After looking closely at Notre Dame's last eight commitments in the 2024 class, I don't necessarily agree that only three of them should be four-star recruits. In fact, I think two of ND's three-star commits should have better ratings than one of its four-star commits.

Here's how I ranked them 1-8:


I want to hear how you guys would slot them as well.

Story by @Tyler James

I've been planning to a do a story in which I rank Notre Dame's spring commitments in the 2024 class, but it keeps adding more of them, so I've been delaying it.

Which of these Irish commits are you most excited about? Who are you the most concerned about?

Login to view embedded media
Login to view embedded media
Login to view embedded media
Login to view embedded media
Login to view embedded media
Login to view embedded media
Login to view embedded media
Login to view embedded media

After a rain delay of two hours and 24 minutes, the Notre Dame softball team finally found its offense against 19th-ranked Oregon, Friday in a first-round NCAA Tournament game at the Arkansas Regional in Fayetteville, Ark.

Just not enough of it.

A sixth-inning rally came up just short and the Ducks knocked the Irish into the elimination bracket of the four-team regional with a 5-4 victory.

Notre Dame (29-18-1) will take on Harvard (29-16-1) in an elimination game at 5:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday.

The Crimson fell 11-0 late Friday/early Saturday to No. 11 national seed Arkansas (39-17).

Payton Tidd (15-11) started in the circle for the Irish on Friday, and the graduate senior retired the first five hitters she faced before getting chased in the bottom of the second after allowing four hits, five earned runs and walking three.

Micaela Kastor came on in relief to cool down the Ducks (36-15), but not before they took a 5-1 lead, scoring all five runs with two outs. Kastor’s shutout relief pitching allowed the Irish to get back in the game but not before rain halted play in the bottom of the fourth inning.

Notre Dame’s three-run, sixth-inning rally came via an RBI double from Karina Gaskins and a two-RBI single from Jane Kroneberger. Morgan Scott relieved and got the final out of the sixth, then set the Irish down in order in the seventh to earn her seventh save.

Lexi Orozco led the Irish offense, going 3-for-3, driving in a run and scoring once. Joley Mitchell went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored.

BOX SCORE

Boston College slugger Joe Vetrano on Friday almost single-handedly nudged Notre Dame toward the NCAA Tournament bubble, homering three times during a day/night, two-venue ACC baseball doubleheader swept by the 22nd-ranked Eagles.

In Friday’s first game Vetrano’s three-run home run in the bottom of the third inning proved to be the difference as BC evened its ACC baseball series with visiting Notre Dame with a 7-2 victory Friday afternoon in Brighton, Mass.

Boston College (34-17, 16-14) then took the series with an 8-4 victory before 3,131 fans at Boston’s Fenway Park in Boston in BC’s 11th-annual ALS Awareness Game. In that game, Vetrano homered twice and drove in five runs in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Notre Dame (30-22, 15-15) entered the day with a chance to finish as high as fifth in the ACC seeding for next week’s ACC baseball tourney in Durham, N.C. Instead the Irish tumbled to eighth, with the rest of the ACC finishing up regular-season play Saturday.

That means the Irish will draw top-seed and No. 1 nationally ranked Wake Forest (45-8, 22-6) and whoever the 12 seed turns out to be in pool play — Pitt (23-29, 10-17) or Virginia Tech (29-21, 11-17) — and needing to win both games to advance to next Friday’s semifinals.

The two teams with the worst league records in the 14-team ACC are excluded. This year that’s Louisville (31-23, 10-19) and former Notre Dame coach Link Jarrett’s Florida State Seminoles (22-31, 8-21).

The NCAA Tournament selection and reveal takes place Monday, May 29. The Irish were solidly in the field in the latest bracketology released Wednesday by DI baseball, the day after losing in extra innings to a 38-loss Northwestern team at Chicago’s Wrigley Field.

In Friday’s opener, Chris Flynn pitched seven effective innings for the Eagles to improve to 7-2. Andrew Roman finished with two scoreless frames.

Vetrano’s homer, his team-leading 17th this season at the time, came off Blake Hely (3-3) during a four-run third for the Eagles, breaking a 1-1 tie. The grad senior rightly gave up six earned runs on seven hits with two walks and five hit batsmen in 4 ⅔ innings.

