Monday was the first day that college coaches were allowed to directly reach out to recruits in the 2022 class. Prior to Monday, the recruit himself would have to call the coaching staff. It has been a busy first week for Mike Brey and his assistants.
Brey made first contact to several prospects, many of whom don't have an offer yet but are likely to down the line. In-person evaluations is very important to Brey, which is part of the reason Notre Dame only offered a few prospects this week. Brey called several prospects this week and the assistant coaches followed up with several of these prospects as well.
When could more offers go out to some of these players? Probably not for a little while. The July evaluation periods were canceled, and the NCAA tabled the decision to approve an August and September evaluation period until the Division I Council convenes again next month. Brey likes to see kids in person before they offer. Notre Dame had already seen top-50 center Donovan Clingan and five-star wing Jarace Walker, both of whom picked up offers.
According to sources we spoke to this week, here's who we learned Brey contacted himself.
*** IMG Academy five-star wing Jarace Walker, the No. 11 player in the class, picked up an offer from Notre Dame on Wednesday. Unsurprisingly, our sources tell us that the Fighting Irish staff is really fired up about Walker. Expect assistant Ryan Humphrey to lead the charge in this recruitment, as he has extensive connections in Florida and especially at IMG Academy. Additionally, Brey's son, Kyle, is a football coach at IMG. Walker (6-6, 220) has offers from Florida, Kansas State, LSU, Michigan, Syracuse and Virginia Tech, among others.
*** Brey contacted Baldwinsville (N.Y.) Baker PG J.J. Starling, a four-star recruit and the No. 91 player in the class. The Irish staff feels that Starling's talents would be a good fit in South Bend, and it seems like Starling and his camp are intrigued by Notre Dame early on. Starling (6-3, 170) has offers from Alabama, Miami (Fla.) Syracuse, UConn, Wake Forest and Washington.
*** Brey called with Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic PG Rodney Rice, a four-star and Rivals’ No. 64 overall player in 2022. He is, of course, out of an area and school that has been kind to Notre Dame. Brey’s own tie-ins as an alum and longtime recruiter here are at work and he has a pre-existing relationship with Rice’s father. Assistant Rod Balanis is a DeMatha alum as well. Rice (6-3, 175) has offers from Georgetown, Illinois, Maryland, Marquette, Seton Hall and plenty of other high-majors. He added five new ones this week.
*** Clarkston (Mich.) SG Fletcher Loyer, who’s currently unranked, chatted with Brey. He’s the younger brother of Michigan State guard Foster Loyer and the son of former NBA assistant and one-time Detroit Pistons interim HC John Loyer. The family is moving to Fort Wayne soon, and already has a lot of familiarity with Notre Dame. Fletcher has been to a football and basketball game in South Bend and the family has a good relationship with Brey and staff. They’re also friends with Dane Goodwin’s family. (John Loyer is from the Columbus area like Dane, for what it's worth).
If you’re looking for the guy who Notre Dame would be in the best immediate position for if offered, it’s Loyer. The next step is getting back to campus, when allowed. Right now, Loyer’s only high-major offer is from Michigan, but a few other Big Ten teams have been in contact and he holds a handful of mid-major offers.
*** Bristol (Conn.) Central center Donovan Clingan, a four-star and the No. 47 overall player, talked with Brey and received an offer, which seemed inevitable. Balanis went and saw him last fall and is a fan of Clingan's talents. The 7-foot-1 Clingan had offers from Syracuse, Providence, UConn and a couple others before this week, but has added Michigan State, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Rutgers and Yale since Monday. I spoke to Clingan earlier this week and will have more on him in the next few days.
*** Wilbraham and Monson (Mass.) forward Kyle Filipowski, a three-star prospect who the Irish saw in January, spoke with Brey. He’s a 6-9, 215-pound big man and has offers from Iowa, Maryland, Marquette, UConn, Providence, Vanderbilt, Xavier and a few mid-majors.
*** Haverford School (Pa.) PG Jameel Brown, a four-star recruit and the No. 81 player in the class, had a productive call with Brey. Nebraska, Ohio State, Purdue and Temple are among his offers. Brown is 6-2 and 165 pounds.
*** Fort Lauderdale Westminster Academy PF Ben Middlebrooks, a three-star and the No. 105 player chatted with Brey, and Humphrey is a likely bet to be involved here if ND pursues more. Auburn, Florida, Iowa State, LSU, Maryland and others have offered Middlebrooks (6-10, 215).
*** Brey was on the phone with Wasatch Academy (Utah) PG Richard Isaacs, the No. 30 overall player. His lengthy offer list includes Arizona, Kansas, Florida State, Texas Tech and others.
*** One player who Brey didn’t talk to personally was Minneapolis Minnehaha Academy wing Prince Aligbe, who tweeted out he was offered on Monday. The Notre Dame staff hasn’t seen him in person, that we know of. Brey not reaching out makes me a little curious about how legit the offer is right now, but he’s a really good player who ND wouldn’t turn away.
*** On 2021 players, we don’t expect any more movement on offers anytime soon. The big target remains South Bend Riley four-star guard Blake Wesley. Notre Dame feels it will have a shot until the end. They would like to take a lengthy big, as Mike mentioned Sunday, but they’re still evaluating some potential targets and not likely to make a move anytime soon.
