Tag: Class of 2027

Wisconsin offers a promising class of 2027 running back

Wisconsin offers a promising class of 2027 running back

Wisconsin football extended an offer to class of 2027 running back Jance Henry Jr. on Saturday. The offer comes after he was one of many recruits to make unofficial visits this weekend.

Henry is currently unranked on 247Sports but does already have offers from Akron, Miami (OH), Pittsburgh, Toledo and UNLV. He recently took an unofficial visit to Penn State, so his offer list should heat up as his high school career continues.

Related: Evaluating the Big Ten’s next targets for conference expansion

The 2027 recruiting cycle is still a ways away. But Wisconsin is already prioritizing members of the class.

Focus remains on the Badgers’ class of 2025 which currently ranks No. 17 in the nation with seven commits. Luke Fickell and his staff are working to improve upon a stellar 2024 effort which saw the program finish No. 25 overall with a blue-chip ratio of 50%.

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Notre Dame’s Carey Booth enters transfer portal but could return

Hopefully, he comes back.

When a player enters the transfer portal, they generally don’t go back to where they came from. Not so fast in the case of Notre Dame forward [autotag]Carey Booth[/autotag]. In an Instagram story and in speaking to On3’s Joe Tipton, Booth announced his that he’s entering the transfer portal. However, he has not ruled out coming back to the Irish as indicated in the following statement:

“I’m beyond thankful for getting to wear the blue and gold this year. I’m especially thankful to Coach Shrewsberry and his staff for believing in me and bringing me to South Bend. With that being said, I’ve decided to enter the transfer portal to keep all of my options open – including a return to Notre Dame.”

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Booth, the highest-rated player in Notre Dame’s 2023 recruiting class on 247Sports, played all 33 games for the Irish this past season, starting 19 of them. In his first collegiate season, he averaged 6.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 0.6 blocks a game.

At 6-foot-10, Booth was tied with [autotag]Kebba Njie[/autotag] for the tallest player on the team, and it’s possible he felt he couldn’t compete with Njie for a starting spot going forward. Whatever the case, hopefully, he isn’t gone for good.

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Notre Dame lands 2023 forward recruit Carey Booth

Finally, some size.

Notre Dame desperately has been searching for size with very little of it returning in 2023-24. [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag], son of coach [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag], committed to the Irish, but he merely was the latest entry on a long list of guards they’ve had lately. Finally, the program has a new forward in [autotag]Carey Booth[/autotag], who announced his own commitment to the Irish less than 24 hours after Shrewsberry.

Booth is a four-star recruit and fourth on the list of 2023 recruits in New Hampshire. At 6-foot-10, he fills the height left by [autotag]Nate Laszewski[/autotag] and likely the young forward role left by the transferred Ven-Allen Lubin. Depending on how the rest of the roster shapes up, he could be thrust into the spotlight immediately.

Like Braeden Shrewsberry, Booth appeared headed to Penn State. Instead, he also is taking his talents to South Bend so that he’ll play for Micah Shrewsberry after all. He also previously visited Marquette and California and received offers from 13 other Division I schools.

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Look at Notre Dame’s current 2023-24 roster

Do you have confidence in this group as it stands?

There still is time for Notre Dame to add to its 2023-24 roster, but don’t count on a game-changer suddenly emerging onto campus. Barring an unforeseen circumstance, the players the Irish have now figure to make up the core. That’s not a strong vote of confidence for Irish fans, but remember that first-year coach [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] practically has to start from scratch after the program lost all of its rotation players to graduation and the transfer portal.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that this is going to be a very bad season for the Irish. The few holdovers from [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag]’s tenure have played very little. While Shrewsberry was able to bring his 2023 Penn State recruiting class and one of his Nittany Lions starters from the 2022-23 season, that’s not a lot of college basketball experience coming in. He must be in one of, if not the least envious position in the country.

Hopefully, the day will come when Shrewsberry has built the Irish back into a winner. Until then, try and get behind these players who are just there to do their jobs and play basketball:

Former five-star recruit Emma Risch arrives at Notre Dame

The Irish are excited about this one.

Even with [autotag]Emma Risch[/autotag] having put pen to paper, [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] and her staff surely still couldn’t believe it had happened. One of the country’s top recruits, Risch officially signed with Notre Dame in November. However, they can put all their disbelief away now. Risch is all moved into her home for the next few years, and the Irish’s Twitter account took full advantage in making a fuss about it:

Risch averaged 23.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists over 24 games in her final season at the high school level. When her signing was announced, Ivey said the following:

“Emma is one of the best shooters I’ve seen in a very long time. She has an incredible IQ, deep shooting range and elite vision. Her size and ability to score in all three levels separates her and will translate to college basketball immediately. I’m looking forward to the positive impact she will make on our team on and off the court. We can’t wait to welcome her to South Bend!”

Well, the welcome has happened, and it will be exciting to watch what she can do.

Notre Dame lands Zionsville combo guard recruit Logan Imes

Shrewsberry’s Penn State guys keep following him to South Bend.