Brady Gumpf hit a solo homer and Carter Putz went 2-for-4 with an RBI double to lead the Irish (30-21, 15-14).

In the Fenway game Friday night, Vetrano’s 18th home run in the first inning off Irish starter Jackson Dennies gave the Eagles an early 2-0 lead. After Dennies exited (0-3) after five innings Vetrano broke open a close game in the bottom of the sixth with his 19th, this a three-run shot, to touch off a six-run frame and give BC an 8-1 command.

Freshman Caden Spivey was charged with all six runs.

The Irish loaded the bases with no one out in the top of the eighth, and got a based-loaded walk from Zack Prajzner and scored another run on a wild pitch, but couldn’t further capitalize. Nick Juaire’s pinch-hit solo home run in the ninth accounted for the fourth Irish run.

Looking ahead to next week’s ACC tourney, the Irish and Virginia Tech didn’t play this season. Notre Dame was 2-1 on the road against Pitt and 1-2 on the road against Wake Forest. Sophomore ace lefty Jack Findlay was the winning pitcher in a 3-1 Irish victory, but has since been lost for the season to Tommy John surgery.

GAME 1 BOX SCORE

GAME 2 BOX SCORE

The Notre Dame women’s lacrosse team’s NCAA Tournament run came to an abrupt ending Thursday as second-ranked/third-seeded Boston College overwhelmed the eighth-ranked Irish, 20-6, in a quarterfinal matchup at Chestnut Hill, Mass.

It was the third time BC (18-3) had beaten Notre Dame (15-6) this season and easily the most decisive. Earlier the Eagles prevailed 12-11 in South Bend on April 8, and 9-4 on April 28 in the ACC Tournament semis in Charlotte, N.C.

Boston College advances to face No. 2 seed Syracuse (18-2) in a semifinal matchup May 26 at Cary, N.C. The championship game is set for May 28.

Nothing went right for the Irish after taking a brief 2-1 first-period lead. The nation’s ninth-best defensive team gave up a season high in goals and more than twice its per-game average of 8.9. ND came in No. 6 nationally in scoring (15.9 per game) out of 120 Division 1 teams but got held to its second-lowest output of the season.

Ironically, ND set a single-season scoring mark of 324 goals. The old mark was 321.

BC had 23 shots on goal to ND’s 11.

Losing two today. Not sure if we are very good. Have to do it now in acc tourney for bid

On Friday, Notre Dame offered Rivals250 DT Zion Williams in the 2025 class from Lufkin, Texas.

Login to view embedded media
Login to view embedded media

Katy Lonergan, Notre Dame's associate athletic director for strategic and football communications, is doing a running travel blog with head coach Marcus Freeman as he travels across the country this month to visit with alumni clubs, fundraising events and other opportunities.

On Tuesday, Freeman visited Under Armour headquarters in Baltimore and the Notre Dame Club of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania.

We'll try to update this thread when new posts are made.

Logan Diggs will reunite with Brian Kelly at LSU.

Notre Dame 2024 four-star wide receiver commit Micah Gilbert announced his official visit for June 16-18.

He was also the first commit to tweet out Notre Dame’s new video graphic.

Login to view embedded media
Login to view embedded media

Login to view embedded media
After visiting Notre Dame in March, 2025 wide receiver target Cooper Perry has picked up offers from Boston College, Massachusetts and Utah in recent weeks. I checked in with the 6-foot-2, 190-pound wide receiver from Scottsdale (Ariz.) Notre Dame Prep tonight to discuss his latest thoughts on the Irish.

Perry said Notre Dame stands out in his recruitment because of their football program and academic prestige.

"That's the one thing going to my high school, I have a faith-based education already," Perry told Inside ND Sports. "That's something that would make the transition easier. Going into college, it's a big jump, especially with going to a private and college prep school right now, but it's going to get me ready to make the transition if Notre Dame was the place to be. It's just special up there. I love it."

Perry said he liked how wide receivers coach Chansi Stuckey ran practice and believes he has a good plan for developing wide receivers at Notre Dame moving forward.

