Maya Dodson announces departure from Notre Dame women’s basketball program
Maya Dodson’s stint with Notre Dame women’s basketball was one and done after all.
The NCAA did not approve Dodson’s waiver for an extra year of eligibility. Dodson only played in nine games at Stanford in 2019-20 because of injuries and sat out the entire 2020-21 season that was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic for personal reasons. She started in all 33 games for the Fighting Irish this past season.
Dodson averaged 12.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. She blocked 91 shots, which ranked tied for sixth nationally at the end of the season.
No player on the Notre Dame roster affected the game defensively as much as Dodson. She was a factor on shot attempts she couldn’t get her hands on by being a paint presence opposing players didn’t dare threaten. Head coach Niele Ivey and the Irish are going to miss that in a big way next season.
Dodson is hopeful she will be selected in the WNBA Draft April 11. A source close to Dodson’s waiver process said it was “so strange” the NCAA did not grant her an extra year of eligibility.
“Emotional week for all of us,” the source said. “Some things you just cannot explain.”
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Dodson is the fourth Notre Dame player to announce her departure from the program in the last two weeks. Bench players Sam Brunelle, Anaya Peoples and Abby Prohaska entered the transfer portal last week. At 6-2, Brunelle was the second tallest active player on the Irish roster. Losing Dodson and Brunelle is a major hit for Notre Dame in the size department.
As it stands, Ivey only has five scholarship players set to return from last year’s team; sophomores Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron, juniors Maddy Westbeld and Nat Marshall and senior Dara Mabrey. Marshall missed half the season with a knee injury. The other four were starters.
Ivey is going to have to scavenge the portal for everything it has. Guards, combo players, post players. The last of that grouping is going to be the most important. Marshall, a former five-star recruit, has only played in 13 games with zero starts in two years at Notre Dame. She’s 6-5, but her track record with injuries and a slender frame cause concern if counting on her to be a starting center.
Notre Dame will welcome 5-10 McDonald’s All-American KK Bransford this summer. She’ll be a nice addition, but she does not solve the roster size issue nor the lack of size, period. Miles, Citron, Westbeld and Mabrey provide a sturdy core, but Ivey needs so much more if the Irish to build upon a run to the Sweet 16 that could have easily ended up in the Elite Eight.
