Notre Dame Professional Athletes

Notre Dame's Finest Week in the WNBA

The Fighting Irish had a banner end-of-season moment in the WNBA, with two former Notre Dame standouts collecting major league honors in the same week — a clean double that few programs can claim.

Olivia Miles: Rookie of the Year and All-Rookie First Team

Olivia Miles made the leap from college star to professional standout look almost effortless. The Minnesota Lynx point guard was named the 2026 WNBA Rookie of the Year and earned a spot on the All-Rookie Team, headlining a six-player class that the league announced this week. Miles averaged 19 points per game on the season, drawing comparisons from WNBA legend Sue Bird — never a throwaway endorsement.

The Lynx's playoff run ended disappointingly, but Miles emerged as the unambiguous bright spot, commanding attention in a loaded rookie class that included Azzi Fudd, Flau'jae Johnson, and Kiki Rice. The All-Rookie team itself carried a wrinkle: six players were named instead of the customary five after Rice and Pauline Astier tied in media voting — a footnote that doesn't diminish Miles's standing at the top of the class.

Perhaps most telling was the reaction from Chicago Sky guard Skylar Diggins, herself a Notre Dame alum, who weighed in publicly on the rookie class — a moment that underscored just how much Irish DNA is threaded through this league.

Sonia Citron: First Career All-Defensive Honor

While Miles grabbed the splashier headlines, Sonia Citron quietly earned one of the more meaningful recognitions of the week. The Washington Mystics guard was named to the WNBA All-Defensive Second Team — the first such honor of her young pro career, and a signal that she's carving out a real identity in the league as a two-way threat.

The selection was announced alongside Shakira Austin's All-Defensive First Team nod, giving the Mystics two defenders recognized at the league level. For Citron, who arrived in Washington after a decorated run at Notre Dame, the honor affirms the defensive instincts she built in South Bend are translating at the highest level.

The Bigger Picture

Notre Dame's pipeline into the WNBA remains one of the deepest in the country. Beyond Miles and Citron, the Irish have active alumni scattered across the league — from Jackie Young in Las Vegas to Arike Ogunbowale in Dallas to Kayla McBride and Liatu King in Minnesota. This week, though, belonged to two players who stepped out of that crowded field and claimed individual recognition on their own terms.

For a program that has consistently sent talent into the pros, Miles's Rookie of the Year and Citron's All-Defensive nod represent exactly the kind of week that recruiting classes are built on.

Notre Dame's fingerprints are all over the WNBA's most turbulent playoff week — but not in the way Las Vegas Aces fans hoped.

Loyd Goes Down, Aces Go Under

Jewell Loyd's semifinal series against the Golden State Valkyries was already difficult before it became dire. The Aces guard exited Game 1 on October 4 with a left leg injury, finishing with just two rebounds, one assist, and a +2 in a 60-71 loss — a box score that tells only part of the story. The bigger blow came in the injury reports that followed: updates on Loyd's status were described as "discouraging" even as the team offered cautious optimism about other players.

She returned in Games 2 and 3, but at a shadow of her usual output. In the Aces' 77-87 Game 3 loss on October 10 — which ended their season — Loyd managed just 3 points, 2 rebounds, and 1 assist, posting a -12 plus/minus. Las Vegas dropped the series without mounting a serious threat to Golden State's suffocating depth. The Aces' title defense is over.

What made the Valkyries so hard to crack was precisely what their system is built for: relentlessness. Golden State's bench outworked Las Vegas at every turn, pulling down 17 offensive rebounds in Game 1 alone and finishing with a +27 rebounding margin. A hobbled Loyd against that kind of rotational pressure was never going to be a fair fight.

Turner Throws Punches Across the Aisle

While Loyd battled injury, fellow Irish alum Brianna Turner was fighting a different kind of war. After the Aces knocked out the Indiana Fever in the first round, Fever GM Amber Cox publicly defended Indiana's fanbase against criticism from players — and Turner, who spent years with the Fever before joining Las Vegas, was not having it.

Turner called Cox's statement "false" in a direct, public challenge that drew significant attention across the league. It wasn't an offhand comment: Turner specifically pushed back on Cox's characterization of fan behavior, siding with accounts from active Fever players who described real difficulties with a portion of the fanbase. The back-and-forth spilled into the week of the semifinals, adding an off-court storyline that followed Turner into every Aces game.

On the court, Turner's numbers were modest — 7 rebounds in Game 1, followed by quiet outings in Games 2 and 3 as Las Vegas struggled to stay competitive. But her voice off the court was anything but quiet.

What's Next for the Aces — and Jackie Young?

With the Aces eliminated, the offseason questions arrive fast. Jackie Young, another Notre Dame product on the Las Vegas roster, is headed for free agency after what CBS Sports described as a career year in 2026. Young and Chelsea Gray combined for a brutal 9-for-29 shooting night in Game 1, per Defector's game coverage — a sign of how thoroughly Golden State's depth disrupted Las Vegas's offensive engine.

Young's decision this offseason could reshape the Aces' roster for years. For a program that sent Loyd, Turner, and Young to the same team, Notre Dame's WNBA footprint remains enormous — even when the results, this October, were hard to watch.