Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546639
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 26, 2026 13 UNDER THE DOME The Notre Dame women's basketball team will open its 2026-27 season in roughly a month and a half halfway around the world, in Rome, Italy. Irish head coach Niele Ivey's recruiting reach is looking increasingly international, too. The centerpiece — literally — of their home-stretch re- cruiting push ahead of the November signing period is a Spanish citizen who was born in Russia and happens to be 6-foot-5 and has been a dominant rebounder and shot blocker on the international stage. Anna Smykovskaia recently took an official visit to Notre Dame as part of Ivey's fall recruiting agenda. While she is unranked by Rivals because she does not play her high school ball in North America, Smykovskaia is being recruited like a five-star prospect. That recruiting vibe is based largely on her performance with the Spanish National Team and in club competition for Spain's Segle XXI squad. Defending national champion UCLA, Ohio State and Syracuse are the other programs reportedly strongly in the mix for Smykovskaia, who moved to Spain with her family at age 6 and was granted Spanish citizenship this past April. Another international star took an official visit to Notre Dame in September: Avery Arije, a 6-foot shooting guard from Crestwood Prep in Toronto, Canada. Arije is a five-star prospect and the No. 14 player overall in the 2027 class per the Rivals Industry Ranking. Also taking an official visit to Notre Dame was Chasity Rice, a 5-6 point guard from Etiwanda, Calif. She is not currently rated by the Rivals Industry Ranking, but she's in the ESPN rankings as a four-star prospect and No. 36 player overall. Two more elite 2027 prospects visited the weekend of Sept 19, and both of them played for Ivey this summer on the gold medal-winning U.S. team that captured the FIBA U18 Women's AmeriCup in Irapuato, Mexico, in June. They are Sydney Savoury, a 5-11 combo guard from Belleville, Mich., and Ryan Carter, a 6-0 small forward from Archbishop Wood High in Warminster, Pa., near Philadelphia. Savoury is the No. 9 player overall in the class, and Carter is ranked No. 13, according to ESPN. Both are five-stars. A highly touted 2028 recruit, Maliya Hunter, a 6-2 forward from Archbishop Mitty High in San Jose, Calif., took an unof- ficial visit to Notre Dame the same weekend. She is ranked as the No. 24 recruit in the junior class. Visiting the first week in October will be another 2027 five-star recruit — 6-2 forward Nation Williams of Centennial High in Las Vegas, ESPN's No. 11 player nationally. And Ivey may have an important recruiting ally on campus that weekend — Eve Long, the nation's No. 5 overall player in the class. The 6-3 forward from Olathe, Kan., verbally committed to the Irish on May 20, choosing Notre Dame over Connecticut, UCLA, Duke and Kansas. The early signing period of women's basketball is Nov. 11-18. The Irish hope to sign four or five recruits that week. Will the nation's No. 1 prospect, point guard Kaleena Smith, be among them? The 5-foot-6 Hannah Hidalgo act- alike visited Notre Dame in April and then played for Ivey in June on the U.S. team that won the AmeriCup. Reportedly, Smith loves Notre Dame and the way Ivey coached her, but there are complicating factors that may put the Irish more on the periphery than in the hunt with Smith down the stretch. Per a source, hiring Smith's father, Aundre Cummings, as an assistant coach could factor significantly into her college decision. Notre Dame, coming off an Elite Eight appearance last March in the NCAA Tournament, opens the 2026-27 season Nov. 1 in Rome, Italy, against Villanova. The Irish have two more games that month staged outside of the U.S. The Irish face Davidson Nov. 24 and West Virginia Nov. 26 in the Battle 4 Atlantis tourney in The Bahamas. Three-time All-American Hannah Hidalgo is back to lead the Irish with a freshman-heavy roster around her. Which makes what Ivey is able to stack behind that young core in the 2027 class — beginning with this pivotal stretch of September visits — particularly consequential. — Eric Hansen Anna Smykovskaia, a 6-foot-5 cen- ter who is a Spanish citizen that was born in Russia, is one of Notre Dame's top 2027 targets. PHOTO COURTESY SPANISH NATIONAL TEAM TWO MORE BOOK SIGNINGS FOR THE GOLD STANDARD SET FOR NOVEMBER The release of the attractive, information-filled 192-page hardcover book from Coman Publishing — The Gold Standard: The Best of Notre Dame Football, 1976-2025 — gener- ated excitement the morning of Sept. 12, when the book's first signing was held at the Hammes Bookstore on campus before the Notre Dame-Rice game. Situated at a table just inside the high archway entry door to the bookstore, contributing author and veteran Blue & Gold Illustrated writer Todd Burlage personalized the books, shared stories of its inception, took photos and mingled with fans for almost two hours. "The event was great. Being the center of attention and having a chance to discuss and show off this beautiful book made for a very enjoyable morning on a very busy game day," said Burlage, who estimates he personalized about 25 books during the signing. Many fans purchased the striking full-color publication as a keepsake for themselves, while others bought three or four signed cop- ies as gifts for friends and family members. Hammes will host two more book signings on campus for The Gold Standard. The next one is Friday, Nov. 6, from 3:30-5 p.m., the day before the highly anticipated Miami- Notre Dame game. And the second one is on Saturday, Nov. 21, from 1:30-3:30 p.m., on the day of the SMU-Notre Dame game. Times subject to change. Veteran Blue & Gold Illustrated writer Todd Burlage met with fans and personalized copies of The Gold Standard during a signing at the Hammes Bookstore on campus. There will be additional sign- ings there Friday, Nov. 6, from 3:30-5 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 21, from 1:30-3:30 p.m. PHOTOS BY MARY X Women's Basketball Pushes For An Elite 2027 Recruiting Class