A very active recruiting period is coming to a close, and the Notre Dame football team consistently made national headlines for the boatload of talent it was able to draw into its class of 2026. Then, for good measure it added one of the best players out there for the 2027 class.
The latest praise for the Fighting Irish came courtesy of ESPN, which lauded Marcus Freeman and his staff for putting together an elite haul throughout the month of June. And the Irish aren't done.
ESPN names Notre Dame a June recruiting winner top-tier commitments
“Three ESPN commitments over the past 30 days made June a high-quality, low-volume month for Notre Dame,” Eli Lederman wrote. “The Irish beat out Michigan, Oregon and Penn State for No. 2 overall cornerback Khary Adams on June 20, then edged the Ducks, Nittany Lions and Clemson for safety Joey O'Brien hours later, forming the foundation of the program's 2026 defensive back class, which also includes top-200 safety Ayden Pouncey. Adams, No. 28 overall, is Notre Dame's top-ranked commit in the cycle following the latest update to the 2026 ESPN 300.”
ESPN also singled out one of the team’s latest commitments as a big reason why they got mentioned as one of the winners of June.
“No. 5 overall tight end Ian Premer's commitment marked the latest bit of recruiting momentum in South Bend. If Premer signs later this year, he'll be the program's highest-ranked tight end addition since Cane Berrong in the 2021 cycle, and Notre Dame likely isn't done adding pass catchers, with wide receivers Kaydon Finley, Devin Fitzgerald and Brayden Robinson set to announce commitments later this week.”
The Notre Dame football team will try and make themselves winners in July as well and there’s at least a few indications they could do just that.