Notre Dame women’s basketball lands Stanford transfer Jenna Brown
For the second time in as many years, Notre Dame women’s basketball is bringing in a graduate transfer from Stanford.
The Irish announced the addition of 5-10 guard Jenna Brown on Tuesday. Brown took a medical redshirt to undergo knee surgery during the Cardinal’s 2019-20 national championship season. She missed the entirety of last season rehabbing and recovering, too.
Before then, Brown played 57 games with one start in the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons as a teammate of former Notre Dame center Maya Dodson. That duo would have been reunited in South Bend had Dodson’s eligibility waiver request not been denied by the NCAA. Dodson was selected by the Phoenix Mercury in the third round of the WNBA Draft earlier this month.
Still, the Irish will welcome the services of a Stanford transfer for the fourth time in the last handful of years. Lili Thompson started the trend ahead of the 2017-18 season. Marta Sniezek followed in 2019-20. Thompson played in 14 games with five starts during the Irish’s run to their second national title in program history.
Brown would like to play more with the same result.
“I am so excited to welcome Jenna Brown to our Notre Dame family,” Irish head coach Niele Ivey said in a statement. “She is an exceptional student and is someone who will positively impact this university and our program.”
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Given she did not play during the COVID-shortened season, it is possible Brown only has one year of eligibility remaining. She will likely fight for an extra year and hope for a different fate than Dodson’s, though. Either way, she fills part of an immediate void for Ivey. Notre Dame lost three transfers to the portal last month. Two of them were guards off the bench. The hustle Anaya Peoples and Abby Prohaska provided was invaluable. Brown is tasked with matching that sort of intensity.
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Ivey believes she can.
“Jenna brings a strong work ethic and motor along with an incredible skill set and high IQ,” Ivey said in her statement. “She is a perfect addition to our strong core and I’m looking forward to working with her and mentoring her.”
Brown averaged 1.8 points in 7.9 minutes per game in her first two seasons at Stanford. She arrived as the all-time leading scorer (1,703 points) at The Lovett School in Atlanta. A 2018 McDonald’s All-American, Jordan Brand Classic Invitee and first-team Naismith All-American, Brown helped the United States win a gold medal at the FIBA U18 Championship in 2018. She averaged 7.5 points and 2.8 assists per game.
Brown’s international experience will pair well with that of Notre Dame sophomore guards Olivia Miles and Sonia Citron, the latter of whom won a gold medal in last year’s U19 FIBA World Cup.
Notre Dame is still severely lacking in overall roster size as well as sizable presences in the post. Ivey and her staff will have to continue grazing the transfer portal to put together a competitive roster for the upcoming season. Here’s a look at where it stands now.
Current 2022-23 Notre Dame women’s basketball roster
G Jenna Brown (Gr.)
G Dara Mabrey (Gr.)
G Trinity Cha* (Jr.)
G Olivia Miles (So.)
G Sonia Citron (So.)
F Natalija Marshall (Jr.)
G Sarah Cernugel (Jr.)
F Maddy Westbeld (Jr.)
G KK Bransford (Fr.)
* Walk-on
