Next Friday, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball team will officially start its season amid high hopes that Shawn Stiffler's squad will finally be a contender for the postseason.
One of the big reasons why ND is expected to be better than it has in years is thanks to Friday Night Starter Jack Radel. He's got a live arm with Major League type velocity. This winter, he's been logging 95-97 mph on his fastball. He also logged a very good 2025, especially later in the season, posting a 7-4 record, a 3.58 ERA, and 60 strikeouts across 70.1 innings, while holding opposing hitters to a .218 average.
"What I do like is we feel very, very confident when Jack takes the mound on Friday nights," Stiffler said recently in previewing the Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball season. "We're going to be as good as anybody in the country."
Micah Shrewsberry is open to Notre Dame signing G-Leaguers
While there's been a lot of backlash about schools signing players who have experience in professional basketball, however, don't count Micah Shrewsberry among those who would shy away from signing one, should he become available.
During a conference call last month, Shrewberry said he wouldn't look for such a player during the season, but "that's probably a conversation for the offseason. But I'm open to good players."
More Notre Dame Fighting Irish news
- The Notre Dame football team has officially announced that the 95th edition of the Blue-Gold Game will be on Saturday, April 25, 2026, at 2 p.m. in Notre Dame Stadium. The event will be broadcast live on Peacock. Tickets for the contest start at just $10 and are now available for purchase online here.
- CJ Carr is getting a lot of love this winter and for good reason, as Greg McElroy pointed out. The analyst believes that Carr coming back, and allowing Notre Dame not have to work at getting a QB comfortable this fall, paired with Mike Denbrock calling plays, is why the Irish could be the best team in the country.
- The Notre Dame women's basketball team hasn't had the kind of season it hoped it would. However, Hannah Hidalgo & Co. are getting the ship righted. On Thursday night, they won their second straight, topping Virginia Tech 80-70. On Sunday, they'll get to really show if they've got things figured out against Virginia, who is 16-7 on the season and 8-4 in the ACC.
- The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are ramping up 2027 recruiting now that the 2026 class is locked in, and that included an offer to 4-star receiver Cade Cooper. Cooper was quite excited and impressed to receive an offer from ND, saying, "It’s definitely a big offer for me."