TCU transfer Olivia Miles "grateful" following move away from Hannah Hidalgo's Notre Dame

Former Notre Dame star and new TCU transfer Olivia Miles is one of the biggest stars in women's college basketball. Before the season ended, there was a lot of speculation that Miles would declare for the 2025 WNBA draft and start her pro career. However, she took a different path, entering the portal for one more college season and committing to TCU and leaving Hannah Hidalgo at Notre Dame.

On Thursday, at the Team USA trials for the 2025 FIBA Women's AmeriCup, Olivia Miles spoke with reporters about her excitement for the tournament before speaking about her decision to transfer to TCU.

"It's just fun to be able to compete against grown women and to test yourself every day and to be better," Miles said before speaking about her transfer to TCU (Timestamp 0:45). "Yeah I mean it was crazy. I think I caused a lot of commotion, but you know I'm just grateful I had the opportunity to do so. Grateful I had an extra year to decide what I wanted to do for myself. Better myself for another year before I go pro."

As a member of Team USA for the 2025 FIBA Women's AmeriCup, Olivia Miles will make her tournament debut on June 28 against Chile. Group play will continue on June 29 against Colombia, followed by a game against Puerto Rico on June 30 before closing out group play on July 2 against Mexico.

If Team USA advances out of the group stages of the tournament, they will play in the quarterfinals on July 4. The playoff rounds will then play out over three days, with the final being played on July 6.

Olivia Miles is projected to be a top pick in the 2026 WNBA draft

While Olivia Miles passed up an opportunity to start her WNBA career in 2025, she should still be a top pick in 2026. ESPN took a look at the top prospects for the 2026 WNBA draft in late April, and Miles was listed among the top contenders to be the first pick.

UCLA's Lauren Betts is the favorite to go first heading into next season, followed by UConn's Azzi Fudd. However, after that, Miles is listed as the next most likely player to be the first pick in 2026.

Miles is stepping into a new environment for the first time in her college career. She is coming off her best season yet, averaging 15.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game.

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Edited by Alexander O'Reilly