Two more Notre Dame women’s basketball players enter transfer portal..

Less than 24 hours after Olivia Miles’ unexpected decision to enter the transfer portal, the Notre Dame women’s basketball team has suffered two more departures. This marks yet another example of the rapidly shifting landscape in college athletics.

Niele Ivey and Notre Dame are down to 5 scholarship players on the 2025-26 roster…

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/DYpR87vcfN pic.twitter.com/LyCnsLJLg8

— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) April 1, 2025

Kate Koval and Emma Risch are the latest players to announce their plans to transfer, bringing the total number of Irish players in the portal to three. Koval, a 6-foot-5 center, had a standout freshman season in the ACC, ranking fourth in the conference with 1.7 blocks per game while also averaging 5.3 points and 4.7 rebounds. Risch, who struggled with injuries during her time at Notre Dame, played in 20 games across two seasons, averaging 5.3 points per game.

With these departures, the 2025-26 Notre Dame roster is set to look vastly different from the team that was expected to make a deep tournament run this past season but fell two rounds short of the Final Four. Tyler Horka of ‘Blue and Gold Illustrated’ described the current situation as dire, suggesting that hopes for a third national championship are now on hold. Head coach Niele Ivey faces the challenge of navigating an increasingly uncertain future as the program undergoes significant changes.