Ratigan was raised in a Notre Dame family. Her brother Conor, was a wide receiver on the football team from 2019-2022, and her father, Brian, a linebacker from 1989-1992. They donned the Blue and Gold and served as Kelly’s biggest role models. They would show her around campus, take her to football games, and explain what it meant to be a student-athlete at the University of Notre Dame. Following in their footsteps is a dream come true.
“A lot of people will say that it means everything. For me, I can’t actually put it into words. I come in everyday, and to see Ratigan, No. 1, on a jersey is just a very surreal feeling.”
Her father also serves as one of the football program’s physicians, helping to develop Kelly’s passion and care for all, regardless of their struggles. She remembers the attention her father would show to her friends.
“He’s a gentle giant,” she said. “I loved growing up when my friends would come over to the house to see Dr. Ratigan after they would bump their knee on the playground and he would say, ‘Oh, it’s a bruise.’”
As Kelly’s basketball career blossomed and her love for Notre Dame burgeoned, she was always accompanied by her best friend, KJ. Despite KJ being diagnosed with cerebral palsy, the pair was inseparable, attending every Irish home game together and constantly discussing basketball throughout Ratigan’s sensational career at nearby St. Joseph High School.
“He was just KJ, and we did everything together,” Ratigan said. “There was no difference in our capabilities until we got older.”
She noted that KJ provided a consistent voice of encouragement for her and also hit her with much-needed criticism.
At Loyola, Ratigan became an instant contributor, starting 46 of 50 games and connecting on 89 triples over her first two seasons. There, she collaborated with fellow student-athletes to bring Dream On 3, a non-profit organization focusing on experiential athletic access, to campus. The program’s mission is “to create experiences of joy, hope, and encouragement for children and young adults with life-altering conditions through the world of sports,” per the organization’s website.
Kelly assisted in planning a gameday experience for Javier, a 14-year-old boy from Baltimore diagnosed with autism. Javier had the opportunity to go through morning shootaround and pregame introductions with the team, as well as sit behind the Greyhound bench.
“If we can help more people get to where they want to be, even if they’re not given the same opportunities because of their disabilities, why not give them that chance?” Ratigan said.
Ratigan, an applied and computational mathematics and statistics major, has demonstrated interest in utilizing the medical field to help improve access to sport for children of different physical capabilities. She spends her summers in labs, becoming familiar with prosthetics and understanding how they can be utilized to grow the impact of athletics for individuals with physical disabilities.
