Tag: Mike Brey

Notre Dame appearances at MLB ballparks through the years

The Irish have been well-represented during ceremonial first pitches.

This is an exciting week for Notre Dame. Not everyone can say they’ve been at MLB’s two oldest ballparks during the same week, but this year’s Irish will be able to make that claim. They’ll face Northwestern at Wrigley Field on Tuesday before meeting Boston College at Fenway Park on Friday. The best part for us at Fighting Irish Wire is that we’ve been credentialed for both games, so we’ll be reporting the action directly from these historic venues.

With these two games taking place during the final week of the regular season, we thought it would be nice to take a look back at Notre Dame figures making appearances at MLB ballparks over the years. We’re not talking about when the football team has played games there or former Irish players who have made the big leagues. We’re talking about when figures have made appearances on behalf of the university. If you have a really good memory, maybe you can recall at least one of these:

Mike Brey bids final farewell to Notre Dame campus

Thanks for the memories, Coach!

Say what you will about Notre Dame’s recent lack of on-court success. In a world where sports fans constantly ask what one has done for them lately, it understandably might have been easy to forget all the good [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] did for the program. But those accomplishments speak for themselves, and he knows he won’t be able to shed his former life easily. Case in point, Brey experienced campus one final time before beginning his next gig with the Atlanta Hawks:

One final look around campus, and one more cigar. There couldn’t be a more fitting way for Brey to officially close the book on his time in South Bend. We soon will find out fully if [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] is even a fraction as easygoing as Brey. Even if that’s the case, simply not seeing Brey at Notre Dame is something that will take some time to get used to, and his presence no doubt will be missed.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

NBA News: Mike Brey has found his next coaching job

Mike Brey is taking his talents to the NBA!

At one point we thought [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] was headed to South Florida to be their basketball coach.  Then we thought 2023-24 would be a year of television for Notre Dame’s all-time winningest men’s basketball coach.  But reportedly it will be neither for Brey.

Instead, one of the more beloved coaching figures in recent college basketball history is taking his talents to the NBA.  According to Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune (and if anyone would know, it’d be him), Brey is set to join the Atlanta Hawks coaching staff where another former Duke assistant is currently the head coach, Quin Snyder.

Brey and Notre Dame went 483-280 from 2000-2023.  All the best in Atlanta, Mike.

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Notre Dame loses forward Ven-Allen Lubin to transfer portal

That exit door has gotten quite a workout recently.

Already lacking size, Notre Dame has lost yet another forward. This time, the transfer portal is responsible, and it’s Ven-Allen Lubin who is taking his talents elsewhere. Lubin released the following statement on social media Monday:

The Irish now are down to [autotag]Matt Zona[/autotag], [autotag]Tony Sanders[/autotag], [autotag]J.R. Konieczny[/autotag], and incoming freshman [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag]. That means [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] needs to be very aggressive in the transfer portal, even if the Irish’s current targets mainly consist of guards. At this point, it will be an accomplishment just to get a team together.

Lubin’s first collegiate season and his only season in South Bend saw him average 6.2 points and 4.4 rebounds a game. Despite preseason indications from [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] that Lubin would start, facial injuries during fall camp contributed to that not happening until February. So did an ankle injury that he suffered during a game and bother him over the course of a month. Ultimately, he started seven of the 28 games he played.

We respect Lubin’s decision and wish him well in his future endeavors, but it would be a lie to say that he’s leaving the Irish in a tougher spot than they already were. After this past season, we warned you of dark days ahead for the program. This latest news makes you wonder just how low things can go.

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

 

List of transfer portal targets for Notre Dame

At least one of these players could suit up for the Irish next season.

Notre Dame had a horrible 2022-23 season, but no matter what happened, 2023-24 was going to present a challenge. Having barely enough returning players just to to be able to play 5-on-5 is a problem no program ever wants to deal with. Yet that’s where the Irish are after half the previous roster was made up of graduate students and two of their three incoming freshmen de-committed after [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] announced his departure.

The good news is the transfer portal is more active than ever before. Say what you will about what NIL has done to college sports, but new coach [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] has to be grateful that it has allowed the equivalent of free agency. With only [autotag]Markus Burton[/autotag] on the horizon, he’ll have to bandage up the Irish’s problems with transfers until he has one or two recruiting classes under his belt.

Nathan Erbach of the “Golden Homers” podcast has done a good job of tracking the existing college players who might make South Bend their home next season. Here are the players who reportedly have been connected to the Irish so far, a few of which either are about to visit campus or already have:

Micah Shrewsberry introduced as Notre Dame coach

The next era of Irish basketball has begun.

On a celebratory day at Purcell Pavilion, Notre Dame officially introduced [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] as its next men’s basketball coach. Tom Noie of the South Bend Tribune wrote an awesome column about the day, and you surely will have some hope for the program’s future after you’re finished reading it. That hope was lacking desperately this past season as [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag]’s tenure ended with as big of a whimper as you can imagine.

