Former Greely High star Anna DeWolfe was a first-team all-conference selection the past three seasons while playing at Fordham. Vinny Dusovic/Fordham athletics
Anna DeWolfe has one more year of college basketball left. And the former Greely High star will be taking her talents to one of the top programs in women’s basketball.
The Cumberland native has transferred from Fordham, where she played the past four seasons, to Notre Dame. She plans to use the extra year of eligibility that the NCAA provides to athletes who lost a season because of the coronavirus pandemic.
At Fordham, DeWolfe was a first-team all-conference selection in the Atlantic 10 for the past three seasons. Notre Dame plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference, one of the top leagues in the nation.
“I’m super excited,” said the 5-foot-8 guard. “It’s a great opportunity for myself. I’m definitely going to have to work hard and earn everything, but I’m just super excited and grateful for this opportunity.”
DeWolfe, 21, will be joining a Notre Dame team coming off of back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in the NCAA tournament. The Fighting Irish have advanced to the Final Four seven times since 2011, winning the national championship in 2018.
“She will bring experience and a dynamic skill set that will translate well into our system,” Notre Dame Coach Niele Ivey said in a news release Monday announcing the addition of DeWolfe. “She is a competitive combo guard with an incredible motor. What I love most about Anna is her work ethic, toughness and passion for the game. She matches our team’s identity perfectly.”
DeWolfe, the 2019 Varsity Maine Female Athlete of the Year, had no trouble translating her transcendent high school game to the Division I level. She averaged 17 points per game over four years at Fordham, and was second in the Atlantic 10 in scoring this season at 18.4 points per game, and third in 3-pointers made at 2.5 per contest.
The Rams never qualified for the NCAA tournament during DeWolfe’s career there, losing in the conference quarterfinals the last three seasons. DeWolfe, who knew early on in her senior season that she would spend her fifth season elsewhere, prioritized finding a team with a good chance to play on the national stage.
The Irish, who have made 26 of the last 27 NCAA tournaments, proved a perfect fit.
“That was really a big goal for me,” she said. “It was kind of my whole idea of going into the transfer portal, to try to play at a higher level and make the tournament and make a big run at it.”
Notre Dame also had the right feel, said DeWolfe, who entered the NCAA transfer portal in March. She also had visits scheduled at Virginia Tech, Miami and North Carolina, but committed during a visit to South Bend, Indiana, last week.
“I’m a big relationship person, and I felt a really good connection with all of the girls on the team when I got there. Same with the coaching staff. My relationship that I built in such a short time really felt special to me,” she said. “When I stepped foot on campus, I really felt welcomed.”
DeWolfe also liked the straightforward nature of Notre Dame’s pitch.
“A lot of coaches reached out, and a lot of times coaches would try to (sell) all the NIL (name, image and likeness) opportunities and the money and all that type of thing,” she said. “For me, that wasn’t really important. I really felt that Coach Ivey made a relationship with me built off of the type of person she is outside of basketball. I really valued that.”
Asked what role she’s anticipating with Notre Dame, DeWolfe said she was eager to make her case for playing time.
“It’s going to be difficult, I’m going to have to earn everything and prove everything,” she said. “We’ll see when I get there. There’s definitely an amazing opportunity that’s there.”
DeWolfe said she’s focusing on her final college year over the basketball opportunities that could await her after school.
“I’m really just taking it all in for the next year, and enjoying my last year of college basketball,” she said. “Having a really big run in the tournament would be really special to me. After my fifth year, I can re-evaluate my options for playing after college, but right now, I’m really just enjoying the moment and taking it all in.”
With the move, DeWolfe becomes the second Mainer playing Division I basketball in Indiana. Gorham’s Mackenzie Holmes is heading into her fifth season of eligibility with Indiana University.
“I talk to Mackenzie a lot,” she said. “She sent me a screenshot yesterday of how far away I am now, and it’s like 11 or 12 hours, and then when I’m in South Bend I’m only three hours away. Having her right down the road is going to be important, to have her to lean on.”
Send questions/comments to the editors.
