Olivia Miles makes inspirational journey from Sts. Philip and James School to WNBA future

As a young girl with a suburban upbringing in Phillipsburg, Olivia Miles learned to strike a crucial balance in life.

Her parents have long held a rule in the house: If you don’t do well in academics, you can’t play.

“They instilled very important values in me as a kid – me and my brother – to be grateful and not take things for granted and to do well in school,” Miles recalled. “That was always a priority. They love sports, but at the same time, school always came first. So that was a big thing during my childhood that I always remember and still to this day appreciate and value.”

Miles embodies that mentality at Notre Dame University as she finishes a master’s program in nonprofit administration and considers entering the WNBA Draft. She has one year of eligibility remaining to play for the Irish, but scouts project her to be among the top draft picks on April 14 if she indeed goes that route.

It’s an inspirational journey to her family and peers who know her best, especially at the Sts. Philip and James School, where Miles got her education from first through eighth grade and was known for always lending a helping hand to classmates.

“Our school is incredibly proud of Olivia,” said Eileen Dean, Miles’ middle school science teacher. “She embodied everything we hoped for in our students – academic excellence, athletic talent, leadership, and Catholic values that made our community better. It has been an honor to watch her grow, and I do not doubt that she will continue to achieve greatness in all she pursues.”

Born in Summit to an Italian mother, Maria, and a Jamaican father, Yakubu, Olivia grew up with a strong Catholic faith beginning at the Goddard School in Branchburg before the family moved to Phillipsburg.

Her parents constantly preached to do the right thing and treat others well, and she carried those lessons on throughout her time at SSPJ during classes and in the aftercare program.

“We never had any issues in school when it came to that kind of stuff in terms of bullying,” Yakubu said. “The feedback was always that she was a great kid, she looked out for others, and to this day, that’s what parents speak about when we’re around.”

The Miles family appreciates the tightknit community at SSPJ and seeing familiar faces at church and the carnival. Olivia never forgets her roots, saying hello and remembering people’s names when she visits the area and watches her brother, Isaiah, play basketball at Notre Dame High School in Easton, Pennsylvania.

“It was a good place to build my foundation,” Olivia said of her time at SSPJ. “I learned a lot of good qualities about myself, I have a great friend group that we still talk every now and then, and I got to learn all the educational stuff, all the different subjects through the years. But then I also got to grow in my faith, which was important to me. And I carried it on to Notre Dame.”

In terms of sports, Yakubu remembers Olivia being very athletic from a young age. She could walk if you held her hand at six months, and she was running around on her own by eight months.

Soccer was what Olivia most naturally excelled at initially. She started playing basketball around age nine and quickly developed her skills. She was also a star softball player but decided to become more serious about basketball in fourth grade rather than pursue travel softball.

“She was always dominant,” said Yakubu, a former top middle-distance runner at Stevens Institute of Technology. “They always had to team up against her in different activities, because she was just so dominant. Against boys, it didn’t matter. Against girls, it was worse.”

Olivia used to spend hours in the gym at SSPJ playing one-on-one basketball with a friend named Billy who was a couple years older.

“That’s where I learned a lot of my skills and competitiveness from,” said Olivia, whom was recently named by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as one of five finalists for the Nancy Lieberman Award, which recognizes the top point guard in women’s college basketball.

Two of her most influential youth coaches while at SSPJ were Elyse Lavigne and Devin Hayes.

Olivia also credits her father’s immense sacrifice every day – including weekends – by driving an hour from work and then another hour to take Olivia to training when she began playing travel basketball with the Lady Liner AAU program in Phillipsburg.

Olivia was such a prodigy that she played against 11th graders as an eighth grader, and that was when the Miles family started receiving calls and letters from Division I college programs – a sign that she had a chance to one day play professionally.

While attending Blair Academy for high school, Olivia committed to Notre Dame to not only shine on a bigger basketball stage, but also receive a great education and continue growing in her Catholic faith.

College is where she has learned to overcome immense adversity. Olivia suffered a torn ACL in February of 2023 and missed the entire 2023-24 season, but she rehabbed to come back stronger than ever this winter.

“Faith is very important – keeps you grounded, helps you to realize everything’s happening for a bigger purpose,” Olivia said. “God’s never going to put you in a position to be hurt, but to only prosper and succeed. So although it was pretty difficult, I learned a lot during that time. It was the hardest moment of my young life, my 22 years. It was tough, but I made it positive at the end of the day.”

Olivia’s goal is to soon begin a prosperous WNBA career, but she is also thrilled to have two degrees to fall back on and aspires to one day start some type of business.

“We’re excited about it and nervous at the same time, but we’re definitely happy for her because of all the hard work she’s put in,” said Yakubu, who brought the family to visit Olivia at Notre Dame’s Senior Night game on Feb. 27. “It’s coming to fruition.”

As she reflects on her journey and bright future, Olivia is thankful for how SSPJ kickstarted her life and would love to see the school improve its enrollment.

“They have a great mix of both academics and sports,” Olivia said. “I hope that the school can recover, because it’s a great place to cultivate your skills: your social skills, your athletic skills, your academic skills – whatever it may be. I had a great opportunity, and I hope I took advantage of that.”