Top WNBA Prospect Olivia Miles Forgoes Draft, Enters NCAA Transfer Portal

Notre Dame guard Miles addresses the crowd after winning the second round of the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament against Michigan at Purcell Pavilion. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Notre Dame Fighting Irish star guard and top WNBA draft prospect Olivia Miles will pass on the draft this year and find a new home for her final year of collegiate eligibility.

ESPN's Shams Charania reported Monday night that Miles will forgo April's WNBA draft and enter the NCAA transfer portal. He noted that Miles made an "unprecedented decision" to use her one remaining year of eligibility instead of the draft.

Notre Dame's Olivia Miles – the projected No. 2 pick in the WNBA draft this month – will forgo the draft and enter NCAA's transfer portal, sources tell ESPN. The 22-year-old top prospect makes unprecedented decision to use her one year remaining of college instead of the draft. pic.twitter.com/NaODcCzc38

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 1, 2025

Miles's Notre Dame squad was eliminated from the NCAA tournament Saturday with a 72-61 loss to TCU in the Sweet 16. She averaged 15.4 points, 5.8 assists, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game this past season for the Irish.

Charania's report noted that Miles was the projected No. 2 pick in the 2025 WNBA draft, which takes place on April 14. UConn's Paige Bueckers is the consensus No. 1 prospect, with the Dallas Wings holding the draft's first pick.

Perhaps Miles elected to wait for the WNBA's new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), which is currently being negotiated between the league and the WNBA Players Association. The WNBPA chose to opt out of its current CBA, which is in effect until Oct. 31, 2025, shortly after the upcoming season concludes. A top priority in CBA negotiations is higher player salaries, including for rookie-scale contracts which Miles would enter the WNBA under.

Miles will stay in college for the time being and one lucky program will bring in the star guard for her last year of eligibility.

---