KK Bransford not returning to Notre Dame women's basketball, enters portal

In a somewhat surprising move, KK Bransford will be transferring out of the Notre Dame women's basketball program. The news was first reported by On3's Talia Goodman Friday, April 17.

After Notre Dame lost to 1-seed UConn Sunday, March 29, Bransford told the South Bend Tribune that she "wanted" to use her final year of eligibility and that she "planned" to do so for the Irish. However, she is deciding to look at other options in the portal.

More: A look at the future of Notre Dame women's basketball after March Madness

Bransford has a redshirt year of eligibility due to missing her entire junior season due to injury. In her senior year, Bransford missed 12 more games due to a right knee injury. Notre Dame went 19-5 in the games which Bransford was on the floor.

In the 2025-26 campaign, head coach Niele Ivey called Bransford the Irish's X-factor ― the spark they needed after heading into February at just 13-8. Once Bransford came back from injury Feb. 1, Notre Dame finished the season on a 12-3 run to its first Elite Eight since 2019.

Bransford, who started nine games prior to the injury, was the Irish's first player off the bench post injury. She averaged 7.4 points and four rebounds per game on 47.3% shooting from the field.

In Bransford's first two seasons with Notre Dame, she started 19 of the 66 games in which she played. Across those appearances, Bransford averaged 7.5 points and 3.4 rebounds on 43.4% shooting from the field.

Bransford, ACC Player of the Year Hannah Hidalgo and 2026 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Most Improved Player Cassandre Prosper were described by Ivey as Notre Dame's "core" last season. Only Hidalgo will now return of those three with Bransford transferring and Prosper being selected in the WNBA Draft by the Washington Mystics.

Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at or follow him on X @KyleMSmedley.