Marina Mabrey Bio
Marina Alise Mabrey is an American professional basketball player who competes for the Connecticut Sun of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for the Lunar Owls of Unrivaled, a women’s three-on-three league. Standing 180 cm and listed at 77 kg, Mabrey has built her reputation as a versatile guard capable of scoring from long range, distributing the ball, and defending at a high level. Since entering the league as a second-round pick in 2019, she has also enjoyed success across Europe and Australia, collecting multiple championships and individual honors abroad.
Early Life and Background
Marina Alise Mabrey was born on September 14, 1996, in Belmar, New Jersey, where she was raised by her parents, Patti and Roy Mabrey. She grew up alongside two brothers, Ryan and Roy, and two sisters, Michaela and Dara, in a household where basketball quickly became a central activity. Her mother’s work as a local basketball coach gave Marina early access to the sport, and she regularly joined practices alongside her siblings. The family’s driveway and local park served as the stage for constant, competitive games between Marina and her older brother and sister.
Mabrey attended Manasquan High School in Manasquan, New Jersey, where she developed into one of the top prospects in the country. During her high school career she was part of two teams that won the state Tournament of Champions, establishing a winning foundation that would follow her to the next level. In 2015 she shared Most Valuable Player honors at the McDonald’s All-American Game, a recognition reserved for the most highly regarded high school players in the United States.
Path to Basketball
Despite the success of her older sister Michaela at the University of Notre Dame, Marina Mabrey was initially uncertain whether she would follow the same path. After considering several scholarship offers, she chose to join head coach Muffet McGraw’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 2015. The decision paired her with a program accustomed to competing for national titles and allowed her to continue developing in a familiar system.
At Notre Dame, Mabrey immediately showed the shooting ability that would later define her professional career. Her freshman season included a triple-double at Valparaiso that earned her ACC Rookie of the Week honors, and she finished the year with 85 three-pointers, the second-most in a single season in program history. Her performance on the court and in the classroom placed her on both the ACC All-Freshman Team and the ACC All-Academic Team.
Marina Mabrey Career
College Career (2015–2019)
Across her four seasons at Notre Dame, Mabrey helped the Fighting Irish reach two national championship games and win one title. As a sophomore in 2016–17 she earned a spot on the regional all-tournament team after Notre Dame’s Elite Eight run. The following season she became a key part of a team that battled through injuries to capture the 2018 NCAA championship, including a historic 61–58 victory over Mississippi State in which the Fighting Irish erased a 15-point deficit, the largest comeback in NCAA women’s basketball championship game history.
Mabrey graduated in 2019 as Notre Dame’s all-time leader in made three-pointers with 274. She also ranked eighth in program history with 1,896 career points and sixth with an 81.7 percent career mark from the free-throw line. Her combination of shooting, playmaking, and toughness made her one of the most accomplished guards in Fighting Irish history.
WNBA Breakthrough (2019–Present)
Mabrey was selected 19th overall in the 2019 WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks. As a rookie under new head coach Derek Fisher, she appeared in 31 games and averaged 4.0 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.0 assists while shooting 34.4 percent from the field. The Sparks reached the playoff semi-finals with a 22–12 regular-season record, but Mabrey saw limited minutes during the postseason.
Before the 2020 season she was traded to the Dallas Wings for a 2021 second-round draft pick. With the Wings she averaged 10.0 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.3 steals over 19 games during the pandemic-shortened 22-game campaign held at IMG Academy. On February 11, 2023, she was part of a four-team trade that sent her to the Chicago Sky, and on July 17, 2024, Mabrey was traded again, this time to the Connecticut Sun in exchange for Rachel Banham, Moriah Jefferson, a 2025 first-round pick, and the rights to swap 2026 first-round picks.
