Tag: first team AA

John Shumate to be inducted into Notre Dame Ring of Honor

Congrats, John!

Notre Dame will have 10 members in its Ring of Honor when [autotag]John Shumate[/autotag] is inducted into it during the Irish’s Dec. 11 game with Marquette. Irish fans of a certain age will recall that Shumate made many meaningful contributions to the program. As a freshman, he was named MVP of the 1973 NIT. In 1974, he was a consensus First Team All-American, joining a team that featured future Hall of Famers Bill Walton, David Thompson and Jamaal Wilkes.

During his Irish tenure, Shumate averaged 22.6 points and 11.6 rebounds a game while also shooting 61.0% from the field. He was the best player on the 1974 Irish team that famously ended UCLA’s 88-game winning streak. No Irish team since has been able to touch its .897 winning percentage that came from its 26-3 record.

Shumate was so good that the Phoenix Suns made him the fourth overall pick in the 1974 draft. After missing his first NBA season, he made the All-Rookie Team. He went on to play five seasons with six different teams. Later, he coached SMU for six seasons and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury for one season.

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Watch: Notre Dame alumnus Niko Kavadas hits first professional homer

The former Notre Dame slugger has made his mark professionally.

Niko Kavadas was the straw that stirred the lineup of a Notre Dame team that just missed the College World Series. Now, he’s starting to show off his power on the professional level. Kavadas, who signed with the Boston Red Sox after they drafted him in the 11th round, hit his first home run at the next level in his fifth professional game. It came during the Florida Complex League Red Sox’s 11-5 win over the FCL Twins:

Kavadas was a First Team All-American for the Irish in 2021, and he also made First Team All-ACC. The two-time captain’s 22 home runs set a program record and ranked among the national leaders. He hit 0.47 home runs a game to become the national leader in that category and was fourth nationally with 1.36 RBIs a game. He also led the Irish with 64 RBIs, and his .767 slugging percentage ranks second on the program’s single-season list.

Here’s to the beginning of what hopefully will be a long professional career for Kavadas.