EXCLUSIVE: Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young spoke to the Irish Star about their shared Notre Dame roots and time in South Bend before eventually teaming up on the Las Vegas Aces
Matthew Neschis US Sports Reporter
18:48 ET, 28 May 2025Updated 20:15 ET, 28 May 2025
Jackie Young and Jewell Loyd are now teammates in the WNBA after both attending Notre Dame(Image: Getty Images)
Long before Jewell Loyd and Jackie Young teamed up on the Las Vegas Aces this season, the star perimeter players shone bright at Notre Dame — a university that’s fittingly been dubbed “Guard U.”
Over a decorated three years in South Bend, Loyd averaged 17.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists while propelling the Fighting Irish to three consecutive NCAA Final Four appearances. The two-time AP All-American was additionally named the 2015 ACC Player of the Year, as well as 2013 Big East Rookie of the Year.
Young achieved similar success at the collegiate level, leading Notre Dame to the 2018 NCAA Championship and runner-up finish the following season. The Princeton, Indiana native also helped secure two ACC Tournament titles for the Fighting Irish — including in 2019, during which she was crowned MVP of the competition.
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Though Loyd and Young never overlapped at Notre Dame, the former had an immeasurable impact on the latter’s game.
Throughout her recruiting process, Young made frequent trips down to the Purcell Pavilion for camps and Notre Dame games. It was there that she’d cross paths with Loyd and Skylar Diggins, two players she’d soon strive to mirror her game after.
“We call Notre Dame ‘Guard U,’ so there’s a lot of great guards that have gone through there,” Young exclusively told Irish Star Sports. “Whenever I was being recruited, Jewell was there, Skylar was there, so I was always up there at games, going to camps.
“I really obviously looked up to Jewell, she was a great player in college — still a great player in the league — and it’s fun having her on our side.”
As a draft-eligible junior in 2019, Young sought the advice of Loyd before making a monumental career decision. Four years prior, she opted to enter the WNBA Draft rather than returning to Notre Dame for a final year.
“She was actually one of the people that I talked to during my process of trying to decide if I was going to stay in college a year or come out a year early,” Young said of Loyd. “Obviously we ended up with the same story.”
Jackie Young attempted to mirror her game after Jewell Loyd at Notre Dame(Image: Getty Images)
The two remained friendly while regularly facing off against one another in the WNBA, but it wasn’t until they played together in the Olympics that their friendship truly blossomed.
“We kind of stayed in touch throughout the years, and then obviously with Team USA we started to get closer,” Young explained. “Now that we’re teammates, yeah, we’re forming that friendship.”
In one of their first games together on the Aces, Loyd and Young returned to their roots while playing a WNBA exhibition game at Purcell Pavilion earlier this month. Las Vegas made quick work of the Dallas Wings and fellow Notre Dame alumn Arike Ogunbowale, coasting to a 112-78 win.
For Loyd, getting to reunite with Young and several other USA teammates on the Aces helped ease the transition from Seattle — where she spent 10 seasons with the Storm — to Las Vegas.
“I’m actually really close with Jackie and Chelsea [Gray] and A’ja [Wilson]. We’ve obviously played together on [Team] USA as well,” Loyd said. “So knowing that you’re coming to a place where you actually know some of the players off the court definitely helps a little bit. But yeah, Jackie, she’s a good one.”