Eve Long made her announcement on Wednesday morning.
The University of Connecticut women's basketball program officially lost out on top 2027 recruit Eve Long on Wednesday, as the forward/center announced that she will play her college basketball at Notre Dame.
Long is 6'3 and chose Notre Dame over Duke, UCLA and Kansas. She hails from Kansas.
Our own Jami Leabow wrote extensively about Long's recruitment the other day, so we give a portion of that information here:
The Eve Long file
"Long is ranked by the 247Sports composite as the top player in Kansas, the No. 2 center in the nation and the No. 13 player overall in the Class of 2027.
She stands just behind Caroline Bradley of Oak Grove, La., who is committed to LSU in the center rankings.
Following the 2026 high school season, Long won Gatorade Kansas Girls Basketball Player of the Year honors. At the time of her selection in March, Long had led Olathe South to a 20-5 record and a berth in the Class 6A state tournament quarterfinals. Long averaged 32.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, 2.3 steals, 1.4 blocks and 1.0 assists through those first 25 games.
In the state quarterfinal game, she scored a game-high 30 points in a 55-45 loss to Wichita East.
Long also was a Naismith Award Girls Player of the Year Midseason Team selection and the Sunflower League Player of the Year
National experience
Long was a member of the 2025 USA Women’s U16 National Team, which won the god medal of the 2025 FIBA U16 AmeriCup. She was named to the AmeriCup All-Star Five during the tournament in Irapuato, Mexico.
In six starts, she averaged 11.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 steals."
Surprising to see UConn passed over?
On one hand, yes. And on one hand, no.
We are used to thinking of UConn as the top program in the country, so it will always be surprising when a top recruit says she doesn't want to join a program with national championship aspirations and rich tradition, not to mention a clear pipeline to WNBA and Olympic team success.
However, the women's game has grown, and top programs are growing all over the country. UCLA won the national championship this past season, while South Carolina, Texas, LSU and others continue to be in the mix most years.
Notre Dame has been excellent for three decades as well. Notre Dame has been to 29 of the last 30 NCAA Tournaments. They won the national title in 2000-01 and finished as the national runner-ups in 2010-11, 2011-12, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2018-19.
UConn Huskies guard Blanca Quinonez (4) controls the ball as Notre Dame Fighting Irish forward Malaya Cowles (5) defends during the first half at Dickies Arena. Chris Jones-Imagn ImagesUConn and Notre Dame rivalry
These two teams play each other on a regular basis in the regular season, with UConn winning 85-47 this season. The two also met in the NCAA Tournament, with UConn winning 70-52 in the Elite Eight.
The Huskies were beaten by South Carolina in the Final Four.
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