The NCAA women’s basketball season is another step closer with the closing of the spring transfer portal window. Notre Dame made good use of it, bringing in Marquette’s Liza Karlen and Pitt’s Liatu King. The Irish only lost Nat Marshall to Miami.
The net gain, along with soon welcoming five-star center Kate Koval to campus, was enough for On3 Her’s Talia Goodman to put Notre Dame No. 5 in her post-spring top 25 rankings.
“Hannah Hidalgo, Maddy Westbeld, Sonia Citron and Olivia Miles’ return from injury was enough for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish to be a preseason top-10 team, and then they went ahead and added two big names from the transfer portal,” Goodman wrote.
“The additions of Marquette transfer Liza Karlen and Pittsburgh transfer Liatu King give the Irish depth and experience to an already-loaded roster. Coach Niele Ivey also brings in the No. 5 freshman in Kate Koval.”
Here’s a look at Goodman’s top 25.
Blue & Gold says…
South Carolina is a perennial top 25 team at this point. The defending national champion Gamecocks are forever a threat to win it all with Dawn Staley at the helm. It’s a different USC, though, that could pose the toughest challenge for South Carolina in an attempt to repeat. The Trojans have one of the best players in the country in JuJu Watkins, and they played the portal game just as well if not better than Notre Dame did too.
“They added two of the best available transfers in Stanford star Kiki Iriafen and Oregon State transfer Talia von Oelhoffen,” Goodman wrote. “They also have the best incoming freshmen class in the country, highlighted by Kennedy Smith, a California native who ranks as a top-10 recruit in the country.
“The team will still be centered around sophomore JuJu Watkins, who plays the game at a higher level than nearly everyone in the country. But having high-level talent surrounding her makes this team my early national title favorite.”
Notre Dame’s Hidalgo also plays it at a higher level than nearly anyone in the country. She’ll have Notre Dame right where Goodman has the Irish for her entire career — in the top five conversation, competing for a national title.
