Notre Dame basketball hosting veteran transfer forward as part of rebuild

Now that the Notre Dame basketball season is over, Micah Shrewsberry is working on building for the 2024-25 season. One step in that direction is getting a few more veterans on the roster for next season. 

One veteran that the Fighting Irish are trying to add is former UMASS forward Josh Cohen. Because the transfer portal moves fast, Notre Dame is moving faster. Shrewsberry is hosting Cohen in South Bend this coming week, according to On3’s Jack Soble.

Cohen coming to town is the first official transfer visitor of the new cycle. Though he’s not the first that the Notre Dame basketball program has reached out to. He’s not even the first big man that the Irish have apparently contacted.

That Cohen is the first on campus, might mean that there is a bit of a dash to the finish line when it comes to finding a big man that can step in and take over for the next campaign. Of course, considering how shorthanded the Notre Dame basketball team was in 2023-24, it’s possible that Shrewsberry would be willing to bring more than one transfer at the position.

Notre Dame basketball hosting big transfer target

When Josh Cohen does land at his new school this offseason, it will be his third team in three years. 

He started his college basketball career with Saint Francis. It’s not as though he’s someone who bails at the drop of a hat, as he did spend his first four seasons there. On the other hand, he jumped ship after a career-best season where he averaged 21.8 points and 8.3 rebounds.

Last year for UMASS, he saw a slight dropoff in scoring, though showed that he could still be very successful for a bigger program. Cohen averaged 15.9 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this past season.

With the Notre Dame basketball getting little offense from its power forward position, it’s not exactly a surprise why they’re going after Josh Cohen.