Make that three 2023 recruiting class commits for Notre Dame in as many days. Also make three commits in as many days who were headed to Penn State but switched to the Irish, likely because of [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] leaving State College for South Bend. [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] and [autotag]Carey Booth[/autotag] committed to the program earlier this week. Now, they are joined by Zionsville’s [autotag]Logan Imes[/autotag], who decommitted from the Nittany Lions shortly after the Irish hired Micah Shrewsberry:

Imes, a preseason pick for the Indiana Mr. Basketball honor that ultimately went to incoming Irish freshman [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag], is the latest in a series of guards to call South Bend their home. What he brings that others can’t comes from the fact that he’s a combo guard. That could be critical whenever Micah Shrewsberry needs flexibility in the backcourt, crowded as it’s appearing to be.

Imes played varsity all four years at Zionsville, averaging 12.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists a game. During that time, he also had offers from Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Creighton. The Irish surely have to be happy that the offers from the two ACC rivals never were seriously considered. Now, he’s all theirs.

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Braeden Shrewsberry, Micah’s son, commits to Notre Dame

Gotta love family connections.

[autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] barely has his feet wet as Notre Dame coach, but he might just have obtained the easiest commit he will ever get in the job. [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag], his son, committed to playing for his dad in South Bend. He made it official Monday:

With Shrewsberry‘s prep career having just finished, he will join the Irish immediately. That will be a welcome sign to a program simply looking for bodies to fill the roster for the upcoming season. Yes, he’s another guard, and the Irish are looking for size in the worst way, but the priority right now is filling out the roster.

247Sports ranks Shrewsberry sixth among Pennsylvania recruits in the 2023 recruiting class. In two years as a varsity player, he averaged 18.4 points, 5 rebounds and 3.7 assists a game. Before his dad left Penn State, it appeared he was heading there, but no more. He also received offers from Xavier, St. Joseph’s and George Washington.

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Notre Dame commit among finalists for national player of the year

Quite the honor for the future Irish star.

The Gatorade National Girls Basketball Player of the Year has ended up at Notre Dame a few times. [autotag]Brianna Turner[/autotag] won it in 2014 and [autotag]Skylar Diggins[/autotag] in 2009. Two other winners, Erin Boley in 2016 and Michelle Marciniak in 1991, began their collegiate careers at Notre Dame but transferred elsewhere after one season. Another player could soon be joining those ranks.

[autotag]Hannah Hidalgo[/autotag] of Paul VI in Haddonfield, New Jersey, committed to the Irish on Nov. 15. This came a few months after winning gold with the U.S. in the FIBA U17 Women’s World Cup. Now, she is one of three finalists for the Gatorade National Girls Player of the Year.

When Hidalgo announced her decision to commit to the Irish, [autotag]Niele Ivey[/autotag] said the following:

“Irish eyes are smiling! We are ecstatic to welcome five-star point guard Hannah Hidalgo to the ND family!  Hannah brings swag, competitiveness, and a relentless drive that will instantly elevate our program. She is-multi dimensional, lightning fast and tenacious defensively with a scorer’s mentality and a high basketball IQ.  Hannah does a great job of pushing pace and making everyone around her better.  The Joyce Center will be electric to watch one of the fastest backcourts in the country with the additions of Hannah, Cass Prosper and Emma Risch.”

Here are some profiles of Hidalgo and the other two finalists for this award:

Second 2023 Notre Dame recruiting class member asks for release

Another signee out the door as a result of Brey’s pending retirement.

SOUTH BEND – Once again, [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag]’s plea for Notre Dame’s signees to meet a new coach has gone unheeded. Less than a week after losing 2023 signee Brady Dunlap, the Irish now find themselves without the future services of shooting guard Parker Friedrichsen. Matt Freeman of Irish Sports Daily is reporting that Friedrichsen, who hails from Bixby, Oklahoma, has asked for and been granted his release from his National Letter of Intent. That leaves only [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] in the upcoming recruiting class:

Brey’s retirement announcement already has almost completely decimated the incoming group of freshmen. There’s no telling at this point who, if anyone, will commit to the Irish for next season or even beyond. All that’s certain is that the 2023-24 Irish are going to look almost completely different with players who mostly are lucky to see garbage-time minutes this season. Given that and players who aren’t used to game action with each other, lean times for the program aren’t far away.

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Notre Dame signee Brady Dunlap requests release from letter of intent

We already are seeing the effects of Mike Brey’s pending retirement.

Despite [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag]’s call for the 2023 recruiting class to meet with Notre Dame’s new coach, Brady Dunlap has decided he wants out. Not willing to wait and see who leads the Irish next, Dunlap has requested to be released from his national letter of intent. He released the following statement to On3:

“Due to the announcement of coach Brey’s retirement, I have requested my release from Notre Dame and will open my recruitment.

“I want to wish coach Brey well and thank coach [autotag]Antoni Wyche[/autotag] for all of his efforts in recruiting me.

With the departure of Dunlap, a 6-foot-7 forward from Los Angeles, only guards [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] and [autotag]Parker Friedrichsen[/autotag] remain in the Irish’s incoming recruiting class. What figures to be a long road back to prominence for the program starting next year just got longer.

Whoever takes over for Brey is not going to have a lot to start with, so solid recruiting immediately will be a must. That’s not going to be easy.

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Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

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