SOUTH BEND ― Uncertainty is unusual for Leah Macy.
The 6-foot, 2-inch forward was a five-star recruit out of Bethlehem High School in Elizabethtown, Kentucky. She amassed more than 3,000 points and 2,000 rebounds in not even three full high school seasons, was a four-time All-State First Team honoree and was named a 2025 McDonald’s All-American.
Advertisement
After she committed to Notre Dame in November 2024, however, her seemingly unstoppable path to becoming an instant difference maker for the Irish was halted by a severe knee injury in January. Only within the past month has Macy been able to jump again, only about three inches off the ground to start with.
More: 3 things that could define Notre Dame women’s basketball early in 2025-26
More: It’s a new season in more ways than one for retooled Notre Dame women’s basketball program
Macy can’t even run yet, and there is no timeline for her return.
“This isn’t going to be something where I wake up tomorrow and everything’s going to be back to normal,” Macy said.
Advertisement
Macy has made the most of her unfortunate situation, helped in large part by her teammate Kelly Ratigan. The junior Loyola Maryland transfer is a South Bend Saint Joseph High School alumna, and her father, Brian, is the head of orthopedic sports medicine for Notre Dame football and baseball.
While Kelly and Macy became fast friends once Ratigan’s transfer was made official in May, Macy had already established a bond with Brian. When Macy needed surgery for her knee injury last winter, she used her Notre Dame commitment to her advantage and traveled from Elizabethtown to South Bend where Ratigan was the lead surgeon on her procedure.
Kelly and Macy’s friendship was somewhat forged through their shared recovery, as Ratigan missed all but three games last season at Loyola Maryland due to injury. Ratigan has particularly given advice to help with the mental side of rehabilitation.
“It’s a heavy thing to think about,” Ratigan said. “… Finding the joy in the small things makes the big picture a lot more exciting to think about.”
Advertisement
More: Notre Dame women’s basketball releases 2025-26 schedule
More: Schedule: What’s happened, what’s next for Notre Dame men’s basketball in 2025-26?
Despite the injury, Macy hasn’t lost her competitive edge. Ratigan said that Macy is not afraid to push her teammates and challenge the Irish as a whole from the sideline, despite not being able to physically compete in practice yet.
“She helps me see things I don’t see in the heat of the [moment],” Ratigan said. “I help her see things through workouts and recovery that she is just getting into now.”
Macy has also leaned on head coach Niele Ivey in her journey back to full strength, and she said Ivey’s patience through the process has reassured Macy that she made the right choice in her commitment to the Irish. It certainly helps that Macy and Ivey had a pre-established connection prior to Macy’s official move to South Bend, as the latter was Macy’s head coach for the gold-medal-winning 2024 FIBA U18 Women’s AmeriCup team.
Advertisement
More: Three thoughts following Notre Dame basketball exhibition win at Butler
As the 19th-ranked prospect in the class of 2025, expectations were high for Macy coming into Notre Dame. While she hasn’t yet been able to prove or build on those standards on the court, her injury has forced her to better deal with them off the court.
“Every day I feel like I learn something new, about the process and also myself,” Macy said. “Before this, I would’ve never told anybody that I had any patience and that I was a very impulsive person, but now it’s about celebrating the little things.”
Kyle Smedley is a sports reporter at the South Bend Tribune. Contact him via email at ksmedley@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: What to expect from Notre Dame women’s basketball freshman Leah Macy
