Two Notre Dame Transfers Leave Holes in Irish Roster

Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry is entering his second full offseason with the Fighting Irish as they continue the total rebuild of the program. After winning 11 games in his first season and 13 in his second, Shrewsberry once again led the Irish to a two-win improvement this past season, winning 15 games, including eight in conference play.

Photo via Notre Dame Athletics

According to 247 Sports, the Irish are the only school in college basketball set to bring in at least one five-star, one four-star and one three-star player from the 2025 class, which has them slated at number seven overall in the country.

These players include combo guard Jalen Haralson, forwards Ryder Frost and Brady Koehler and center Tommy Ahneman. These recruits along with the addition of Northern Arizona University senior forward transfer Carson Towt gives Notre Dame five new players for the 2025-26 season.

This means players transferring out is inevitable. For the Irish, it means losing their second leading scorer, junior forward Tae Davis, along with senior guard J.R. Konieczny.

Davis, a native of Indianapolis, Indiana, entered the transfer portal on March 24 after averaging career highs in nearly all categories. In 30.8 minutes per game, Davis soared to new heights in points (15.1), assists (1.8), and rebounds per game (5.3), as well as three-point percentage with a 30.2% clip.

After sophomore guard Markus Burton went down with an injury against Rutgers University on November 26th, Davis was a huge part of keeping the Irish afloat, including their first ACC win of the season against Syracuse on December 7th.

During the nine-game stretch Notre Dame went without Burton, Davis averaged 20.5 PPG and scored in double figures in every game during that span. He also collected his lone double-double of the season against Dartmouth University on December 11, when he went 9-13 from the field with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Davis committed to Oklahoma University on April 7th, the first commit the Sooners got out of the portal. Later that day, Miami senior transfer guard Nijel Pack announced his commitment to the Sooners.

Konieczny entered the portal the same day as Davis after not generating the same amount of production he did during his sophomore season. He saw dips in all categories, including playing six fewer minutes at 16.3 MPG. Konieczny averaged 4.3 PPG on a 39.7% shooting clip (28.8% from three), 2.8 RPG, and shot 77.3% from the line.

Despite scoring in double figures 11 times during his sophomore season, Konieczny surpassed 10 points just four times, with one of those games coming in four overtimes against California on March 8th in the final regular season game. He played 37 minutes in the Irish win, scoring 13 points, shooting 5-11 from the field, as well as a season-high eight rebounds.

Konieczny was relied on for his three-point shot; however, he knocked down two threes in just three games this past season and finished with just 17 total. His best game this past season was the ACC opener against the Orange, where he finished with 15 points on a 6-12 shooting clip while grabbing four rebounds in the Notre Dame victory.

As it stands, Konieczny, who is from South Bend and played his high school basketball at St. Joseph High School, where he broke the all-time scoring record with 1,996 points that has since been broken by his younger brother, Chase, has not heard from any other schools.

“I’ve been in South Bend my whole life,” Konieczny said in an interview with WSBT-TV on April 2nd. “I’m graduating this spring from Notre Dame, and I think it’s time for me to look for a new opportunity.”

Despite the losses, hopes are high for the upcoming Notre Dame basketball season as it tries to reach the tournament for the first time under Shrewsberry. With the number seven recruiting class and the addition of 13.3 PPG and 12.4 RPG (the most in the country last season) in Towt, the Irish have a chance to accomplish 20 wins for the first time since 2021-22.

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