GREENSBORO, N.C. — In just her third season at the helm, Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey is the ACC Coach of the Year.
Ivey led her No. 10 Notre Dame team to a 24-4 overall record in the regular season, a 15-3 mark in the ACC and a regular season ACC title. It is Notre Dame’s seventh championship of the sort and first since 2019.
“I am truly thrilled that Niele is this year’s ACC Coach of the Year,” Associate Head Coach Carol Owens said. “In three short years, Notre Dame has become one of the nation’s elite programs, and it’s a testament to the tireless effort she has put into leading this team. The work she has done with our group through all of the adversity has been absolutely amazing!”
Notre Dame had several notable victories this year under Ivey’s leadership. The Irish knocked off rival UConn at home in early December before opening up ACC play with a road win against Virginia Tech. Both the Huskies and the Hokies remain top-10 teams in the most recent AP Poll.
After the winter holiday, Notre Dame continued finding ways to win against conference foes. The Irish battled back in games against Clemson and Florida State and won in hostile environments like Syracuse and Louisville. Notre Dame’s 83-43 win at Pittsburgh on Feb. 19 and 76-53 victory over Georgia Tech four days later was the first time the Irish have won back-to-back ACC games by 20+ points since 2019.
In addition to the big wins, Ivey and her staff have overcome interruptions brought by several injuries. Dara Mabrey suffered a season-ending knee injury against Virginia, Lauren Ebo was out for five games with a lower body injury, and Olivia Miles went down with a knee injury on Sunday at Louisville. In the face of adversity, Ivey challenged each member of her team to step up. They answered the call and brought the ACC trophy home from Louisville as a result.
Ivey and Co., will look to win the ACC Tournament this weekend for the first time since 2019. The Irish have not been to the title game since that season either. It would be the first championship appearance under Ivey’s tutelage, although she made five as an assistant coach.
Notre Dame also had four players earn All-ACC honors; Miles and Sonia Citron made the First Team, Maddy Westbeld is a member of the Second Team, and KK Bransford made the All-ACC First Team. The complete list of ACC honors can be found here.