3 Notre Dame Players make WNBA All-Rookie Team

Three former Notre Dame basketball stars were named to the 2019 WNBA All-Rookie team.

The WNBA announced its 2019 All-Rookie team yesterday. Three former Notre Dame players made the list: Jackie Young, Arike Ogunbowale, and Brianna Turner. Notre Dame is the first program to put three players on the team in a single season.

Jackie Young

Jackie was the first pick of the 2019 NBA Draft. Playing for the Las Vegas Aces, she led all rookies in assists with 4.5 per game. That mark was good enough for ninth in the league.

Under her leadership, the Aces finished with record of 21-13 and earned a playoff berth as the No. 4 seed.

Arike Ogunbowale

Playing for the Dallas Wings, Arike led all rookies in scoring with 19.1 points per game. That number was good enough for third overall in the entire league. She also led all rookies in three-pointers made with 57 and was second in assists for rookies — behind only Jackie Young — with 3.2 per game.

Brianna Turner

Playing for the Phoenix Mercury, Brianna hauled down 4.1 rebounds per game — fourth amongst all WNBA rookies and third amongst Mercury players. She was able to get that done averaging less than 16 minutes per game.

All three of these ladies being named to the WNBA team All-Rookie team is a terrific accomplishment for their careers. It’s also huge for Notre Dame Women’s basketball.

The Irish hoops program has already been established as one of the premier women’s basketball programs in the country. Having three players on the WNBA All-Rookie team only solidifies that.

It’s also huge recruiting tool.

Young women around the country can be confident that, if they attend Notre Dame as basketball players, they’ll be getting a quality education while also setting themselves up for potential success as professional basketball players.

Big congrats to Brianna Turner, Arike Ogunbowale, Jackie Young, Coach McGraw and the entire Notre Dame Women’s Basketball program from all of us here at Slap the Sign.