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From Fighting Irish media

The University of Notre Dame’s John P. and Catherine Murphy Head Baseball Coach Shawn Stiffler has announced the hiring of Lucas Jones as an assistant coach for the baseball program. Jones will coordinate infield development and oversee all aspects of baserunning and the short game, while assisting Ryan Munger, who has been promoted to recruiting coordinator in addition to his current role as assistant coach, with hitting.

“Lucas has been a winner at every level of college baseball," Stiffler said. "During his head coaching stops, Lucas has taken three different programs and turned them into national brands and champions. His love for teaching the game and ability to develop relationships will have a huge impact on our program. We are thrilled to have Lucas, Karla and their three children join the Notre Dame family.”

“My wife and I, along with our three children - Gavin, Hadley and Dayton - are extremely grateful to the University of Notre Dame and Coach Shawn Stiffler for this incredible opportunity,” said Jones. “My goal is to assist this great institution by serving our student-athletes at the highest level and helping share in the vision that Coach Stiffer and his staff have established.”

Jones joins the Fighting Irish after a successful coaching stint at the University of Lynchburg. He was hired as the head coach for the Hornets in May 2017 and made an immediate impact. Jones was named the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Coach of the Year after he led the program to an ODAC Championship and NCAA Division III Regional Tournament berth in 2021. His squad made their second-consecutive NCAA Regional Tournament as Jones repeated as ODAC Coach of the Year in 2022.

In his sixth season at Lynchburg, Jones guided the program to the 2023 NCAA Division III National Championship. The Hornets established new program records for ODAC wins (19) and total wins (48) in a season on the way to the title. He was named as Region 6 Coach of the Year and the American Baseball Coaches Association/ATEC Sports Division III Coach of the Year in 2023.

Jones mentored three ODAC Rookies of the Year, two Pitchers of the Year, and a Player of the Year from 2019 through 2023. Additionally, the Hornets had 24 all-conference, 11 all-region and six all-American selections while Jones was at the helm of the program.

Jones served two seasons as the head coach of Washington and Lee University in 2016 and 2017. He was the 2016 ODAC Coach of the Year while his 2017 squad tied the program record for wins in a season while competing in the ODAC Championship.

His first head coaching role was at Patrick Henry Community College in Martinsville, Virginia, where his Patriots went 77-32 in two seasons (2014-15). The 2014 squad placed fourth at the National Junior College Athletic Association Region 10 finals as Jones was named region Coach of the Year. The team then went on to finish second in the 2015 National Junior College Athletic Association Region 10 finals.

Jones began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2007. The Rams won the Colonial Athletic Association and advanced to the NCAA Tournament that season. Jones spent three seasons as an assistant at Randolph-Macon College (2007-10) with another three-year stint at George Mason University (2010-13).

Jones is a 2005 magna cum laude graduate of Lynchburg College with a bachelor of arts in communications studies and a minor in sports management. He was a three-year starter at first base for the Hornets, finishing second all-time at Lynchburg with a .426 career batting average. He batted .481 in 2005 on his way to earning First Team All-ODAC honors and the ODAC Player and Scholar-Athlete of the Year Awards. He received ABCA First Team All-America honors, was a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-America selection, the VaSID College Division Player of the Year, and the Lynchburg College Male Athlete of the Year.

From Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney ...

@Greg Smith has notes on a couple of 2026 Notre Dame targets in his Midwest Rumor Mill: DE Jerimy Finch Jr. and LB Cincere Johnson.


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The latest on some big names:

With a small recruiting window between NCAA dead periods, Notre Dame football took advantage Thursday to host recruits for its Grill & Chill event.

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What do you all think?

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The second of two "Football Never Sleeps" renditions debuted live this afternoon, with guest co-host and longtime recruiting analyst Tom Lemming of the Prep Football Report joining me. We talked all things Notre Dame football recruiting, including what's going on at the wide receiver position, where things stand in the 2025 and 2026 cycles and what's ahead for the Irish. AND we answered questions from viewers — Tom answered most of them. @Tyler James returns from vacation on Monday.

If you missed us live, you catch the replay anytime on YouTube.

Football Never Sleeps is sponsored by Legacy Heating & Air.

In future episdoes, join us with questions or submit some ahead of time. Hit the bell to set a reminder to get notified when we go live.

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In the future, if you'd like to submit questions, make sure you click through so you're watching on YouTube's site or in the YouTube app if you're on mobile. You can do so by clicking the headline at the top of the embedded video above. So where it says "Football Never Sleeps: ..." Or there should be spot that says "Watch on YouTube" in the bottom left.

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As voted on by the current NFL players. ... 70 more spots to go. ... Last year Notre Dame had two players total in the top 100 — Harrison Smith and Zack Martin.

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Here's a shortcut to the question queue ... NAME AND HOMETOWN please with your question ... Voice from the Wilderness and Guest don't count ...

The latest NCAA-mandated recruiting dead period ends at midnight on Wednesday, and Notre Dame will take advantage of being able to host recruits on the first day possible, on Thursday.

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A special Friday edition and the last one before preseason training camp starts ... PLEASE remember to include your NAME and HOMETOWN in this format. The question queue is already open ... here >>>> https://live.jotcast.com/chat/notre-dame-football-live-chat-july-26-2024-18849.html

Rivals national analyst Greg Smith and I break this down ... in part 3 of this segment.