Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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72 PRESEASON 2025 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY JACK SOBLE S ince they began living together in 2023, Jonathan Sanderson and Gan- Erdene Solongo had a pretty good idea that they'd be attending the same col- lege. They didn't know where it would be. Their recruiting processes were dif- ferent; Solongo received an offer from Notre Dame more than 15 months after Sanderson. They didn't even discuss it much with each other, even as the Irish and several others courted both pros- pects. But they knew. "We didn't really talk about it, but it was always like, 'Yeah,'" Sanderson, the No. 9 point guard and No. 58 overall player in the Rivals Industry Ranking for the 2026 class, told Blue & Gold Illustrated. "Es- pecially going into sophomore year, it was like, 'Yeah, we're gonna play together.'" Sanderson, a 6-foot-2 point guard, committed to Notre Dame June 8. Solongo, a 7-foot center, made his pledge official the next day. Sander- son's dad and Solongo's legal guard- ian, respectively, Jon Sanderson, joined the Irish as director of men's basketball strength of conditioning May 10. Solongo is ranked No. 234 overall in the Rivals Industry Ranking, but Rivals' scouts hold him in much higher regard at No. 11 among centers and No. 93 overall. He and the younger Sanderson have been teammates since their sophomore year. Their on-court chemistry was evident last season at Nashville (Tenn.) Ensworth while the elder Sanderson worked at Vanderbilt. They will play together again this year at La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere as seniors before joining the Irish in 2026. Off the court, though, their bond is even stronger. "We do everything like brothers," Solongo said. "Always hang out, work out together and everything." "He's not my friend," Sanderson said. "He's my brother." 'LET'S HELP THIS KID OUT' While Jon Sanderson worked at Michigan, where he spent 15 years and reached two Final Fours, 15-year-old Jonathan Sanderson began his AAU ca- reer with Midwest Basketball Club. It was then he first met Solongo, a dual citizen of Mongolia and Ireland, who joined the team around that time. He had just begun playing basketball in 2022 with The Flyght Academy in Day- ton, Ohio, after immigrating from Mon- golia. He had a connection to the Sander- sons through Sharavjamts Tserenjankhar, a former basketball player known as "The Mongolian Shark" who helped bring Solongo to the United States and was his legal guardian at the time. Solongo did not have anywhere to live at that point, and the Sandersons became a candidate to take him in. Jon Sanderson and his wife, Jenn, lived a busy, basket- ball-centric life, with twins who were 12 at the time in addition to Jonathan. But after they met Solongo, they decided to bring him into their home. "Very respectful young man, kind of shy, and we were like, 'Why not?'" Jenn Sanderson, who played college basket- ball at Mercer and coaches with the West Virginia UAA team, said. "Let's help this kid out. Let's give him a place to stay." "Really right away, they welcomed me when I moved in with him," Solongo said. "They treated me like family." Soon after, they realized there wasn't much of a plan for Solongo's future aside from playing AAU basketball. He was not in school. His diet and conditioning habits were not ideal. He needed stability, which he got with the Sandersons. Jenn and Jon spoke with Tseren- jankhar, Solongo and Solongo's mom back in Mongolia, with whom he remains close. They de- cided it was time to shift Solongo's legal guardianship to them. "Everyone in our family was on board," Jenn Sanderson said. "I mean, as soon as you meet him, it's hard not to love him. He's a very, very lovable kid." Solongo, who goes by "Gan" or "Ghana," underwent a drastic change in his lifestyle when he officially joined the family. The Sandersons take diet and condi- tioning seriously — early morn- ing lifts and gym sessions are common — and Solongo badly needed that in his life. Jo n Sa n d e rso n 's i n f l u e n ce a s a strength coach on Jonathan has been apparent for years, and now it was Solongo's turn. He went to every train- ing session, and it wasn't long before they started seeing results. "Physically, he's just transformed," Jenn Sanderson said. "My husband, he does a very good job in the weight room. He's not certified in nutrition, but he knows a ton about it. So, he helped shape him, not just the weight room part, but the diet part as well." Off the court, the Sandersons treat Solongo just like they treat their biolog- ical kids. Jenn Sanderson said that Jona- than's twin siblings, Jillian and Joshua, would also consider Solongo a brother. On the court, Jonathan Sanderson is a lead guard with range who can score and distribute. Solongo, meanwhile, is a rim-running big whose stock is ex- pected to skyrocket. "He's not this 7-foot, heavy-footed, uncoordinated kid," Jenn Sanderson said. "He's got some really nice tools for a 7-footer, but he's raw. From where we got him at 15 years old to where he is now, he's made a vast improvement on the floor with catching the ball, finish- ing around the rim. "He still has a lot of work to do, but the exciting thing about him is he is just starting to scratch the surface." ✦ Rare Bond Led Four-Star 2026 Prospects To Notre Dame MEN'S B A S K E T B A L L Gan-Erdene Solongo (left), a dual citizen of Mongolia and Ireland, was 15 when Jonathan Sanderson's parents became his legal guardians. The duo considers themselves to be brothers and will be attending Notre Dame together in 2026. PHOTO COURTESY THE SANDERSON FAMILY