Olivia Miles decided to skip WNBA draft and stay in college for one more season
But Miles decided to return to college this year instead of going to the WNBA draft as a projected lottery pick. The former Notre Dame star transferred to TCU to try to improve her game, earn some extra NIL money and continue to grow her brand.
'I think it was a mixture of me listening to my body and what I needed and also just another year to develop, you know be in a system where it'll favor me and I'll have great teammates and a great coach around me,' Miles told The Associated Press. 'I'll have a lot of fun so I'm just very excited for that.'
Miles missed the 2023-24 season while recovering from an ACL tear she suffered in the regular-season finale the year before to end her sophomore campaign. She became the first men's or women's freshman to post a triple-double in the NCAA Tournament in 2022, and was putting the final touches on a season that had made her an Associated Press second-team All-American when she crashed to the baseline after her right knee buckled on a drive at Louisville in 2023.
'I just felt like I had a lot more left in me in the tank,' she said. 'Being far, far removed from my injury, mentally, physically, emotionally, was what I was telling myself, so, it was a lot of back and forth.'
Miles said she literally waited until the last minute to decide what she wanted to do, something she'd love to see the WNBA change in the future.
'I didn't decide until the very end, as you know, we have 48 hours to make a huge life decision, which is really hard,' Miles said.
One thing she's happy about when she does enter the WNBA next season is that there will be a new collective bargaining agreement that should include an increase in player salaries. Right now the rookie salary is about $75,000 for top picks. She'll make a lot more than that in college this year. The low salaries were one factor in Miles' decision, but she said it wasn't a major one.
Then when she decided to stay in school, Miles made another big choice to enter the transfer portal and leave Notre Dame.
'I knew it was gonna be a big story. I knew it was gonna (upset) a lot of people,' she said. 'I knew it was gonna cause a lot of commotion, but I ultimately was selfish one time with my career. I was talking to a bunch of power schools and then ultimately I really just wanted to go somewhere where I'd be able to showcase my abilities the best that I can.'
Miles didn't get into specifics on why she decided to leave Notre Dame, but did say it was hard to tell Irish coach Niele Ivey that she was leaving.
'I was her first recruit so there was always a special kind of connection there, so when you have to have a hard conversation about people you care about, it's tough, but it had to be done,' Miles said. 'I didn't want her to find out, apart from me, so I had to grow up in that moment we had the conversation and we kept it going.'
Miles said that Ivey reassured her that she'd 'always be a part of the family and that she loves me. I'm doing what's best for me, she's doing what's best for her so there's always respect there from my end.'
She said she liked a lot of what TCU has done the last few years under coach Mark Campbell.
'I won't be restricted anywhere, I'll be able to kind of flow and have fun and really showcase before I get to the league,' she said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
9 minutes ago
- USA Today
Messi bodyguard banned from Leagues Cup after Inter Miami-Atlas scuffle
One of the most familiar faces at Inter Miami games is set to miss some time, and this time it's not Lionel Messi. Messi's bodyguard Yassine Cheuko will be suspended for the duration of the 2025 Leagues Cup after entering the field of play without authorization amid a post-game scuffle. In a press release on Friday, Aug. 1, Leagues Cup — a competition between clubs from MLS and Mexico's Liga MX — said that "a member of Inter Miami's club delegation displayed improper conduct by entering restricted areas without an official event credential." People with knowledge of the situation have confirmed to USA TODAY Sports that the person in question is Cheuko. The persons requested anonymity since Cheuko's name was not publicly announced in the release. Cheuko has become a well-known presence on the touchline at Inter Miami matches since Messi arrived in MLS in 2023. Generally, his role has been to stop pitch invaders from reaching Messi, whose popularity has tested MLS security measures in a way the league has not previously encountered. ANALYSIS: Messi needs to find his groove again to lead Inter Miami in Leagues Cup The Leagues Cup disciplinary committee announced that it had "suspended the individual involved from all technical areas for the remainder of Leagues Cup 2025 and issued an undisclosed fine to Inter Miami CF." The incident in question came after a dramatic 2-1 Miami win over Atlas on Wednesday, July 30, with Messi setting up Marcelo Weigandt for a game-winning goal six minutes into second-half stoppage time. Weigandt's goal was initially chalked off, but VAR overturned that call, awarding the Herons a win. It was a remarkable end to a fiery game that had seen players and coaches from both sides jawing at one another, and Messi let Atlas' Matías Cóccaro hear it while celebrating with new teammate Rodrigo De Paul. With the full time whistle coming seconds later, the normal post-game handshakes and hugs devolved momentarily, Cheuko was seen among the scuffling players and team staffers, at one point shoving Atlas defender Jorge San Martín. NEW: Leagues Cup is set to discipline a member of Inter Miami's staff for entering the pitch during their last match. There's also a fine Yassine Cheuko, known online as Messi's bodyguard. He'll be banned from Leagues Cup matches. The incident is not the first in which Cheuko's presence has drawn pushback. In April, Miami told USA TODAY Sports that the bodyguard would no longer be on the touchline during the club's MLS matches. At the time, Cheuko had said he was "banned" from the field, though Miami said he would remain a club employee. It's also the latest bit of friction between Messi's camp and MLS, who along with Liga MX, organizes Leagues Cup. Last week, the Argentine icon and teammate Jordi Alba were suspended for one match after not participating in the MLS All-Star Game. Miami owner Jorge Mas cited the need to rest Messi in the face of the Herons' unusually demanding schedule, and said Messi was "very upset" after MLS decided to enforce a rule requiring healthy players to participate if named to the All-Star roster.
