Malaya Cowles Joins Notre Dame For Graduate Season
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame women’s basketball locked in its first transfer of the 2025-26 season on Saturday, adding graduate forward Malaya Cowles. The 6-3 forward spent five years playing for ACC foe Wake Forest, missing the 2022-23 season with injury.
Cowles joins the Irish on the heels of her best college basketball season to date. Last year, she averaged 8.8 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 55.8 percent from the floor. All of those marks were career highs. Her lifetime shooting percentage of 55.0 ranks third in Wake Forest history.
“We are so excited to welcome Malaya to our Notre Dame family!” Karen and Kevin Keyes Family Head Coach Niele Ivey said. “She brings size and experience at the forward position and will give us a great presence in the paint along with her ability to rebound.
“Malaya will fit seamlessly into both our system and our culture.”
Cowles has played against Notre Dame three times, including posting a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double last season in South Bend. She has averaged 11.3 points per game in those three contests, going 16-26 from the floor (61.5 percent).
Cowles hails from Wilkesboro, N.C., which is located 54 miles west of Wake Forest’s campus. She will make the transition to the Midwest and play a large role immediately, as Notre Dame is trying to replace the production of its four departing forwards, including All-ACC performers Liatu King and Maddy Westbeld.
