Niele Ivey knows the big games on her schedule. Not just because they’re huge matchups for a number of reasons and thus demand a little bit more time in the film room, but because the bright lights and big cameras will be on. So, naturally, one must make sure they have a fit that eats.
“It’s crazy because now there’s an expectation for my sideline fit,” she says, chuckling, “So that’s extra pressure for me. But it’s fun. I love fashion. I love getting a chance to show my personality through my attire and I know that’s something that people look forward to.”
Entering her sixth year as the head coach of Notre Dame women’s basketball, Ivey feels at ease in our interview. Last year didn’t end the way she wanted it to, but a reset this year with some new faces could be exactly what is needed after the departure of so many program mainstays in the offseason.
“It’s obviously there,” Ivey says of the outside noise and online discussion around her program this summer. “It’s not that I don’t hear it. But I’m very centered. I know where my purpose is.”
That grounding became important as Olivia Miles’ high profile transfer to TCU, the team that best Notre Dame in the Sweet Sixteen, opened the door to questions about the chemistry of the team. Even with a 117-38 overall record and 65-22 record in ACC play, Ivey was getting criticized as a coach that couldn’t get over the hump with a group that seemed primed to do it.
But the 2025-2026 season provides a reset, with a combination of transfers and high level prep prospects. Moreover, the roster turnover allows Hannah Hidalgo to take the next step in her development and become the lead dog of this Irish team.
“I think that’s a lot of transparency with her,” Ivey says of her point guard protege. “I was a point guard, so I understand what she goes through and the process of running a team, the process of understanding time and score. I think the last two years she’s learned a lot.”
While Hidalgo will be without Miles and Sonia Citron, who just wrapped up an impressive rookie season in the WNBA, she will have a cadre of transfers that includes former Vanderbilt guard Iyanna Moore and Wake Forest forward Malaya Cowles. While the acquisitions may not be the flashiest name in the portal, the Irish were more active this year than they’ve been in the past thanks to a newly formed General Manager position for the men’s and women’s basketball programs.
“We brought him in in May, and that’s been very helpful,” she says. “I now have somebody that is speaking on my behalf, somebody that is on in conversations with agents, in conversations with either our recruits or our current players. So I have that voice. I have that person in the room that’s representing my message.”
While Irish fans are hoping that the new faces have an immediate impact, there are also some returning pieces in KK Bransford and Cassandre Prosper who will be asked to answer the bell as well.
Prosper, a former five star recruit out of Canada, has mostly been a rotational player over her last three seasons in South Bend but did something unique this offseason: instead of competing internationally with her national team, the senior decided to stay at Notre Dame and train for the upcoming college season.
“It was just kind of a conversation that I had with Cass and her family,” says Ivey. “She’s been playing year round for the past five, six years. That weights on you. And I thought it was very smart of her to stay and just really fine tuner her game. Really have that summer to get strong and work on all aspects of her game.”
Prosper’s performance in the Irish’s exhibition game was singled out by her head coach as a preview of what’s to come.
“She’s a different player,” adds Ivey. “She’s come back with more confidence, she’s worked on all facets of her game and she’s ready to lead.”
Finding leaders behind Hidalgo will be the challenge for Notre Dame this year. While the criticism last season was that there were potentially too many cooks in the kitchen, so to speak, now there will be an open question as to who wants to take the baton when Hidalgo is either off the floor or in foul trouble.
Ivey will look to her returning upperclassmen like Prosper and KK Bransford and hope that one of her transfers — Moore, Cowles, Gisela Sanchez and Vanessa De Jesus — are up to the task.
“It’s been fun working with this group,” Ivey says. “New team, but really fun team to work with.”