Anaya Hardy is a woman of many talents. She’s a mechanical engineering major who has a collection of Rubix’s Cubes, all of which she has quickly solved using self-created formulas.
She is a routine golfer and gamer, spending much of her down time playing video games like Minecraft, NBA2K, MLB The Show, Fortnite and more on her PlayStation with friends. From the age of five until 14, she was a high-level softball player who traveled around the country to play against the best of the best.
Oh yeah, and don’t be surprised to see her dunking during Notre Dame women’s basketball’s pre-game warmups next season; she’s hoping to finally do so during a game for the first time, too.
Hardy said she could dunk softballs and tennis balls as an already 6-foot-tall high school freshman in Detroit, and she finally threw one down with a basketball for the first time two years later standing at her current 6-foot, 3-inch frame. At the time of those first dunks with other sports’ balls, Hardy wasn’t even taking basketball as seriously as she would just a year later when she first began playing AAU as a sophomore.
That’s why it was not only surprising to Hardy herself that she could dunk a basketball just shortly after she was legally allowed to drive a car, but it’s even more surprising that she’s on her second Power-5 college basketball team after transferring from Louisville to Notre Dame on April 17.
“My younger self never would have thought I would be in college right now playing basketball,” Hardy said.
The rising junior was the first of two transfers to commit to the Irish so far this offseason, preceding Princeton’s Madison St. Rose, and Hardy’s decision was an admittedly quick one. She said Notre Dame was the only program she visited while in the portal, as the Irish sincerity and head coach Niele Ivey’s “warmth” were immediately impactful to her.
“It felt perfect when I was there,” Hardy said.
Hardy said rising senior Naismith Women’s College Defensive Player of the Year Award winner Hannah Hidalgo, rising redshirt freshman Leah Macy and departing grad student Vanessa de Jesus joined Ivey and staff on her visit. She noted an instant fit with her future teammates when they went to get frozen yogurt and Hardy quickly felt comfortable to fire jokes back and forth with the group.
She had spent two seasons with ND’s Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) rival Cardinals, where Hardy played in a combined 46 games and started 27 of them. In three career games and 17 minutes played against Notre Dame, Hardy said one of the things she noticed most was the Irish’s strong following. Louisville went 1-2 in those games, and two of those were at Purcell Pavilion.
She remembered the large crowd in South Bend and how many Notre Dame fans traveled to the KFC Yum! Center. She wanted to be a part of that culture.
The third and final time Hardy played against Notre Dame was a 65-62 home loss March 1 on ESPN2 that was integral to the Irish’s 12-3 record from Feb. 1 until a season-ending NCAA Tournament Elite Eight loss to UConn on March 29. Louisville went to the Sweet Sixteen last season and the Round of 32 when Hardy was a freshman, but seeing the Irish come within one win of the Final Four for the first time since 2019 impacted Hardy from afar.
“That’s something; that’s special,” Hardy said. “You don’t see a lot of teams do that. Getting to the Elite Eight is a very hard thing to do … I think I know what it takes to win.”
As Notre Dame’s roster currently stands, Hardy will be the third-most experienced player among the 11-person group. In her career so far, she averages 3.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 9.2 minutes per game on 65.5% shooting from the field.
She’ll be expected to improve those numbers as a potential starter for an Irish squad that intends to make another run in the NCAA Tournament to cap off Hidalgo’s final year in the program. Hardy called Hidalgo “one of a kind” and feels like she fits in with the ACC Player of the Year’s fast tempo on the court, which she believes will help her take the leap necessary to become a contributor on a contender.
If she does and lives up to the potential her athleticism alone suggests, perhaps she can follow in the footsteps of the Washington Mystics’ Cassandre Prosper and become the second consecutive Irish player to be named the ACC’s Most Improved Player in 2027.
“I think Notre Dame can get me there,” Hardy said. “I know I have lots of room to grow and be better as a player, and the staff seems like they can see the vision as well. They want to put in the time to make me the best me I can be, and I believe they’re going to do it.”
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at ksmedley@usatodayco.com or follow him on X @KyleMSmedley.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Get to know Notre Dame women’s basketball transfer Anaya Hardy
Reporting by Kyle Smedley, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
