Notre Dame Fighting Irish Women’s Basketball: Sam Brunelle, Anaya Peoples, and Abby Prohaska Enter the Transfer Portal

Three Veteran Leaders Have Left The NDWBB Program

It was just announced, via their respective Instagram or Twitter pages, that Sam Brunelle, Anaya Peoples, and Abby Prohaska are entering the transfer portal. They all will look to play the rest of their collegiate careers elsewhere and not for Niele Ivey and the Notre Dame Women’s Basketball team.

Sam Brunelle played in all games in both her Freshman and Junior seasons. Her sophomore season, the shortened 2020-21 season, was cut short due to a knee injury. In a Notre Dame uniform, she averaged just under 10 points per game and exactly 4 rebounds per game. She put up decent numbers in her three seasons, and she could always be counted on for a jolt from beyond the arc or a strong defensive possession when needed.

Abby Prohaska had more of a modest career at Notre Dame via the stat sheets. She had only played in three seasons, but had been with the program for four seasons. In the 2019-20 season, she realized she was tiring on the court easily during practices. She later found out she was having blot clots in her lungs caused by a bilateral pulmonary embolism. She decided to sit out the 2019-20 season and support her team from the bench. She averaged about 3 points per game and was definitely a vocal leader and a hard worker off the bench.

Anaya Peoples just completed her Junior season at Notre Dame. She was a 2019 McDonald’s All-American like Sam Brunelle. She averaged just shy of 9 points per game in her three seasons. The skill set with her is a bit of a blow to the roster, but with the talent there is now as well as the recruits coming in, this could make way for them.

Also in similar, but not definite, news: Maya Dodson filed for the WNBA Draft this year. There has not been an official decision from Maya or the team, but her name is on the list. So, she might not actually come back for her final year of eligibility, which she was granted by the NCAA. If that is the case, that would be four members of the Irish not coming back for the 2022-23 season.