Four days after saying farewell to Notre Dame, forward Maya Dodson learned where her professional basketball career will begin.
The Phoenix Mercury selected Dodson in the third round of Monday's WNBA Draft with the No. 26 overall pick. The Mercury roster also includes former Irish stars Skylar Diggins-Smith and Brianna Turner.
Dodson became the 20th Notre Dame women's basketball player to be selected in the WNBA Draft since the league started in 1997. She was the first selected since the Irish had all five of its starters — Jackie Young, Arike Ogunbowale, Brianna Turner, Jessica Shepard and Marina Mabrey — selected in the 2019 draft.
After transferring to Notre Dame from Stanford following the 2020-21 season, Dodson started all 33 games for the Irish last season. She led Notre Dame in rebounding (7.3 per game) and blocked shots (2.8 per game) and finished second in scoring (12.6 points per game).
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Dodson, a member of the ACC's All-Defensive Team and All-ACC First Team as voted by the conference's coaches, was denied the opportunity to play another season of college basketball by the NCAA. Because she didn't play during the 2020-21 season at Stanford, Dodson did not receive the COVID-19 eligibility relief.
Despite only playing in nine games in her junior season at Stanford following left foot injury, Dodson burned a year of eligibility that season too. The Irish helped Dodson appeal for an extra year of eligibility to no avail.
Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey was among the first three Notre Dame players selected in the WNBA Draft when she was picked in the second round in 2001 alongside Ruth Riley (first round) and Kelley Siemon (third round).
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