After three straight losing seasons, the seat is red hot for Micah Shrewsberry. Can Notre Dame basketball turn it around in year four?
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Notre Dame basketball.
As mentioned at the top, the first three years for Coach Shrewsberry have not gone to plan. He is 41-56 at Notre Dame, and 19-39 overall in conference play. Last year was arguably the worst, going 13-18 overall and 4-14 in conference play, tied for 2nd last in the ACC. There is no other way to look at it; if he doesn’t turn it around this year, then the pressure is on, and we might see a new face at Notre Dame next season.
If they want to turn it around, they’ll have to do it without Markus Burton, who has led the team in scoring the last three seasons. Burton played just 10 games last season, and maybe if he was healthy, they would’ve seen a different result last year, but now he stays in state and heads to Indiana. They also lose other top two scorers in Jalen Haralson and Cole Certa, who both hit the portal this offseason.
The one key player they do (unsurprisingly) bring back is Braeden Shrewsberry. Shrewsberry shot 40% from deep last year on 7 attempts, making him a dangerous threat to light up an opponent on any given night. He’ll be joined in the backcourt by another Braeden, Braeden Smith, who comes in from Gonzaga. They then add Ethan Roberts and Logan Duncomb, two mid-major stars last year ready to take the leap to the Power 5. If either of them can replicate what they did at their respective schools, then this Notre Dame basketball team can pose a threat.
The ACC took a big step forward last year after several down years, and with the conference looking to be strong again, Notre Dame basketball will have to be at its best if they don’t want to get left behind once again and showcase that it’s more than a football school.
Head coach: Micah Shrewsberry (4th season at Notre Dame, 8th season overall)
2025-26 record: 13-18 (4-14)
2026 postseason finish: No Tournament
Notable departures:
- Markus Burton (18.5 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 3.7 APG)
- Jalen Haralson (16.2 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.6 APG)
- Cole Certa (12.8 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 0.8 APG)
- Carson Towt (5.9 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.7 APG)
Notable non-conference games:
- Villanova (Italy)
- vs. Florida (Nov 17 – Players Era)
- Players Era (Nov 18,19)
- vs. Vanderbilt (Dec. 2nd)
Projected Rotation
PG: Braeden Smith (6-0, 170, Sr.)
2025-2026 stats: 5.1 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.0 SPG, 46.7 FG%, 33.3 3P%, 80.5 FT% (Gonzaga)
SG: Braeden Shrewsberry (6-4, 205, Sr.)
2025-2026 stats: 11.9 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 1.9 APG, 0.4 SPG, 39.0 FG%, 40.2 3P%, 77.8 FT%
SF: Ethan Roberts (6-5, 190, Sr.)
2025-2026 stats: 16.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.0 SPG, 40.1 FG%, 40.4 3P%, 79.9 FT% (Penn)
PF: Brady Koehler (6-10, 205, So.)
2025-2026 stats: 5.6 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 0.3 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 45.2 FG%, 38.2 3P%, 73.9 FT%
C: Logan Duncomb (6-10, 230, Sr.)
2025-2026 stats: 18.3 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.8 BPG, 60.0 FG%, 73.5 FT% (Winthrop)
6: Logan Imes (6-4, 205, Sr.)
2025-2026 stats: 4.7 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 1.7 APG, 0.6 SPG, 37.7 FG%, 32.5 3P%
7: Devin Brown (6-6, 210, So.)
2025-2026 stats: 6.4 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.6 APG, 0.6 SPG, 40.8 FG% (Davidson)
8: Jonathan Sanderson (6-3, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 81-ranked recruit
9: Bryce Dortch (6-9, 210, Jr.)
2025-2026 stats: 2.1 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 0.1 APG, 0.5 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 61.0 FG%
10: Tommy Ahneman (6-11, 250, So.)
247Sports Composite No. 122-ranked recruit (2025)
Notre Dame Basketball team MVP: Logan Duncomb
The top three points per 40 minutes leaders last season were Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, and…. Logan Duncomb. After scoring 104 points TOTAL across his first three seasons, Duncomb broke out, averaging 18.3 PPG, 8.9 RPG, and doing it on 60% shooting. Before the Big South tournament, he suffered an injury that limited his minutes, and as a result, he scored 49 points in 51 minutes. He had a 38-point, 15-rebound game in conference play, and in the three games he played against Power 5 opponents, he averaged 11 and 8 in 22 minutes a game.
He’s an unbelievable player offensively, and as long as he stays out of foul trouble, he can be a force for this Notre Dame basketball team. Hopefully, he isn’t used like Carson Towt, who was just seen as a rebounder, and will be used as a focal point of the offense, where he can really shine.
Notre Dame Basketball make-or-break player: Braeden Smith
Braeden Smith has had an up-and-down college career, starting at Colgate, where he had a solid freshman year, then earned Patriot League POY after leading Colgate to the NCAA Tournament. He leveraged that by transferring to Gonzaga, where he unfortunately was injured in the offseason and missed the entire year. He then followed that up last year with an average year overall, averaging just 5 points and three and a half assists per game.
Now, he goes to Notre Dame hoping that he can get back to his player of the year self. Where he will thrive is if he can run the offense and try to find guys open and hit the bigs in pick-and-roll and pop situations. He’ll be at his best if they run a half-court offense, and based on the personnel and past years, that might be the case. He isn’t going to be the difference between Notre Dame winning and losing the ACC, but he definitely raises their floor notably if he can shine.
Stat to know: Steals Per Game
Micah Shrewsberry is not teaching steals in his practices, that’s for sure. Here’s where his Penn State and Notre Dame teams rank in college basketball in steals per game.
2021-2022: 293rd
2022-2023: 354th
2023-2024: 267th
2024-2025: 303rd
2025-2026: 355th
Ironically, his best season at Penn State was the one where they finished 354th, but overall this is not a priority. They finished 321st in fastbreak points per game last year. This team that Shrewsberry built is much better for the slower-paced, low-tempo style that we’ve seen in the past few years, which could be a huge advantage. This also can be a flaw, as they’ve found themselves down by large margins in the past and unable to come back because of it. Expect them to finish higher than 355th this year, but don’t be surprised if they don’t crack the top 300 once again.
Notre Dame Basketball 2026-27 projections
Projected conference finish: 13th in ACC
Projected postseason ceiling: Round of 64 Exit/NIT Appearance