University of Notre Dame Women's Basketball

One of the finest point guards ever to wear the Notre Dame uniform, Niele Ivey was announced as the fourth Karen & Kevin Keyes Family Head Women's Basketball Coach on April 22, 2020. Since taking the reins, Ivey has proven to be one of the nation's premier coaches with a record of 142-49, an ACC Tournament title, five consecutive trips to the Sweet 16 and a 2026 Elite Eight Berth. In the most recent season, the Irish posted a 25-11 record and made their first Elite Eight since 2019. With the fifth consecutive trip to the Sweet 16, Notre Dame joined South Carolina and UConn as the only programs in the nation to make the last five Sweet 16s. In 2024-25, Notre Dame went 28-6 and earned a share of the ACC regular season title for the second time in three years, downing three AP Top 5 teams in the same season for the first time in program history. Ivey is the common link to all nine of the program's Final Four appearances, two as a player and seven as an assistant coach. She has now logged a combined 20 years on Notre Dame's campus. As an assistant, the Irish went 386-55 during Ivey's time on the sidelines. Ivey expanded her basketball prowess when she spent the 2019-20 season as an assistant coach with the Memphis Grizzlies, becoming the ninth active female coach in the NBA. A former All-America point guard at Notre Dame and a five-year WNBA veteran, Ivey was the first Fighting Irish point guard to earn third-team AP All-America honors and recipient of the 2001 Frances Pomeroy Na

Knox was a two-time NCAA scoring champion, NCAA All-American and NCAA Player of the Year. His jersey has been retired at IUPUI, and the team became a Division I program just after his graduation due in part to Knox's contributions. He was inducted into the IUPUI Hall of Fame in 2004. Knox played for the Indiana Pacers from 1998-99 and played overseas in Croatia, Germany, Venezuela and Italy. He has also served as a head coach in the International Basketball League, Continental Basketball Association and American Basketball Association. Prior to Notre Dame, Knox spent nearly a decade working with the Indiana Fever as an interim head coach, assistant coach and player development coach. During his tenure in Indianapolis, Knox helped lead the team to eight consecutive WNBA playoff appearances and was a 2012 WNBA champion. He has worked with many notable players, including former Irish guard and Olympic medalist Skylar Diggins, four-time Olympic gold medalist Tamika Catchings and five-time WNBA All-Star Katie Douglas. Between coaching stints, Knox spent time from 2015-16 as the director of training at the Jonathan Byrd Grand Park Fieldhouse, Indiana's state-of-the-art basketball facility.

Owens originally came to Notre Dame in 1995 following two seasons as an assistant at Michigan, where she began her coaching career after enjoying a three-year professional playing stint in Japan, Spain and Italy. As a standout player at Northern Illinois from 1985-90, Owens compiled a very impressive resume. A two-time Kodak (now WBCA) Coaches' All-District IV Team selection (1989 and 1990), Owens scored 2,102 points and averaged 18.0 points per game over four campaigns, covering 117 games. She also captained the Huskies for four seasons and, in her final collegiate campaign (1989-90), she guided Northern Illinois to the best record in school history (26-5), as the Huskies went undefeated in North Star Conference play (12-0) and earned the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament bid. Owens finished her NIU career with 13 school records, most notably standing as Northern Illinois' all-time leader in scoring, blocked shots, free throws made, free throw attempts and field-goal percentage. One of the nation's premier post coaches, Carol Owens coached her 26th year on the Notre Dame women's basketball coaching staff for the 2025-26 season and her 17th as associate head coach for the Fighting Irish. Throughout her tenure at Notre Dame, Owens has focused on working with the Fighting Irish post players, while also assisting with the program's nationally-ranked recruiting efforts. She has been a part of two national championship teams while in South Bend.

Charel Allen was a two-time All-American and two-time First Team All-Big East selection who served as team captain over her final two seasons at Notre Dame. She averaged 17.0 points and 6.2 rebounds as a junior and led the Irish to a Sweet 16 berth during her senior year, scoring a career-high 35 points in a second-round overtime win over Oklahoma. She was the first player in school history to amass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 200 steals in her career and ranks 17th on the all-time scoring list with 1,566 career points. Allen played professionally in Bulgaria for eight years beginning in 2009, becoming a five-time Bulgarian League champion, four-time All-Bulgarian League First Team selection and 2014 Player of the Year. She was also selected in the third round of the 2008 WNBA Draft by the Sacramento Monarchs. As an assistant coach at Notre Dame since 2022, Allen has coached multiple award-winning players including Hannah Hidalgo, who became the first player in Irish program history to win the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year, and Cassandre Prosper, an ACC Second Team selection and No. 18 overall WNBA draft pick.

Michaela Mabrey is a Notre Dame alumna (2016, Film, Television & Theater) who was a standout guard for the Fighting Irish from 2012-16. She was a two-time team captain and emerged as one of the top 3-point shooters in the ACC during her final three seasons, finishing her career ranking third in school history for career 3-point attempts, fourth in career 3-pointers made (228), sixth in career games played (142), and seventh in career 3-point field goal percentage (.396). Mabrey was part of the winningest class in Notre Dame women's basketball history, with her squads advancing to three Final Fours, including two title game appearances in 2014 and 2015. She played alongside her sister Marina in 2015-16, becoming the first sister combination to play for the program in the same season since 1978-79. Currently serving as Assistant Coach & Recruiting Coordinator, Mabrey has established herself as one of the top guard coaches in the country. Her coaching accomplishments include helping lead the Irish to an Elite Eight in 2025-26 and successfully developing standout guards Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron, the latter of whom was drafted No. 3 overall in the 2025 WNBA Draft. She was recognized on the WBCA Thirty Under 30 honoree list in her first year with Notre Dame.