When Cole Serta announced on Monday morning that he intends to leave Notre Dame and enter the Transfer Portal, those around the Fighting Irish believed the exodus was officially over. Then Kyle Getter left for greener pastures (and a promotion) just a few moments after Serta.
Unlike Serta, Getter already has his new landing spot and was even accompanied by an official announcement. The associate head coach under Micah Shrewberry has taken the head coaching job at Cal Baptist.
Cal Baptist will be Getter’s first head coaching job after nearly two decades as an assistant, including three seasons at Notre Dame. The Lancers, who compete in the Western Athletic Conference, had an opening after former head coach Rick Croy left to become the associate head coach at Arizona State.
Cole Serta enters the portal as Kyle Getter leaves Notre Dame basketball for Cal Baptist
Croy led Cal Baptist to its first-ever WAC tournament championship this season. For a time, college basketball fans believed they might be seeing a big first-round upset because the upstart program fell to Kansas 68-60 in the NCAA Tournament.
Prior to Notre Dame, Getter coached at Virginia for five seasons: three as director of recruiting and player development, and two as an assistant coach. He was part of the staff that won the 2019 national championship for the Cavaliers
Serta becomes the third of the "big three" stars for the Fighting Irish basketball team. He joined Markus Burton and Jalen Haralson in announcing his intent to play for a different program now that the Transfer Portal is officially open.
Serta finished the year averaging 12.8 points per game while shooting 36.7% from beyond the arc and an ACC-best 89.2% from the free throw line. His 2.6 made three-pointers per game ranked eighth in the conference, while he closed the season on a nine-game streak of double-digit scoring performances.
The guard emerged as one of the most improved players in the ACC after averaging just 2.5 points per game in his freshman season. As this past season went on, Shrewsberry awarded Serta with more playing time, and the player rewarded Notre Dame with big stats.
With the Transfer Portal now open until April 21, it's unclear just how active Notre Dame and Shrewsberry will be. However, considering the team has lost four players to the portal already, there is a need to add bodies, even if they aren't impact players. The Irish also need to find themselves a new assistant coach.