"It was all in-game situation stuff and he's really getting you ready and wants to get you to the next level," Perry said. "One of the things that he does really well is producing guys and getting guys to the next level. When I got to have my one-on-one meeting with him. He said, 'I want to get Notre Dame back and get the receiver room right.'"

The three-star recruit hauled in 78 receptions for 1100 receiving yards and 21 touchdowns last season. He scored four touchdowns in three different games.

Perry said he also sat down with offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Gerad Parker during his visit and heard his ideas for opening Notre Dame's passing game up.

"Both Coach Stuckey and Coach Parker want to get the offense in a good direction," Perry said. "They felt like it kind of shied away from it a little bit and they want to see some big changes and they're doing all the right things to get into the get into a good direction. That's what you love to see because as a recruit, you want to be in a scheme where you fit best and Coach Parker and Coach Stuckey say it's all about getting you to the NFL and producing yourself."

Perry holds nine offers including Notre Dame, Arizona, Arizona State, Oregon and USC. He plans to return to Notre Dame this summer although no date is set.

Login to view embedded media

Link to full story:

Notre Dame's 2024 commits are having a strong spring in various sports. Wide receiver Cam Williams qualified for state in track and field last night and fellow wide receiver commit Isiah Canion captured baseball honors Thursday evening.

Canion plays baseball for Warner Robins (Ga.) High and was named First Team All-Region Center Fielder.

Login to view embedded media
The 6-foot-4, 190-pound wide receiver committed to the Irish in April. Rivals rates Canion as a three-star prospect.

Canion is scheduled to take his official visit to Notre Dame June 16-18.

Login to view embedded media

Notre Dame 2024 wide receiver commit Cam Williams helped Glen Ellyn (Ill.) Glenbard South win the sectional championship in boys varsity track and field Wednesday evening.

Login to view embedded media
Williams qualified for state in the 100-meter dash, the 200 and long jump.

Although his name isn’t listed, Williams also runs the 4x100 and qualified for state in that event as well.

Login to view embedded media
Williams is rated as a four-star prospect by Rivals. He is ranked as the No. 42 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class and No. 7 wide receiver.

Williams is set to take his official visit to Notre Dame June 9-11.

Login to view embedded media

Al Washington with a little spoiler alert for tomorrow morning's Trail Tracks. He'll be in Chicago and spend time at St. Ignatius for five-star DT Justin Scott.

Login to view embedded media
Login to view embedded media
Scott shared his official visit scheduled with Rivals today.

Login to view embedded media

Update from @Tyler James: QB Cutter Boley has announced his commitment to Kentucky. He will reclassify and enroll at Kentucky in January. Cats Illustrated has coverage.

-----

Previously:

2025 four-star quarterback Cutter Boley set a commitment date Sunday evening.

Login to view embedded media
The quarterback from Lexington (Ky.) Christian Academy High will make his college decision May 18 at 11 a.m.

Notre Dame made Boley’s final list of 10 schools Friday. The Irish join Alabama, Florida State, Kentucky, Michigan, Miami, Oregon, Penn State, TCU and Tennessee.

Boley is ranked as the No. 12 overall player in the 2025 recruiting class and No. 2 pro-style quarterback.

Login to view embedded media
Login to view embedded media

Does Carter play corner, safety, or nickel?

Former reliever Aidan Tyrell and former starting pitcher Radek Birkholz flourished in their newer roles Thursday night in Brighton, Mass., leading Notre Dame to a 5-1 victory over host Boston College in the opening game of a critical three-game ACC baseball series.

Because of expected inclement weather Saturday, both games 2 and 3 of the series will be played on Friday in a day/night doubleheader. Game 2 will start at 12:30 p.m. EDT and be played at Eddie Pellagrini Diamond in Brighton. Game 3 is set for Boston’s Fenway Park at 7 p.m., in the regular-season finale. It's also BC's 11th-annual ALS Awareness Game.

The Irish (30-20, 15-13 ACC) are trying to nail down their third NCAA Tournament bid in a row and improve their seeding for next week’s ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C.