--Mike Singer contributed
Brey made first contact to several prospects, many of whom don't have an offer yet but are likely to down the line. In-person evaluations is very important to Brey, which is part of the reason Notre Dame only offered a few prospects this week. Brey called several prospects this week and the assistant coaches followed up with several of these prospects as well.
When could more offers go out to some of these players? Probably not for a little while. The July evaluation periods were canceled, and the NCAA tabled the decision to approve an August and September evaluation period until the Division I Council convenes again next month. Brey likes to see kids in person before they offer. Notre Dame had already seen top-50 center Donovan Clingan and five-star wing Jarace Walker, both of whom picked up offers.
According to sources we spoke to this week, here's who we learned Brey contacted himself.
*** IMG Academy five-star wing Jarace Walker, the No. 11 player in the class, picked up an offer from Notre Dame on Wednesday. Unsurprisingly, our sources tell us that the Fighting Irish staff is really fired up about Walker. Expect assistant Ryan Humphrey to lead the charge in this recruitment, as he has extensive connections in Florida and especially at IMG Academy. Additionally, Brey's son, Kyle, is a football coach at IMG. Walker (6-6, 220) has offers from Florida, Kansas State, LSU, Michigan, Syracuse and Virginia Tech, among others.
*** Brey contacted Baldwinsville (N.Y.) Baker PG J.J. Starling, a four-star recruit and the No. 91 player in the class. The Irish staff feels that Starling's talents would be a good fit in South Bend, and it seems like Starling and his camp are intrigued by Notre Dame early on. Starling (6-3, 170) has offers from Alabama, Miami (Fla.) Syracuse, UConn, Wake Forest and Washington.
*** Brey called with Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic PG Rodney Rice, a four-star and Rivals’ No. 64 overall player in 2022. He is, of course, out of an area and school that has been kind to Notre Dame. Brey’s own tie-ins as an alum and longtime recruiter here are at work and he has a pre-existing relationship with Rice’s father. Assistant Rod Balanis is a DeMatha alum as well. Rice (6-3, 175) has offers from Georgetown, Illinois, Maryland, Marquette, Seton Hall and plenty of other high-majors. He added five new ones this week.
*** Clarkston (Mich.) SG Fletcher Loyer, who’s currently unranked, chatted with Brey. He’s the younger brother of Michigan State guard Foster Loyer and the son of former NBA assistant and one-time Detroit Pistons interim HC John Loyer. The family is moving to Fort Wayne soon, and already has a lot of familiarity with Notre Dame. Fletcher has been to a football and basketball game in South Bend and the family has a good relationship with Brey and staff. They’re also friends with Dane Goodwin’s family. (John Loyer is from the Columbus area like Dane, for what it's worth).
If you’re looking for the guy who Notre Dame would be in the best immediate position for if offered, it’s Loyer. The next step is getting back to campus, when allowed. Right now, Loyer’s only high-major offer is from Michigan, but a few other Big Ten teams have been in contact and he holds a handful of mid-major offers.
*** Bristol (Conn.) Central center Donovan Clingan, a four-star and the No. 47 overall player, talked with Brey and received an offer, which seemed inevitable. Balanis went and saw him last fall and is a fan of Clingan's talents. The 7-foot-1 Clingan had offers from Syracuse, Providence, UConn and a couple others before this week, but has added Michigan State, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Rutgers and Yale since Monday. I spoke to Clingan earlier this week and will have more on him in the next few days.
*** Wilbraham and Monson (Mass.) forward Kyle Filipowski, a three-star prospect who the Irish saw in January, spoke with Brey. He’s a 6-9, 215-pound big man and has offers from Iowa, Maryland, Marquette, UConn, Providence, Vanderbilt, Xavier and a few mid-majors.
*** Haverford School (Pa.) PG Jameel Brown, a four-star recruit and the No. 81 player in the class, had a productive call with Brey. Nebraska, Ohio State, Purdue and Temple are among his offers. Brown is 6-2 and 165 pounds.
*** Fort Lauderdale Westminster Academy PF Ben Middlebrooks, a three-star and the No. 105 player chatted with Brey, and Humphrey is a likely bet to be involved here if ND pursues more. Auburn, Florida, Iowa State, LSU, Maryland and others have offered Middlebrooks (6-10, 215).
*** Brey was on the phone with Wasatch Academy (Utah) PG Richard Isaacs, the No. 30 overall player. His lengthy offer list includes Arizona, Kansas, Florida State, Texas Tech and others.
*** One player who Brey didn’t talk to personally was Minneapolis Minnehaha Academy wing Prince Aligbe, who tweeted out he was offered on Monday. The Notre Dame staff hasn’t seen him in person, that we know of. Brey not reaching out makes me a little curious about how legit the offer is right now, but he’s a really good player who ND wouldn’t turn away.
*** On 2021 players, we don’t expect any more movement on offers anytime soon. The big target remains South Bend Riley four-star guard Blake Wesley. Notre Dame feels it will have a shot until the end. They would like to take a lengthy big, as Mike mentioned Sunday, but they’re still evaluating some potential targets and not likely to make a move anytime soon.
--Mike Singer contributed
