Niele Ivey's Notre Dame reportedly in the mix for Juju Watkins' USC teammate as transfer portal window nears end

Notre Dame looks to beef up its lineup for the 2025-26 women's college basketball season, as it is reportedly pursuing USC transfer Kayleigh Heckel hours before the transfer portal closes.

The 5-foot-9 guard was invited to Notre Dame for a personal visit this week (per On3 Sports). The Fighting Irish are hoping to acquire the talented guard, who performed well despite the limited action she had last season as a freshman.

Other teams interested in securing Heckel's services are SEC team Vanderbilt and Big 10 foe Michigan State. The guard is also set to visit both schools during the week.

Heckel, a five-star recruit out of Long Island Lutheran, appeared in 34 games for the Trojans and was a teammate of superstar guard JuJu Watkins. She averaged 6.1 points, 1.4 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game in 16.9 minutes last season.

The Fighting Irish, seeded third in the Birmingham Regionals, had their national championship aspirations cut short in the Sweet 16, losing to No. 6-seed TCU 71-62.

After the season ended, Olivia Miles, Kate Koval, Emma Risch and Kylee Watson have decided to test their chances in the transfer portal and found new teams before the deadline. They also lost Sonia Citron, Maddy Westbeld, Liatu King and Liza Karlen due to eligibility.

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Former Duke player commits to Notre Dame

Duke transfer Vanessa de Jesus has committed to Notre Dame, becoming the team's third acquisition from the portal after Malaya Cowles and Gisela Sanchez.

The 5-foot-8 guard out of Valencia, California played in 102 games for Duke and averaged 4.4 points, 2.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists per game. She also played for the Philippines at the 2023 FIBA Women's Asia Cup and tallied 12.8 ppg and 3.2 apg in the tournament.

“We are super grateful for the addition of Vanessa!” Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey said. “Vanessa has an incredible motor and high IQ that will translate perfectly in our offense. She is a three-level scorer and a relentless competitor!”

Before de Jesus' acquisition, Ivey beefed up her frontline, securing the commitments of Cowles and Sanchez. The 6-foot-3 Cowles appeared in 28 games for Wake Forest last season, averaging 8.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game.

Meanwhile, the 6-foot-4 Sanchez played for 27 games in Kansas State this past season and tallied 4.2 ppg, 3.1 rpg and 1.3 apg. The Barcelona, Spain native is expected to play power forward next season for the Fighting Irish.

De Jesus, Cowles and Sanchez join Notre Dame star Hannah Hidalgo and returners Cassandre Prosper and KK Bransford for the 2025-26 season.