Forward thinking: Five-star forward Leah Macy commits to Notre Dame WBB

Last month All-ACC forward Maddy Westbeld announced she was redeeming her COVID option year to return to the Notre Dame women’s basketball team for a fifth and final season in 2024-25.

On Monday, the Irish secured a commitment from a player who will follow Westbeld and bring a similar skill set — five-star power forward Leah Macy of Eliizabethtown, Ky.

The No. 9 overall player in the 2025 class per Collegiate Girls Basketball Report, and No. 14, per ESPNw’s player rankings, is the first prospect in that class of rising seniors to commit to Notre Dame. She plans to make it official during the early signing period that starts Nov. 13.

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The 6-foot-3 Macy, who played this past season at Bethlehem High in Bardstown, Ky., had more than 40 scholarship offers, and chose ND over finalists UConn, Louisville and Kentucky.

“She’s one of the more skilled frontcourt players in the country in her class, let alone she’s a great kid,” said recruiting analyst Dan Olson of Collegiate Girls Basketball Report (girlsbasketballreport.com). “Good teammate. Plays hard. She checks all the boxes in respect to on-the-floor, off-the-floor pieces that make you a better team.

“She gives them an inside-outside presence, kind of like a Maddy Westbeld. This kid is very skilled in the paint, can score around the bucket with either hand, but then she can knock down a 3. It’s a great get for them.”

In a roughly 24-hour period that’s been chock full of great gets.

On Sunday afternoon, 6-2 Marquette grad transfer Liza Karlen committed to play her final college season with the Irish. She was a unanimous All-Big East selection last season for the Golden Eagles.

Then on Monday morning, Pitt grad transfer forward Liatu King joined Karlen in committing to the Irish for her final college season. The 6-0 All-ACC first-teamer was voted the ACC’s Most Improved Player this past season.

“Coach Niele Ivey is on a roll,” Olson said.

Macy will be the eighth high school player Niele Ivey has signed since succeeding Hall-of-Famer Muffet McGraw as head coach on April 22, 2020. All eight have been ranked in the top 25 nationally by ESPNw, and the first seven are all on the Irish roster for next season.

Macy follows Olivia Miles (No. 8 in 2021), Sonia Citron (No. 16 in 2021), KK Bransford (No. 25 in 2022), Hannah Hidalgo (No. 5 in 2023), Cass Prosper (No. 16 in 2023), Emma Risch (No. 20 in 2023) and incoming freshman center Kate Koval (No. 5 in 2024).

For those that are out there that will have a Notre Dame education, it’s incredibly valuable,” Olson said. “Some kids don’t get it. They get blinded by the money some schools offer.

“But what happens when you pay the taxes on that money and have nothing afterward? What are you doing 20 years down the line?”

Macy averaged 24.9 points and 13.9 rebounds this past season for the Bethlehem Banshees, who went 27-9 overall and lost in the state quarterfinals to eventual state champ Louisville Sacred Heart.

She shot .673 from the field and .783 from the free-throw line. Macy was undercut on a layup early in the season and suffered a sprained ACL as well as bone bruises on her femur and tibia, but she returned on Jan. 5 for the balance of the season after about a month on the sidelines.

Macy got an early start in high school basketball, playing on the varsity team at Elizabethtown High when she was in seventh and eighth grade. She then transferred to Mercy Academy in Louisville for her freshman and sophomore seasons before joining her younger sister, Loren, at Bethlehem High this past season.

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