In his fifth start of the season, replacing injured ace Jack Findlay in the rotation, Tyrell pitched six strong innings against BC (32-17, 14-14), the No. 22 team in the latest DI Baseball poll and No. 13 in the RPI. The lefty allowed six hits, one earned run and a walk, while striking out six in improving to 8-2 in his grad senior season and lowering his ERA to 2.74.

Birkholz, a sophomore right-hander whose first four appearances of the season were starts, closed out the win with three innings of shutout ball, allowing two hits and fanning two.

Brady Gumpf broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the fourth, plating Vinny Martinez for a 2-1 Irish lead in the top of the fourth inning. Martinez, TJ Williams and Casey Kmet collected two hits apiece for Notre Dame.

Williams scored a pair of runs. Martinez, Gumph, Carter Putz, Estevan Moreno and Zack Prajzner each drove in a run. The Irish had five doubles among their 10 hits.

BOX SCORE

The last of Notre Dame's outgoing men's basketball transfers has found his new home. Sophomore forward Ven-Allen Lubin has committed to transfer to Vanderbilt.

Lubin played in 28 games and started seven for the Irish as a freshman. He averaged 6.2 points as a 58% shooter and 4.4 rebounds per game. He led the team with 23 blocks.

Story:


Login to view embedded media
Login to view embedded media

@Eric Hansen and I will go live on YouTube on Thursday at 7 p.m. EDT for the next edition of Football Never Sleeps.

We'll discuss Notre Dame receiving a commitment from Rhode Island graduate transfer DB Antonio Carter II, what the Irish could still be looking for in the transfer portal, how much talent Notre Dame accumulated with nine high school commitments since late March and answer questions from viewers.

We hope you join us live with questions or submit some ahead of time. Hit the bell to set a reminder to get notified when we go live.

Login to view embedded media
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.

Then to submit questions, there's a chat box to the right of the video on desktop or below the video on mobile.

Click here to subscribe to Inside ND Sports on YouTube.

Story by @Tyler James

Story by Tyler James

Login to view embedded media
2024 four-star tight end Jaden Reddell included Notre Dame in his top five schools Wednesday evening.

Notre Dame joins Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Oregon.

Reddell is ranked as the No. 5 tight end in the 2024 recruiting class. He attends Peculiar (Mo.) Raymore-Peculiar and recorded 49 receptions for 1002 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns last season.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound tight end visited Notre Dame in March. He has not scheduled an official visit to Notre Dame.

Login to view embedded media

Thanks to all who submitted questions for me and @Eric Hansen on our latest podcast. These are the questions we answered with timestamps.

20:13 • Mike Devoy - @MikeDevoy1: I enjoyed the podcast with Brady Quinn and the discussion of portal shopping for a backup QB. If Drew Pyne hadn’t transferred, he’d be QB2 now. My perception is that Steve Angelli is less experienced but has more upside than Pyne. Opinions?

23:57 • @AllenSturgill: Last recruiting cycle ND seemed to be in on a lot of 4 and 5 stars. This cycle it looked like more 3 and 4 stars Has ND taken a step back in the quality of players ND is looking at ?

29:13 • Marie Biafore - @biafore_marie: Can you give your thoughts on linebacker recruiting? The last two commitments are both high ceiling guys. Do you think it was too early to take them? Do you think the staff is settling as they are worried they won’t get better players or do you think they feel so confident in the last two classes of recruits that they feel they can take some flyers in this class?

34:02 • Marie Biafore - @biafore_marie: How difficult do you think the transition from corner to safety will be for Carter? Ultimately, where do you see him this year starter at safety, depth player, starter for certain packages?

36:42 • @henrybeede: With three open scholarships, what are the three positions that Marcus Freeman should be looking for in the transfer portal?

39:47 • David Alvord - @PapaGioI: Surprised to see Logan Diggs is still uncommitted. Would the staff consider recruiting him back to ND? (LOL at the timing of this one)

42:30 • @CharlesWWolfe: What position battles are you most looking forward to in camp?

Apologies to @ldlgoirish, @irishsportsfan and @sjb75 for not including their questions on the podcast. I gathered the questions prior to you chiming in. If you want me to write out some answers to those questions, I can do that in this thread.