The 2025-2026 college basketball season is finally upon us. Today, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's team tips off against the Long Island Sharks in South Bend inside of Purcell Pavilion. Head coach Micah Shrewsberry is headed into his third year at the helm, and the expectations are at an all-time high to get this program turned around.

The Irish went 15-18 last season, 8-12 in ACC play, and haven't had a season above .500 since 2021 when they went 24-11 (15-5 in conference). Between the experience and talent returning on the roster combined with a relatively favorable schedule and some impactful newcomers, the Notre Dame men's team is poised for a big year in South Bend. 

2025 OUT OF CONFERENCE SCHEDULE

Their out of conference schedule sets up relatively favorably for Notre Dame. Outside of the Players Era Tournament, the Irish only play two road games out of conference against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Sunday November 16 and the TCU Horned Frogs on Friday December 5 down in Texas. Notre Dame will participate in the Players Era Tournament in Las Vegas this season, like they did last year.

As of now, they face the Kansas Jayhawks on November 24 and the Rutgers Scarlett Knights on November 25; the championship will be played the following day pending Notre Dame making it that far. They will also face Missouri this season in South Bend in the ACC/SEC Challenge. Outside of their stretch of games from November 16 to December 5, this is a very favorable out of conference schedule. 

2025 ACC SCHEDULE

Playing in a league with 18 teams comes with some advantages and disadvantages. One of the downsides is not being able to play all teams in the ACC. Gone are the days of playing a home and home with Duke and North Carolina, games that have boosted Notre Dame's resume in the past. Now, the Irish will play one of Duke and North Carolina on the road and the other at home.

That being said, Notre Dame plays a fairly balanced home-away slate this season. They get nine of their ACC opponents at home, including Duke, Clemson and Miami, and nine of their ACC opponents on the road including North Carolina, Syracuse and Louisville. The Irish went 8-12 last season in conference play and will look to be towards the top of the conference this season given what they return. 

KEY RETURNERS

Shrewsberry returns an extremely experienced roster. Guards Markus Burton, Braeden Shrewsberry and forward Kebba Njie are heading into their third year in the starting lineup in South Bend. Other players like Sir Mohammed, Cole Certa, Garrett Sundra and Logan Imes are expected to take on a larger role this season as well. The supporting cast this season will play a huge role in the success of this basketball team.

We are well aware of what Burton is capable of on the hardwood. He led the ACC last season in scoring averaging 21.3 points per game. Burton also added 3.6 rebounds per game, 3.0 assists per game and 1.7 steals per game as well. Certa and Shrewsberry are two lethal sharp shooters and Sundra is a stretch four who can make plays at all three levels on the court.

IMPACTFUL NEWCOMERS

As experienced as the returners are, the aspect of this team that excites fans the most are the newcomers. Transfer Carson Towt led the NCAA in rebounds per game a season ago and elected to play his final year of eligibility in South Bend. Rebounding was a major issue last season for the Irish and Towt's presence will give them a leg up on the boards this winter.

Shrewsberry also brought in the best recruiting class we've seen for this program in quite some time. The 2025 class is headlined by forward Jalen Haralson who was the No. 2 ranked player in the state of Indiana and the No. 18 player nationally per 247Sports. Forward Ryder Frost is also expected to be an impactful newcomer. The sharpshooter from New Hampshire was the No. 4 ranked player in the state and the No. 104 player nationally. 

Unfortunately, we'll have to wait a year to watch center Tommy Ahneman lace up on the hardwood due to a knee injury, but we are expected to see forward Brady Koehler take reps this season. The 6-10 forward was the No. 6 ranked player in the state of Indiana and the No. 128 player nationally in the 2025 class per 247Sports.

This is an extremely talented team, and the most talented Shrewsberry has had since his time at Notre Dame. This is a big year for this unit; the Fighting Irish have had a lack-luster men's program the majority of the last eight years. There are big things expected from this group this season, and the journey to the big dance starts tonight at 7:00PM when they host the Long Island Sharks. 

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