Notre Dame Lands Transfer Portal Commitment From Wake Forest Forward Malaya Cowles

After a tumultuous start to the offseason, Notre Dame women’s basketball finally has some good news. The Fighting Irish received a transfer portal commitment from Wake Forest’s Malaya Cowles Friday afternoon. On3 was the first to report the news.

The 6-3 Cowles has started 51 games over the last three seasons for the Demon Deacons. She averaged 8.8 points and 5.1 rebounds while making 16 starts and playing in 28 games this past season while averaging 24.3 minutes per game. Cowles averaged 8.2 points and 4.2 boards during the 2023-2024 season as well.

The forward from Wilkesboro, NC began her college career at Wake Forest during the 2020-2021 season and only played one game due to injury. She was a midseason enrollee in January of 2021 during the pandemic season and made her career debut against Oklahoma State in the NCAA Tournament. She also missed the entire 2022-2023 season due to injury. Since she was on the Wake Forest roster for the 2020-2021 season, she comes to Notre Dame with two remaining seasons of eligibility.

Cowles had three double-doubles during the just completed 2024-2025 season. One of them was a 15-point, 10-rebound effort against Notre Dame in a 100-64 Fighting Irish win on Jan. 9. She has career averages of 6.8 points and 4.1 rebounds in three seasons at Wake.

The addition of Cowles gives the Irish their first front court player on the roster for the 2025-2026 season. Guards Hannah Hidalgo, the reigning ACC Player of the Year, Cassandre Prosper and KK Bransford, who missed this season with a leg injury, are currently the only other three players on the current roster. Forward Leah Macy, a McDonald’s High School All-American, will join the team as a freshman next season as well.