CHICAGO — When the 2026 All-Star Game tips off on Saturday, there is a good chance former Notre Dame teammates will be guarding one another. Five players with Fighting Irish experience are on the 2026 All-Star teams: Sonia Citron, Marina Mabrey, Olivia Miles, Jessica Shepard and Jackie Young.
Toronto Tempo guard Mabrey, who was on the 2018 national championship team, credited Notre Dame not only for her play on the court, but also for preparation for her life off of it.
“They focus, on and off the court, with building habits that take you through real life because they’re fully applicable [in the WNBA],” Mabrey said to The IX Sports on Friday. “Time management, discipline, self-awareness, even self-love and work ethic, intentionality. Everything that we did at Notre Dame, we did with a purpose. We did for a reason. We did it with excellence. So I think that’s something that we’ve all carried on to our work environment.”
Citron now plays for the Washington Mystics after playing for Notre Dame from 2021-22 to 2024-25.
“They kind of took the foundation of how to act as a player, and how to be professional,” Citron said. “They helped me know what to expect in the W. Year after year in college, we looked back and reflected on what I need to add to be a more complete player, so that when I come to the W, I’m prepared.”
Niele Ivey, a former Notre Dame player herself and the program’s current head coach, said she feels like a proud parent watching so many of her former players shine this season. In fact, she is taking the short trip from South Bend to Chicago to cheer them on in person.
“When you get a chance to be a part of a player’s journey, and you watch it as they’re developing as young women coming from high school, and then you’re part of that journey when they’re in college. And then seeing them fulfill their dreams is just really rewarding as a coach,” Ivey told The IX Sports.
Dallas’ Shepard said that Ivey and retired Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw continue to reach out and encourage players.
“I’ve had amazing support from all the coaches that I have in there, and I think, you know, Coach [Muffet] McGraw reaches out pretty much after the game, and that means a lot, because she doesn’t have to.”
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Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve has coached several former Notre Dame players, and her current roster includes Miles and Kayla McBride. She was complimentary of how well-prepared Fighting Irish players are when they come to the WNBA.
“Coaches, GMs, teams want players that will play the right way, understand … the concepts of playing with a new team. And I know whether it was Deveraux Peters for us or Jess Shepard, we’ve always just kind of had an affinity for their style of playing, and I think that continues to be the case,” Reeve said. “Players have high expectations of themselves. Maybe it has something to do with academically that they attract people that value being self-starters and can take initiative.”
Notre Dame hasn’t been to the Final Four since 2019, which was McGraw’s second-to-last season. But the impact and success of Notre Dame’s players in the WNBA show there are different measures of success for a basketball program.
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