Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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38 SUMMER 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY TYLER JAMES T he roster overhaul for Notre Dame men's basketball wrapped up in late April after the Irish landed commit- ments from five transfer portal addi- tions. That quintet, plus an incoming freshman class of four, will be asked to replace the significant production lost to the transfer portal (six players) and exhausted eligibility (three players). Perhaps the most important portal addition for the Irish was the first one: Winthrop center Logan Duncomb. The 6-foot-10 Duncomb will enter his final season of eligibility with the Irish after a breakout season at Winthrop. Duncomb became the 2026 Big South Conference Player of the Year while averaging 18.3 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. Duncomb, who was a consensus top-100 prospect and four-star re- cruit in the 2021 class, finally started to scratch his potential in his fifth season of college basketball after stops at In- diana and Xavier. Duncomb will walk right into the starting lineup for Notre Dame and give the Irish a much differ- ent offensive look in the paint than for- ward Carson Towt, who is pursuing an NFL career with the Indianapolis Colts. Duncomb can generate his own shot in the paint and works well in screen-and- roll actions. He shot 60.0 percent from the field and 73.5 percent from the free throw line last season, but his defense won't be a strength. "He is a proven, physical presence who dominated this season en route to earning Big South Player of the Year honors," Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry said in a release following Duncomb's signing. "He's a high-motor big who can score in a variety of ways. His toughness, production, and com- petitiveness are exactly what we want in our program." The presence of Duncomb will allow Notre Dame to keep sophomore-to-be Brady Koehler in a more natural forward role and ease Tommy Ahneman into a backup center role after he missed his freshman season with a left knee injury. Notre Dame's primary point guard next season will look a lot different than what the Irish have seen the past few seasons with Markus Burton, who transferred to Indiana, and Jalen Ha- ralson, who transferred to Tennessee. Gonzaga graduate transfer Braeden Smith will be much more focused on creating for others than creating his own looks. The 6-foot Smith dished nearly as many assists (127) as the num- ber of shots he took from the field (137) as a role player for Gonzaga last season. Smith, who spent the last two seasons at Gonzaga after being named the 2024 Patriot League Player of the Year as a sophomore at Colgate, redshirted his first season at Gonzaga before winning the starting point guard role at the out- set of the 2025-26 season. He started 18 games but ended up losing that role to 6-4 freshman Mario Saint-Supéry for the West Coast Conference champions. Smith ended last season with averages of 5.1 points and 3.6 assists in 35 games. If incoming freshman point guard Jonathan Sanderson, whom Rivals ranks as the No. 12 point guard and No. 91 overall player in the 2026 class, outper- forms Smith, the veteran transfer could lose a starting role again. But there's less pressure on Sanderson to make an immediate impact as a starter because of Smith's veteran presence. Penn graduate transfer Ethan Roberts will likely earn a starting spot as a third guard/wing. Roberts, who grew up a Notre Dame fan, scored 16.9 points per game last season at Penn while earning second-team All-Ivy League honors. He played the past two seasons with the Quakers after stops at Army and Drake. Throughout Roberts' college career, he's been able to shoot from deep. He made 39.2 percent of his three-point attempts (158 of 403) at Army and Penn. He'll be asked to replace the shooting lost when Cole Certa transferred out of Notre Dame to join ACC foe Clemson. "Ethan is going to be a great addi- tion to our program," Shrewsberry said in a release following Roberts' sign- ing. "He's a good shooter, but also can score in different ways. He'll bring some added versatility to our team on the of- fensive end. He's also a great teammate who will add more leadership, competi- tiveness and toughness to our group." The 6-5 Roberts will be challenged to guard at the power conference level. The final two pieces in Notre Dame's transfer portal class will likely be bench players: Rutgers forward Bryce Dortch and Davidson guard Devin Brown. Both should lean into their defensive value to earn more playing time. The 6-9 Dortch averaged 2.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 31 games as a sophomore at Rutgers last season. He'll be asked to play behind Koehler but could play alongside him if the Irish want more size on the court defensively. The 6-6 Brown started 27 games and played in all 34 for Davidson as a true freshman last season. He averaged 6.4 points and 3.4 rebounds per game and was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team. Brown will likely work into the mix behind Roberts and senior guard Braeden Shrewsberry. ✦ How New Pieces Fit Notre Dame's Roster MEN'S B A S K E T B A L L Logan Duncomb, a 6-10 center who was the 2026 Big South Conference Player of the Year for Winthrop after averaging 18.3 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, was Notre Dame's top addi- tion in the transfer portal. PHOTO COURTESY WINTHROP ATHLETICS