For the first time ever, five former Notre Dame women’s basketball standouts have been named WNBA All-Stars in the same season.
After Dallas Wings standout Jessica Shepard and Minnesota Lynx rookie Olivia Miles were voted as All-Star starters last week, three more Irish alumnae will join them 8 p.m. ET July 25 at the United Center in Chicago.
This is the third straight year the WNBA All-Star Game has featured at least four Notre Dame alumnae and the sixth straight there have been at least three Irish representatives. Eight straight All-Star games have featured at least two Notre Dame alumnae.
Headlining the Irish’s three All-Star reserves is Jackie Young, who earned her fifth straight selection with the Las Vegas Aces. The Notre Dame alumna is fifth on the WNBA’s assist leaderboard with 6.6 per game and 15th in scoring with 16.4 per contest, as the reigning WNBA Champions are 15-6. Young was a starter in three of her first four All-Star selections.
With the Irish, Young was a 2018 NCAA National Champion and 2019 national runner-up at Notre Dame. She was a 2019 Third Team AP All-American and Second Team All-ACC honoree. She is also the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) all-time girls basketball leading scorer with 3,268 points at Princeton High School.
Sonia Citron earned her second straight All-Star nod after doing so as a rookie in 2025. She is the league’s 10th leading scorer, just ahead of former Irish teammate Olivia Miles with 18.6 points per game, and she also averages 4.1 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game for the 10-10 Washington Mystics.
Citron set a new career high with 32 points and hit the game-winning shot in the longest game in WNBA history June 28, helping Washington beat the Portland Fire 124-123 in four overtimes. Citron was named the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week June 23 alongside fellow Notre Dame alumna Jessica Shepard.
That was the most recent game in which Citron played, as she has missed three games this season due to injury. Citron was selected with the third overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft, and she was named to the All Rookie Team after averaging 14.9 points on 44.5% shooting from 3-point range. At Notre Dame, Citron was the 2022 ACC Rookie of the Year, a one-time Second Team All-ACC and two-time First Team All-ACC honoree, as well as a 2025 ACC All-Defensive Team selection. The Irish never advanced past the Sweet Sixteen with Citron on the roster.
Young’s former Notre Dame teammate Marina Mabrey is the final Irish All-Star representative, and this is her first nod in a six-year professional career. She is the league’s fourth leading scorer with 21.1 points per game for the 9-11 Tempo, who are in their first WNBA season as an expansion team. Mabrey was Toronto’s first overall pick in the expansion draft, immediately deemed a “core” player.
Mabrey’s crowning achievement was when she tied the WNBA record for most points in a single game with 53 against the Los Angeles Sparks June 25. Mabrey was named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week June 2, joining Shepard, and then again July 1. She leads the league in 3-pointers made with 3.5 per game on 39.9% shooting.
At Notre Dame, Mabrey was also a 2018 National Champion alongside Shepard as a Second Team All-ACC honoree. She was selected with the 19th overall pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft by the Sparks.
Notre Dame had four All-Stars last season, including Skylar Diggins, Kayla McBride, Citron and Young. The last WNBA All-Star Game without a Notre Dame representative was in 2013, with 2026 marking the 11th straight with at least one former Irish.
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: Notre Dame standouts Young, Citron, Mabrey named WNBA All-Star reserves
Reporting by Kyle Smedley, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
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By Kyle Smedley, South Bend Tribune | USA TODAY Network
