Notre Dame women's basketball adds Canadian Cassandre Prosper to 2023 class
A memory-making weekend for coach Niele Ivey and the Notre Dame women’s basketball program grew even more memorable late Saturday night when five-star prospect Cassandre Prosper announced on Instagram that she has made the Irish her college choice.
A 6-foot-2 forward from Quebec, Canada, Prosper is ESPN’s No. 16-rated recruit in the high school class of 2023. She’s also ranked No. 21 by Prospects Nation.
Prosper’s expected to make her commitment official before the end of the NCAA’s early signing period Wednesday.
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“This is the most important day of my Basketball career so far,” Prosper posted on Instagram, “and I am excited to share with you my college commitment video.”
The video includes footage of Prosper playing through the years and photos of her recruiting visit to Notre Dame.
She joins shooting guard Emma Risch (No. 20 by ESPN, No. 15 Prospects Nation) in ND’s incoming class next spring — and the Irish may not be done yet.
Point guard Hannah Hidalgo (No. 5 ESPN, No. 9 Prospects Nation) has listed Notre Dame among her six finalists, along with Central Florida, Duke, Michigan, Ohio State and Stanford.
Hidalgo tweeted Saturday evening that she will announce her choice at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Prosper’s other finalists were defending national champ South Carolina, Arizona, Duke and North Carolina.
Her commitment came just a couple hours after the No. 9-ranked Irish beat California 90-79 in the inaugural Shamrock Classic, a game played in St. Louis, Ivey’s hometown. It’s also where Ivey, as ND’s star point guard, helped lead the program to its first national title in 2001.
While Prosper is 6-2, she’s been described by scouts as capable of playing bigger, and while she’s listed as a forward, she doesn’t hesitate to advance the ball off the dribble. She also has occasionally stepped out to attempt high school 3-pointers.
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Playing for Capital Courts Academy, Prosper was named the Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association’s player of the year after last season.
Across 10 games reported on the OSBA’s website, she averaged 23.2 points while making 46% of her 2-pointers and 79% at the line, but just 10-of-43 on 3s for 23%.
If Prosper excels at Notre Dame, she won’t be the first Canadian to do so.
The Irish added forward Natalie Achonwa of Ontario in 2010 as their first-ever international player. Achonwa went on to become a two-time All-American and a member of four straight Final Four ND clubs on her way to Ring of Honor recognition in 2019.
With the additions of Prosper and Risch, the Irish match their number of scheduled departures after this season in guard Dara Mabrey and center Lauren Ebo.