MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE-USA TODAY NETWORK
Notre Dame Fighting Irish star Olivia Miles was the prohibitive favorite to go No. 2 in the 2025 WNBA Draft behind UConn superstar Paige Bueckers. The key word there, however, is “was.” Because while everyone assumed that Miles, a two-time second-team All-American, was WNBA bound, it appears that the star guard out of New Jersey had different plans.
Instead, Miles shocked the women’s basketball world on Monday when she announced that not only would she return to college for the 2025-26 season, but that she also intends to enter the transfer portal.
“It just changes every day. I love college. I think I’ve outgrown it a little bit, though, so that makes my decision tougher to stay. It’s comfortable, a place where you have security,” Miles said following her team’s loss to TCU in the Sweet 16 on Saturday. “The W … the volatility is up and down. So I don’t know. I’m deciding between a bunch of factors.”
That statement echoes one shared by UConn star Azzi Fudd, who has yet to commit to the 2025 WNBA Draft despite being a projected top-5 pick.
“I think I have to sit down and talk with my family, with the people closest to me, and just talk through the decisions, options,” Fudd told ESPN’s Alexa Philippou. “I’m a big pros and cons list-er to kind of get the emotions out, the feelings out, and just write down the facts. So I think a pros and cons list is in my near future.”
Miles’ decision also presents a unique issue of dollars and cents. Bueckers, the consensus top prospect, is in line for a four-year contract worth less than $350,000 in total. But the WNBA recently signed a new media rights deal and could well have a new CBA ahead of the 2026-27 season. That means that rookie contracts for Miles and Fudd could look far more lucrative than that which Bueckers signs.
Additionally, Miles putting herself on the open market could lead to a big payday of her own in 2025. Miles became the biggest name in the women’s hoops portal to date and some believe she could fetch a six-figure payday to play somewhere other than South Bend next season.
The same discussion surrounded Caitlin Clark when she opted to leave Iowa for the WNBA a year ago. Clark immediately killed that discussion by signing lucrative marketing deals in addition to her WNBA contract. But Miles likely won’t have the same opportunities.
For now, at least, she seems to believe college basketball provides a larger opportunity for a financial windfall than the WNBA. Which puts the WNBA in a very, very precarious position as it begins to collectively bargain with players.