Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SUMMER 2025 39 BY JACK SOBLE W hen Carson Towt was a walk-on, he learned a thing or two. After averaging a double-double and leading Gilbert (Ariz.) High to the 5A state championship in 2019, Towt had zero Division I scholarship offers. He walked on at Northern Arizona, where he learned how to provide value and get himself on the court. "I think I found all the little things I valued," Towt told Blue & Gold Illus- trated. "All the hustle plays, using a mo- tor and offensive rebounding. Doing all the little stuff that not everyone wants to do. Most guys, I'd say, don't want to do." Towt mastered the hustle plays enough to break into the starting lineup and earn a scholarship in December 2020, Christmas break of his redshirt freshman year. Four seasons later, he transferred to Notre Dame, which didn't do the little things that translate to win- ning enough on its way to an overall re- cord of 15-18 (8-12 in the ACC). The Irish weren't tough enough in head coach Micah Shrewsberry's sec- ond season. They weren't connected. They knew they needed someone to help change that. In steps Towt, a 6-foot-8 forward who led the nation in rebounding in his sixth season with the Lumberjacks. In that half-decade-plus in Flagstaff, Ariz., he redefined his game, fought through a potentially debilitating injury and never lost what he learned as a walk-on as he made his way to South Bend. "Those tiny, little moments on the court that not a lot of guys do, I think I made a living on that," Towt said. "I got here doing that. That's what I'm bring- ing, you know? That ain't going away." BLESSING IN DISGUISE Before the 2023-24 season, Towt suffered a stress fracture in his spine. Somehow, he emerged a year later a sig- nificantly better player. "I say that year that I was out was actually the most important year of my career so far," Towt said. "It might be for my entire life." Towt's points per game climbed from 10.1 pre-injury to 13.3 post-injury, and he made 56.9 percent of his field goals as opposed to 53.2 percent. His rebounding skyrocketed, as well. Towt grabbed 12.4 boards per game this past season after averaging 7.3 in his career to that point. With his spine incapacitated, Towt couldn't be on his feet much. He also lived alone that year, so he was left to his own devices. With his basketball goals still in mind, Towt didn't want to kill the time he had watching TV or scrolling social media. Instead, he looked inward. "I wanted to take that time to kind of deconstruct my values, my goals, who I've been, where I am now, where I want to go and my identity in the sport," Towt said. "I think I did a lot of inner work. I did a lot of introspective work, a lot of shadow work to kind of understand, 'OK, what do I want? Who am I?' Inside the game and outside the game." Towt thought the time he spent doing that translated to his performance the following season. "I think I was free," Towt said. "I was free to perform and compete at a high level because of the work I did there." As for how Towt became the nation's leading rebounder at just 6-8, he com- mitted himself to finding every little advantage he possibly could. He knows he doesn't have the height, the reach or the athleticism — he's athletic, Towt explained, but he acknowledged that there are players with more athleticism than him — to dominate on the glass with pure talent. As a result, he had to get creative. "I gotta find tricks," Towt said. "I gotta find ways to see the ball. I gotta find ways to see how it's coming off, see the spin, see where it's going, and then beat a guy to a spot, maybe move .5 sec- onds faster than him. And then do that over and over and over and see where I can take it." 'MOVE TOWARD A COMMON GOAL' Shortly after Towt entered the trans- fer portal, Notre Dame reached out. He visited the weekend of April 11-13, and he committed on the spot. "It's most importantly about the peo- ple," Towt said. "At the end of the day, it comes down to, 'Do I love the people? Do I connect with the people?' And we connected from the very beginning." Towt also wants to win, and he came away from his visit convinced that the Irish could make that leap in Shrews- berry's third season. The development of Notre Dame's rebuild has not been linear, as Irish fans know all too well. However, Towt saw that all but two players who were eligible to return to Notre Dame did. He thought that said a great deal about whether Shrewsber- ry's vision for the program can come to light. And when he met those players, he thought he could be the missing piece they needed. "I'm gonna go be myself, I'm gonna bring what I bring and keep getting bet- ter, and we're all gonna have the same mindset," Towt said. "We're gonna move toward a common goal, man, and I'm excited to be a part of that." ✦ Northern Arizona Transfer Brings Toughness, Tenacious Rebounding MEN'S B A S K E T B A L L Carson Towt led the nation in rebounding this past season, averaging 12.4 boards per game for Northern Arizona. PHOTO COURTESY NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY