might not come for a while now, folks. The window has slammed shut on this group, and Niele Ivey now must figure out how to navigate what quickly is becoming an uncertain future.
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