Shrewsberry has his work cut out for him as he has to fill half of the Irish’s roster before the 2023-24 season tips off, and that’s only the tip of the iceberg. For now, he has a little bit of time to soak this moment in. It’s the beginning of a new life for him and his family, and he gets to live it in his native state. Here’s are some of the images that surely will play over and over in his head for a long time, if not the rest of his life:

Watch: Notre Dame baseball coach Shawn Stiffler visits class

Put me in, Coach. I’m ready to play.

Last year, former Notre Dame basketball coach [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] popped up in random places around campus. It was part of an effort on his part to get students out to his team’s games. With Brey having departed though, someone in the athletic department needs to pick up the slack. Apparently, that someone is first-year baseball coach [autotag]Shawn Stiffler[/autotag], who crashed a finance class and was there to do more than just promote this weekend’s three-game series against North Carolina:

If this isn’t an invitation to literally everyone on campus to come to baseball practice, I don’t know what is. After watching this, I wonder if he would let me take batting practice even though I’m not enrolled at or employed by the university and I haven’t swung a bat in a long time.

I didn’t know I needed this to happen in my life, but I think I do now. Coach, if you’re reading this, mind if I make the two-hour drive to South Bend so this lefty hitter can continuously pull the ball weakly to the right?

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Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

 

Micah Shrewsberry is leaving for Notre Dame, reports confirm

The waiting is over. Micah Shrewsberry is reportedly leaving Penn State for Notre Dame.

Well, this might have been the headline that Penn State fans have been dreading to read.

After a couple of excruciating days of waiting to see if [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag] would remain the head coach of Penn State, it seems like he’s made up his mind. It’s been reported by multiple outlets that the Indiana native is heading back home to take over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Shrewsberry will reportedly sign a seven-year contract, worth over $4 million per year with Notre Dame. The athletic department views its program as a total rebuild and will be patient with the building process. Shrewsberry was the number one target for the Fighting Irish and their Athletic Director, Jack Swarbrick after previous head coach, [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag], stepped down.

There have been no reports as of now that show what Penn State offered to keep their head coach in State College. It was reported that Penn State Athletic Director, Patrick Kraft, was willing to offer a massive financial commitment to Shrewsberry, including NIL upgrades.

This is extremely disappointing news to Penn State and their fans across the country. It was clear during the March run that there is an appetite for a successful basketball program.

Now, there will be question marks about the health of the program going forward.

Last year’s team was a very senior laden roster. With those players moving on and some of the current and incoming freshmen likely to explore other options, there is major worry about the state of Penn State basketball in the near future.

With the news now official that Shrewsberry is moving on, it’s time for Penn State and their athletic department to hire a coach that shows they’re serious about basketball.

Regardless, this is truly a blow to the basketball program and their fans who have been marred in apathy for decades. It’s extremely disappointing to watch a program being built, to then seeing it potentially collapse overnight.

The details will eventually released about what Shrewsberry was offered by Penn State to keep him in State College. If it was a competitive package and he simply chose his home state over the Nittany Lions, then it’s hard to point fingers at the administration. However, if the offer was underwhelming, that will cause more frustration about how Penn State views the importance of its basketball program.

What is known for sure is that Shrewsberry will be coaching Notre Dame next season and Penn State will have its fourth basketball coach since 2020.

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Mike Brey will not coach at USF after all

Stop the presses.

When it was reported that former Notre Dame coach [autotag]Mike Brey[/autotag] was about to take over the USF program, reactions were mixed. They ranged from being happy for him to wondering what the heck he was thinking. Whatever one thought, it’s time to throw it all out the window. ESPN’s Pete Thamel has reported that USF’s interest in Brey was just that, and Brey won’t be coaching anywhere next season:

After 28 consecutive seasons of being a head coach at Delaware and then Notre Dame, it probably is best for Brey to take time for himself. Don’t even consider the possibility that he still will help pick his successor with the Irish. He deserves to move to Florida anyway and spend time drinking pina coladas, laying on the beach or whatever. It will be nice to see him on TV in some capacity, but it will be even better knowing he has enough time to detox after so many years in a high-stress job.

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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.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

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REPORT: Mike Brey set to pursue television and not coach in 2023

Contrary to recent reports, Mike Brey isn’t going to coach at USF.

Former Notre Dame men’s basketball head coach Mike Brey will not be coaching next season according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Instead, the 63-year-old Maryland native will plan on taking some time off and pursuing a career in television.

Brey recently interviewed with the University of South Florida and did not end up getting a job offer from the Bulls. Brey had spent the last 23 seasons with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish going 582-332 including 225-181 in Big East and ACC conference play.  Brey led the Irish to nine NCAA Tournament appearances in his first 13 years in South Bend. The last 10 years however have been less successful. After back-to-back Elite Eight runs in 2015 and 2016, the Irish have missed the tournament in four of the last six seasons in which the tournament has been held.

He also spent five seasons with the University of Delaware from 1995 through the 1999 season, where he led the Blue Hens to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.

While Brey is ready to focus on television, Notre Dame is currently searching for their next head coach. The most recent updates regarding the search have the Fighting Irish’s primary target being Penn State’s Micah Shrewsberry, who recently finished his second year with the Nittany Lions.

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