Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM PRESEASON 2025 77 tionally in pass efficiency defense, first in takeaways with 33, tied for first with 6 defensive touchdowns, 11th in total defense, and tied for fourth in scoring defense. Eight Irish players who Golden coached were selected in the previous two NFL Drafts. Golden was later replaced by 51-year- old Chris Ash, a veteran defensive coach who once served as the head coach at Rutgers and spent the last four years in the NFL. BITTERSWEET RESULTS Some late-season struggles kept the Notre Dame women's basketball team from reaching the ultimate preseason goal of a Final Four appearance. But the Irish still accomplished many of its missions during a 28-6 sea- son (16-2 ACC), the included a share of a conference regular-season title, a fourth straight Sweet 16 appearance un- der head coach Niele Ivey, and a No. 10 ranking in the final AP poll, despite dealing with multiple injuries through most of the season. All-American guard Hannah Hidalgo led the Irish with 23.8 points a game, the second-best mark in the ACC, on a team that produced three WNBA Draft picks — guard Sonia Citron, forward Maddy Westbeld and guard Liatu King. Also, in a surprising post-season twist, star senior guard Olivia Miles an- nounced she was leaving Notre Dame to play her final season at TCU. WELCOME PETE BEVACQUA The 2024-25 sports season was an eventful one for first-year Notre Dame director of athletics Pete Bevacqua, who took over the program when Jack Swarbrick officially retired in April 2024, after 15-plus years on the job. Bevacqua first year was highlighted with a magical run by the Irish football team, as well as two new coaches taking over proud programs — Kris Ganeff in softball and Sheahan in hockey. Bevaqua also navigated two other important hires when he welcomed in Mike Martin as the football GM, and Pat Garrity as the new GM of the Irish men's and women's basketball programs. Martin came to Notre Dame from the Detroit Lions where he served as the director of scouting development. Garrity, a former Irish basketball great, took his new position after work- ing as an NBA administrator. LEADING THE PACK A difficult 15-18 season didn't pro- vide many highlights or headlines for the Irish men's basketball team. But if one player is worth celebrating it was sophomore point guard Markus Burton. Despite missing seven games follow- ing an early season leg injury, Burton returned and ended up leading the ACC in scoring with 23.5 points per game in conference play. Overall, Burton aver- aged 21.3 points per game, which ranked fifth in the country. For his efforts, Burton earned first- team All-ACC honors from the AP and was a second-team selection from the conference coaches. Burton also led Notre Dame with 3.0 assists per game to join legend David Rivers as the only two Irish players in program history to average 20- plus points and 3-plus assists in a season. Irish basketball fans received some good news when Burton announced in April that he would return to Notre Dame in 2025-26 for his junior season. ✦ 2024-25 Top Rookies of the Year 1. Izzy Engle (women's soccer) — The ACC Freshman of the Year scored 19 goals in 22 games — including six multi-goal games and one hat trick — to lead the Irish in scoring. Engle, a midfielder/ forward, also scored 9 goals in her final nine games last season. And for her efforts, the Edina, Minn., native was named the TopDrawerSoccer National Freshman of the Year, a second-team All-American and a 2024 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist, an honor given to the best women's college player in the country. 2. Leonard Moore (football) — Thrust into a full-time starting role midway through last season because of a hip injury to All-America cornerback Benjamin Morrison, Moore shined, played in all 16 games, started 11 times, led the Irish with 11 passes broken up and finished seventh on the team with 48 tackles. The Round Rock, Texas, native also added 2 interceptions and 2 forced fumbles to earn Freshman All-America honors from various outlets, and the National Freshman of the Year Award from the Football Writers Association of America, becoming the first Irish player to ever earn that distinction. 3. Madison Rassas (women's lacrosse) — The rookie midfielder wasted little time making an impact when she scored 5 goals and 8 points in a 20-7 win over Central Michigan in the Irish home opener Feb. 9. It marked the most goals and points ever scored by a Notre Dame freshman in a home opener. The performance served as a launch point for a season that the Sterling, Va., native led the Irish with 29 goals and finished third on the squad with 33 points. 4. Anthonie Knapp (football) — Another Irish football player forced into action because of injury, Knapp inherited the starting left tackle job during training camp when presumed starter Charles Jagusah was lost with a pectoral injury. Knapp steadily improved all season, and played well enough to earn Freshman All- America honors. In 15 starts, the Roswell, Ga., native helped the Irish finish 19th nationally in rushing offense (200.9 yards per game), third in rushing touchdowns (45) and seventh in yards per carry (5.66). 5. Matt Jeffrey (men's lacrosse) — A dual-sport Irish football wide receiver and lacrosse midfielder, Jeffrey scored 7 points and 6 goals — including 2 against Virginia April 12 — in becoming a valuable rotational regular for Notre Dame and the 2025 ACC Freshman of the Year. The Cheshire, Conn., native also scooped up 3 ground balls on the lacrosse team in the spring and appeared in four games for the Notre Dame football team last fall. — Todd D. Burlage Izzy Engle netted a team-high 19 goals and received TopDrawerSoccer National Freshman of the Year and second-team All-America honors. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS