Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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10 MARCH 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER 49 Notre Dame basketball players have been named McDonald's All-Americans, with 2025 men's signee Jalen Haralson and 2025 women's signee Leah Macy the latest to join that exclusive club. Haralson, a 6-foot-7 small forward from La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere who is the highest-rated prospect (No. 23 overall nationally per the On3 Industry Ranking) to commit to the Irish in the era of internet recruiting rankings, is the Irish men's 20th player to earn the honor dating back to Tracy Jackson in 1977, and the first since guard J.J. Starling (who has since transferred to Syracuse) in 2022. Macy, a five-star recruit from Elizabethtown (Ky.) Bethlehem who is ranked as the No. 19 overall player nationally by ESPN HoopGurlz, is the Irish women's 29th player to earn a spot at the prestigious event, all since 2002 (the inaugural year for the girls game). Notre Dame has now been represented at the McDonald's All-American Game every year since 2012 and the 2024-25 Irish roster boasts an incred- ible seven former McDonald's All-Americans: Maddy Westbeld (2020), Kylee Watson (2020), Sonia Citron (2021), KK Bransford (2022), Hannah Hidalgo (2023), Emma Risch (2023) and Kate Koval (2024). That doesn't even include Olivia Miles and Cassandre Prosper, who likely would have earned the honor if they had not enrolled at Notre Dame early. Both the boys and girls games will be played April 1 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. UNDER THE DOME 4 Straight victories in bowl games for Notre Dame: 2023 Gator, 2024 Sun, 2025 Sugar and 2025 Orange. That is the longest bowl win streak in program history. The previous longs were three each (1992 Sugar, 1993 Cotton and 1994 Cotton; and the 1975 Orange, 1978 Cotton and 1979 Cotton). The unfortunate reality for Notre Dame was that after all of those years being overmatched in the biggest games, it ironically had to play one of the last-remaining super teams our sport is going to see. That's not going to be the case in the future. Notre Dame is going to be equipped to win it all in this era more than it ever has. "Any stigma with Notre Dame should officially be dead now. Marcus Free- man upped the talent on this roster, and the loaded teams of the past aren't going to be quite as loaded in the future. "Notre Dame has to replace quarterback Riley Leonard next year, but it re- turns running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, receivers Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse and it should have one of the best offensive lines in the country. Notre Dame is here to stay." — On3's Ari Wasserman on Notre Dame being one of four programs ascending to be annual college football powers 7.19 & 6.75 Wins Above Replacement (WAR) for Notre Dame wom- en's basketball standouts Hannah Hidalgo and OLIVIA MILES, respectively, per Opta Analyst through Feb. 10. That ranked Hidalgo No. 2 and Miles No. 5 among women's col- lege basketball players in that metric, which reveals who the hardest players to replace are. Players with a WAR of at least 5.0 are considered "truly elite superstars." Opta Analyst's Top 10 Women's College Basketball Players In WAR Through Feb. 10 Rk. Player, School WAR 1. JuJu Watkins, USC 7.29 2. Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame 7.19 3. Hailey Van Lith, TCU 7.15 4. Sarah Strong, UConn 7.13 5. Olivia Miles, Notre Dame 6.75 6. Paige Bueckers, UConn 6.63 7. Madison Conner, TCU 6.46 8. Aneesah Morrow, LSU 6.16 9. Serena Sundell, Kansas State 6.00 Sedona Prince, TCU 6.00 There aren't many players who can match the scoring and passing combination of Miles, who runs the show for one of the most tal- ented teams in the country. Miles is 19th in the nation in effective field goal percentage and fourth in assists. She's also cut down on her turnovers some this year and is constantly mak- ing the right decision. Miles has always been a dynamite athlete with good intuition, but this year she's taking her manipulation of the chessboard to a new level on offense. … "Miles is 13th in VAPR [Value Added Performance Rating] and her potential to be even greater will likely get her drafted in the top three come April." — Donald Kola- kowski of Opta Analyst on Notre Dame graduate student guard Olivia Miles NUMBERS AND QUOTES BY STEVE DOWNEY No. 2 Finish in the Associated Press and AFCA Coaches polls for Notre Dame football (14-2) in 2024 marked the program's highest end-of- season ranking since its finished No. 2 behind only Florida State — which it had beaten that season — in 1993. Macy is as fundamentally sound as anyone in this class. Her footwork and base of skills help her bring poise and versatility to the floor that allow her to match up with multiple positions. Macy has a soft touch from three, facilitates well and is a good decision-maker and passer, and she is not afraid to get physical around the paint. She approaches the game with maturity. "Niele Ivey and the Notre Dame program are getting a forward who will stretch the floor and excel in their Princeton-style patterned offense. Macy is comfortable all over the court." — Shane Laflin of ESPN on Notre Dame women's basketball signee and McDonald's All-American Leah Macy