Notre Dame women’s star heads to National Champion UCLA

Former Notre Dame women's basketball player with wrap up her collegiate career with the defending National Champions. KK Bransford, the Irish guard who entered the transfer portal last week, announced on her social media on Tuesday that she would be joining the reigning national champion UCLA Bruins for her final season in college. Bransford, a former McDonald's All-American, played in 90 games for the Fighting Irish.

In that time she was one of head coach Niele Ivey's most reliable players averaging almost 25-minutes per game for her career. Going to UCLA could present a great opportunity for someone like Bransford. Not only does UCLA have the prestige of being the most recent champions, but a big portion of that championship-winning team has moved on to the WNBA which will provide KK plenty of opportunity to make an impact in her final season.

Former Notre Dame women’s basketball guard KK Bransford signals a commitment to defending national champion UCLA on Instagram. “I’m da bruin 💙💛” pic. twitter.

com/yiS3hzRBMq — Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) April 28, 2026 Even despite the loss, the outlook for next season is quite bright for Irish fans. Hannah Hidalgo announced she would be returning for her senior season , and Notre Dame is bringing in one of the best recruiting classes in the country to replenish the talent in South Bend. Even so, Bransford's loss will be felt by the Irish and coach Ivey will have even more pressure to find a way to make up for what she brought on and off the court.