International Career (2019–Present)
Mabrey’s professional career has been shaped as much by her international stops as by her WNBA seasons. In 2019–20 she joined TTT Riga in Latvia, averaging 15.8 points per game before the season was halted by the COVID-19 pandemic. She moved to Bnot Hertzeliya in Israel for 2020–21, where she averaged 23.2 points, 8.0 rebounds, 6.9 assists, and 2.4 steals over 22 games.
In 2021–22 she played for the Perth Lynx of the Australian WNBL, opening her tenure with a 30-point debut against Adelaide and later scoring 34 points in a win over Sydney Uni. After an injury setback she returned to help the Lynx reach the WNBL final, where they finished as runners-up to Melbourne. With Famila Schio in Italy during 2022–23 she won the Coppa Italia, secured a bronze medal at the EuroLeague Women Final Four, and added the Italian league championship, the program’s first EuroLeague medal in two decades.
Unrivaled Career (2025–Present)
On August 17, 2024, it was announced that Mabrey would play in the inaugural season of Unrivaled, the women’s three-on-three league founded by Breanna Stewart and Napheesa Collier. She was selected by Phantom but suffered a right calf injury in pre-season that kept her out of action. She ultimately appeared in only three games during the inaugural season. On November 5, 2025, she was drafted by Lunar Owls BC for the 2026 Unrivaled season.
Notable Events and Milestones
Among Mabrey’s signature achievements are the 2018 NCAA championship with Notre Dame, the 2023 Coppa Italia title with Famila Schio, and her EuroLeague Women bronze medal in Prague. She also holds Notre Dame’s all-time record for made three-pointers with 274, a mark she set across her four collegiate seasons.
Marina Mabrey Career Wins
Marina Mabrey has collected championships at nearly every stop of her basketball journey, beginning with the 2018 NCAA title at Notre Dame and continuing through her international seasons.
International Highlights
In Israel she helped Bnot Hertzeliya compete in the Douglas BBL Elite Division during 2020–21. In Italy her Famila Schio side captured the 2022 and 2023 Lega Basket Femminile championships, the 2023 Coppa Italia, and a bronze medal at the 2022–23 EuroLeague Women Final Four. Her efforts in Europe were recognized with Second Team All-EuroLeague honors in 2023.
Other Wins and Performances
In Australia she was named to the Second Team All-WNBL in 2022 after a productive season with Perth, and earlier she had been part of TTT Riga’s roster during the abbreviated 2019–20 Latvian campaign. Her pre-college résumé includes the McDonald’s All-American Game Co-MVP award from 2015.
Marina Mabrey Family
Family Background and Basketball Lineage
Basketball runs deep in the Mabrey household. Her mother, Patti Mabrey, coached in the Belmar area and brought her children along to practices, while her father, Roy Mabrey, supported a competitive environment at home. Her older sister, Michaela Mabrey, played at Notre Dame before Marina arrived, and her older brother Roy, along with siblings Ryan and Dara, all contributed to the family’s sporting culture.
Personal Life
In 2019 Mabrey launched a limited line of shirts called This Is My Kitchen, a phrase tied to her 2018 NCAA championship win and her vocal stance against sexism in sports. Beyond her entrepreneurial efforts, she continues to focus on her professional basketball career with the Connecticut Sun and Lunar Owls.
2025 Season Performance
Marina Mabrey’s 2025 campaign centers on her first full season with the Connecticut Sun after being acquired from the Chicago Sky in July 2024. The trade delivered her a fresh start and a longer runway to contribute as a primary perimeter option in the Sun rotation.
She arrived in Connecticut with momentum from her international success and continued scoring ability, and her shooting range remains one of the team’s most reliable offensive weapons. Her versatility allows the Sun to deploy her as both a shooting guard and a secondary ball-handler depending on the matchup.
Looking ahead, Mabrey’s ability to stay healthy, build chemistry with her new teammates, and produce consistently from three-point range will be central to Connecticut’s playoff aspirations. A strong 2025 showing would further solidify her role as a long-term contributor for the franchise and a respected veteran across the WNBA.