Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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14 SUMMER 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Sebastian Dominko — Tennis The junior from Maribor, Slovenia, became the first Irish player ever to win the ACC Player of the Year award April 24. He also earned first-team All-ACC Singles and second-team All-ACC Doubles recognition, mark- ing the third straight season he was named an all-conference player in both singles and doubles. For the spring season, Dominko finished 19-4 at No. 1 singles, with 10 wins coming against ranked opponents. Davis Johnson — Baseball The sophomore catcher/ d e s i g n ate d h i tte r f ro m Providence, R.I., batted .333 with 4 runs scored, 2 home runs and 6 RBI during a three-game sweep of Cal April 25-27. He did most of his work in Game 1 when he hit 2 home runs with 5 RBI in an 8-1 Irish win. In 33 games played as of May 5, Johnson was batting .265 with 29 runs scored, 3 doubles, 5 home runs and 18 RBI. Jadin O'Brien — Track and Field The graduate student from Pewaukee, Wis., earned ACC Women's Out- door Field Performer of the Week honors April 15, after cruising to a heptathlon win at the Texas A&M 44 Farms Team Invitational April 11-12. O'Brien posted a score of 6,231 in the seven-discipline event, which included a per- sonal-best and winning throw of 43.54 meters in the javelin. She also won the 100-meter hurdles, shot put and 800 meters. Kristen Shanahan — Lacrosse T h e g ra d u ate st u d e nt midfielder from Holbrook, N.Y., capped the season with a terrific performance in a 17-6 win over Louisville April 17. She tallied 2 goals and 3 assists in the lopsided win in which 12 different Notre Dame players scored at least 1 goal. Shanahan was second on the team in goals (27), assists (14) and points (41) in 14 games. The Irish finished 7-8 overall (2-7 ACC). TOP TOP OF THE CLASS OF THE CLASS Irish student-athletes excelling on the field and in the classroom ✦ GIMME FIVE Over the past half-decade, Notre Dame has laid a claim to being Safety U. On April 25, the Irish placed their fifth safety in the NFL when the Atlanta Falcons drafted Xavier Watts in the third round (96th pick over- all). While Watts accomplished the most out of the five in his college career with back-to-back consensus All-America nods, he has a long way to go in order to catch the others in professional accolades. The list starts with Kyle Hamilton, the 6-foot- 4, 220-pound sensation who was drafted 14th overall in 2022. He's since compiled 250 tackles, 18 tackles for loss, 7 sacks, 15 quarterback hits and 5 interceptions. His 2024 campaign wasn't as productive as his 2023 showing, when he was named a first-team All-Pro, but Hamilton still finished ninth in Defensive Player of the Year voting. He's in line for a massive contract extension in the near future. Two more former Irish safeties recently received paydays: Alohi Gilman with the Los Angeles Chargers and Julian Love with the Seattle Seahawks. Gilman, who transferred to Notre Dame from Navy, has become a rock-solid coverage defender, deflecting or intercepting 17 passes in the past three seasons. Love, who played cornerback with the Irish before transitioning to safety in the NFL, made his first Pro Bowl in 2023 with the Seahawks. He has 356 tackles and 9 interceptions in the past three seasons, dating back to his time with the New York Giants. The veteran of the group is Harrison Smith, a six- time Pro Bowler. Smith will return for a 14th NFL season in 2025, all with the Minnesota Vikings. He's the active league leader in interceptions with 37, including 3 last year at the age of 35. — Jack Soble CHARTING THE IRISH WINNING WAYS Notre Dame is fifth in the country with 109 wins in the College Football Playoff Era (since 2014). Only Ala- bama, Clemson, Ohio State and Georgia, respectively, have more. A year ago, the Irish were tied for sixth with Boise State. With a 14-win season in 2024, Notre Dame pulled ahead of the Broncos and passed Oklahoma by one. The gap between the Irish and the four great- est powers of the CFP era remains large; Notre Dame stands 16 wins behind Georgia for fourth place and 27 behind Alabama for first. On a per-season basis, the Irish have averaged 9.9 wins per season since 2014. The Crimson Tide have averaged 12.4. However, leading the second tier is a positive step in Notre Dame's mission to return to consistent national prominence — a place the Irish anticipate occupying for the foreseeable future under head coach Marcus Freeman. Since Freeman went 9-4 in his first season (2022), Notre Dame has improved each year. The Irish went 10-3 in Year 2 under Freeman, and they went 14-2 in Year 3. The third season is traditionally the stron- gest indicator of success throughout program history, and Freeman passed his test with flying colors. While 14-2 is a difficult record to improve upon, particularly with a younger roster in 2025, Notre Dame should remain at or near the top five of this list for years to come. — Jack Soble Safety Xavier Watts was a consensus All-American each of his last two seasons with the Fighting Irish. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER MOST WINS IN THE CFP ERA (Since 2014) Rk. School Wins 1. Alabama 136 2. Clemson 129 3. Ohio State 129 4. Georgia 125 5. Notre Dame 109 6. Oklahoma 108 7. Boise State 106 8. Oregon 103 9. Michigan 102 10. Penn State 101 THE FIVE NOTRE DAME SAFETIES IN THE NFL Player Year in NFL Team(s) Xavier Watts 1st Falcons Kyle Hamilton 4th Ravens Alohi Gilman 6th Chargers Julian Love* 7th Giants, Seahawks Harrison Smith 14th Vikings * Played cornerback at Notre Dame