Boston Globe
9 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Now past an anticlimactic deadline, the Red Sox look ahead
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'I think we got better,' said Sox manager Alex Cora, who'd suggested past post-All-Star-break struggles reflected the team's deadline caution. 'I think the team is a lot different than the last three. We're more complete, we pitched better, our bullpen is in a great place.' Advertisement Red Sox manager Alex Cora feels the additions made by the front office recently have made his ballclub "more complete." Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff Shortstop Trevor Story added: 'You're always looking for the big, exciting blockbuster. But I think the sentiment with us is we're more happy that we kind of stuck our core together. We still have all the main pieces here still, and we just added to that group. So more about us feeling like the guys in the room got us here, and we know that we're capable.' Advertisement That said, there's also no sugar-coating the reality of what transpired leading up to the deadline. The Sox aimed higher. They wanted Ryan but couldn't get him. They wanted an offensive upgrade, but didn't land one. (Orioles first baseman Ryan O'Hearn had been on their wishlist, but was part of the Padres' push to acquire what seemed like every player.) Meanwhile, the Sox made fewer and arguably smaller moves than any of the seven top AL contenders — division leaders Toronto, Detroit, and Houston; followed by the tightly clustered group of the Yankees, Boston, Seattle, and Texas. The Yankees (loading up on bullpen arms) and Tigers (adding rotation and bullpen depth) each added seven big league players in the week leading up to the deadline. The Mariners (who turbocharged their offense with Eugenio Suarez and Josh Naylor), Astros (Carlos Correa), and Rangers (Merrill Kelly — the top starter to move) each added three. The Blue Jays (Shane Bieber —a a bit of a wild card as he builds back up from Tommy John surgery, but with the potential to pitch in the middle of a postseason rotation) and Sox had two. Based on the trades that were and weren't made, it seems evident that the Sox are more conservative about deadline deals than their competitors — particularly deals for rentals. The Rangers' acquisition of Kelly for three well-regarded prospects was illustrative. Texas thus landed a pitcher who seems all but certain to be a postseason starter if the Rangers get to the playoffs; there are no such guarantees with May. The biggest impact move the Red Sox made Thursday was adding righthanded starter Dustin May from the Dodgers. Winslow Townson/Getty Even so, it's possible to exaggerate the impact of the deadline. As much attention as July 31 comings and goings get, postseason chases are more meaningfully defined by mainstays. Still, it's fascinating to note the movement of postseason odds before and after the deadline movement. Advertisement The Mariners broke the seal by landing Naylor on July 24. According to Fangraphs, their playoff odds went from 71 percent on the morning of July 23 to 76 percent on August 1, the morning after the deadline. Their World Series odds went up from 5 to 7 percent. Between their strong play and deadline moves, the Rangers' postseason odds went from 32 percent to 40 percent. As for the Sox? They jumped from 43 percent odds of reaching the postseason on the morning of July 23 to 62 percent on August 1 — a 19 percent increase that is the largest in the AL in that time, and a reflection of how a stretch of five wins in seven games had impacted their chances of playing in October. 'I guess [this year's deadline is similar to last year's] in a way,' said Story, 'but I think just the way we've been playing and how we've been doing it is different, so we're not sad that we should have added more or harping on what could have been. The guys that are going to get it done are going to be the guys that we have now. 'We've been doubted kind of all year, and so [skepticism about the team's deadline] is going to be one of those things that we continue to call on for motivation. We really do believe that we can get it done. And we added two more guys to help us with that.' Now, everything related to the machinations of the deadline becomes irrelevant. It's up to the players to prove whether or not the roster as currently constituted is enough to get the team into the playoffs for the first time since 2021. Advertisement 'It's Aug. 1. Everything [with the deadline] is in the past,' said Cora. 'We've got a shot to make something special here this year in the Wild Card, in the division. You look at the Green Monster, we're in third place, five games back, so we feel like we can compete with anybody, and we've got a real shot to win the division.' Time, and the performance of the roster holdovers, will tell. Alex Speier can be reached at
USA Today
39 minutes ago
- USA Today
Cleveland Guardians clear out Emmanuel Clase, Luis L. Ortiz lockers with both on leave
The Cleveland Guardians' clubhouse had some notable changes on the afternoon of Friday, Aug. 1. The lockers for closer Emmanuel Clase and starting pitcher Luis L. Ortiz were cleared out, according to Zack Meisel of The Athletic. Both players were placed on leave in July, related to an ongoing investigation into gambling by Major League Baseball. If they are found guilty, both could potentially receive a lifetime ban. It was not made clear if a decision had been reached involving the two players or if it is just potential locker changes in the clubhouse following the conclusion of the MLB trade deadline on July 31. MLB's investigation into Luis Ortiz is about these two individual pitches which received action flagged by a betting-integrity firm, per @JeffPassan Why was Luis L. Ortiz placed on leave? Ortiz was placed on leave on July 3 after two of his pitches received unusual gambling activity. Both were sliders outside of the strike zone at the start of an inning in games played in June. Some gambling websites allow users to bet on the first pitch of an MLB at-bat. Why was Emmanuel Clase placed on leave? Clase's name surfaced during the investigation that involved Ortiz. The league is looking to see if Clase had violated the MLB's gambling policy. Clase has been considered as one of the league's best closers and his name was mentioned in trade rumors leading up to the deadline. While the Guardians could have received a nice return in a trade for the three-time All-Star, instead, they still have Clase under contract with some uncertainty about his future.
