It’s been quite the ascent for Micah Shrewsberry in recent years. Aside from his time with the Boston Celtics and a brief stint leading Penn State, the Indianapolis native has spent nearly his entire head coaching career in his home state of Indiana. That’s a major reason why he took the Notre Dame job in 2023 after leading Penn State to their best season in decades. However, the first two seasons haven’t exactly been outstanding.

A former aide to great regional coaches like Brad Stevens and Matt Painter, Shrewbserry stepped into big shoes in replacing Mike Brey, albeit after a few down seasons for the Notre Dame program. The Fighting Irish were in great shape ten years ago but are still fighting to get back to that threshold. Shrewsberry’s first two seasons in South Bend have both resulted in finishes under .500.

Patience is necessary even in an era of college basketball where rebuilding a program can be done much quicker. Building sustained success is much tougher and Shrewsberry is working hard on that. Still, a third season under .500 could be a death knell or at least the first step to significant worry at Notre Dame. Fortunately, there’s a path for the Fighting Irish to take a leap in 2026.

The major story is that Notre Dame returns two fantastic sophomore starters from last season’s team. Markus Burton missed a few weeks but averaged greater than 21 points per game and is one of the nation’s best returning players. Braeden Shrewsberry also took a notable leap as a sophomore under his father, putting up 14 points per game and decent total production.

Those two are the backbone for this rebuild and the hope is that as juniors they each take another step forward in their development. They aren’t the only important pieces in South Bend, even though this program wasn’t very active on the transfer portal. The lone addition was former Northern Arizona big man Carson Towt, who should see decent run in this frontcourt, fighting with returning players Keba Njie and Garrett Sundra for those minutes.

Whether or not building through recruiting is as viable in this landscape, Notre Dame continues to pin their hopes on that with a freshman class that includes four major prospects. Local kid Jalen Haralson is the best of the bunch, as the 6-7 guard is one of the highest-rated recruits in program history. There won’t be a shortage of talent in this backcourt, especially if Haralson can quickly adjust to the college game.

The other three additions all come in a frontcourt that will need to step up to compete in this ACC. There are no doubts that there are still holes on this roster but the talent in the backcourt overcomes some of those shortcomings. Notre Dame looks better than last season when this roster is healthy and intact, but that’s almost a necessity. Patient will run thin if another inconsistent year comes to pass in South Bend.