Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM SEPT. 27, 2025 49 BY TODD D. BURLAGE W yatt Lewis freely admits that his time at Notre Dame has brought him more joy and opportunities than he could've ever imagined, even if his jour- ney didn't always follow script. From a non-roster, practice-only player as an Irish freshman in 2022, to a walk-on rotational regular as a sopho- more in 2023, to a scholarship starter as a junior in 2024, to a senior team captain in 2025, the growth for Lewis in the Irish soccer program has been remarkable. "I worked very hard just to become a part of the team," Lewis said of his journey. "And then to have the guys rec- ognize me and make a me a captain, it means so much." Lewis, who is a junior eligibility-wise, has always been a gifted player. He grew up in the St. Louis area and played at the elite Scott Gallagher academy near his home, always hoping to someday play at Notre Dame because of the balance of great athletics and challenging academ- ics the school provided. A couple of summer camp visits to campus years ago put Lewis on Notre Dame's radar. But when a back injury sidelined Lewis for his high school se- nior year, the only path for him into the university was as a student. "I was very disappointed and frus- trated during that time," Lewis shared about falling off the recruiting radar. Undeterred, Lewis applied to Notre Dame as a student only, was accepted, and arrived on campus in the fall of 2022. Familiar with Lewis, Irish head coach Chad Riley made his rookie midfielder a practice-only player, then saw enough talent to offer him a walk-on roster spot as a sophomore in 2023. And the rest, as they say, is history. Lewis played in 20 matches as a soph- omore backup, and tallied 1 goal and 3 assists. He earned a scholarship and a starting spot before his junior year in 2024. And now, he's become a valuable team member both on the pitch and in the locker room. "Wyatt Lewis embodies the ideals of a true Notre Dame student-athlete," Riley said. "He is an outstanding student, a gifted soccer player and an exceptional teammate." As a midfielder who is more responsi- ble for distributing than scoring, Lewis will never stuff the stat sheet in the same way some of his teammates will. In 42 career games, Lewis has posted 3 goals and 4 assists. But a willingness to do the thankless work hasn't gone unno- ticed by his coaches and teammates. "My belief has always been that you never want to ask someone to do some- thing that you wouldn't do yourself," Lewis explained. "So I think that it's really important doing things like helping to pick up after practice, being willing to do the dirty work in games. Not necessarily the things that you dreamed about doing when you were a kid, but the little things that can actually help you win games." From a long shot to even land a roster spot, to scholarship starter, to team captain, Lewis has taken an inspiring career route during his time at Notre Dame. And he wouldn't change a thing. "Notre Dame has been everything I had hoped it would be, and then some," Lewis said. "And now, being a captain, I look at this honor as being a role model and being an active team leader. And that all embodies what a member of the program should be and needs to be." ✦ Soccer's Wyatt Lewis 'Embodies The Ideals' Of Notre Dame N O T R E D A M E S P O R T S Lewis, who was sidelined by a back injury as a high school senior, began his Irish career as a non-roster, practice-only player, earned a walk-on role as a sophomore, became a scholarship player as a junior and was voted a team captain by his teammates as a senior. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME ATHLETICS Irish Roundup MEN'S GOLF Placed first out of 11 squads with a 35-under-par team score of 829, 10 strokes ahead of runner-up Michi- gan, in the Canadian Collegiate Invitational Sept. 14-16 at Foot's Bay, Ontario. MEN'S SOCCER (3-1-2 OVERALL, 1-0-0 ACC) Opened ACC play with a 2-0 victory at Pitt Sept. 12 … Picked up a 3-1 victory over Omaha Sept. 16 in Alumni Stadium. WOMEN'S GOLF Finished in eighth out of 12 teams with a 66-over-par team score of 918 at the Inverness Intercollegiate Sept. 15-16 in Toledo, Ohio. WOMEN'S SOCCER (7-0-1 OVERALL, 2-0-0 ACC) No. 6 Notre Dame knocked off No. 3 Duke 3-2 Sept. 18 at Alumni Stadium. VOLLEYBALL (3-3 OVERALL, 0-0 ACC) Picked up a 3-0 win at Colorado State Sept. 12 and then blanked East Texas A&M 3-0 Sept. 13, with both matches taking place in Fort Collins, Colo.