The substantial roster-rebuilding for Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Niele Ivey continued on Monday with perhaps the most impactful addition to date.
Vanderbilt point guard Iyana Moore becomes the fourth player from the transfer portal this offseason to join three holdovers from last season’s ACC co-championship team as well as injured incoming freshman Leah Macy. Moore announced her decision Monday on her Instagram page.
And if Ivey has her way, the Irish aren’t done yet.
Notre Dame starts summer classes and summer workouts on June 9 with a roster of eight scholarship plates so far.
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The 5-foot-8 Moore is ND’s first addition in a little over a month. She joins April transfer signees Milaya Cowles, a 6-3 forward from Wake Forest, Kansas State 6-4 forward Gisela Sanchez, and Duke 5-8 guard Vanessa de Jesus. All of them, including Moore, have just one season of eligibility left.
“We are excited to welcome Iyana Moore to our ND family!" Ivey said. "Iyana is a sharp-shooter, an elite scorer and a tenacious defender. Her wealth of experience will enhance our team on both the offensive and the defensive side of the ball.
"She has an outstanding offensive arsenal, shooting over 35 percent from the 3-point line. Iyana will make an incredible and immediate impact on our team on and off the court!”
The ND returnees are two-time All-America guard Hannah Hidalgo, a rising junior, senior guard Cass Prosper and senior guard KK Bransford, who redshirted this past season.
Notre Dame lost five players after last season to expired eligibility and four more to the transfer portal shortly after ND’s NCAA Tournament exit, 71-62 to TCU, in the Sweet 16 round on March 29.
Moore was a double -figures scorer and prolific 3-point shooter in all three of her active seasons with the Commodores. She missed her sophomore season, 2023, with an injury.
This past season, Moore averaged 12.4 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 32 games for a Vanderbilt team that went 22-11 overall, 8-8 in the SEC and reached the NCAA Tournament for the second season in a row.
She is a Milwaukee native and played her high school ball in Murfreesboro, Tenn., at Blackman High. Moore took visits during her time in the portal to Texas, UCLA and Duke in addition to ND.
The deadline to enter the women’s college basketball players was April 23. Players can select schools after the portal window closes, but that was the deadline to submit their names.
All four of Notre Dame’s outgoing transfers found landing spots — second-team All-America guard Olivia Miles to TCU, freshman center Kate Koval to LSU, sophomore guard Emma Risch to Florida State and grad senior forward Kylee Watson to Villanova.
The Irish lost starters Maddy Westbeld, Sonia Citron and Liatu King to expired eligibility, as well as key reserve Liza Karlen and former walk-on Sarah Cernugel.
IYANA MOORE AT VANDERBILT
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