The future of Notre Dame men’s basketball might not feel bright with the product the Irish put on the court in the last week with losses at Miami and Florida State.
But head coach Micah Shrewsberry signed reinforcements in the 2025 recruiting class in November in the form of a four-man class consisting of four four-star recruits and one three-star recruit that’s ranked No. 12 in the country by Rivals. Arguably no one in that class is more important than four-star small forward Jalen Haralson, who is ranked No. 17 overall in the 2025 class by Rivals.
Haralson, a 6-foot-7, 205-pound senior at La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere, remains optimistic about the future as Notre Dame’s in the middle of a 10-12 season in Shrewberry’s second year leading the program.
“We have a team that can really go far next year,” Haralson told WSBT’s Bennett Wise in an interview last month. “We have a team that’s young. Guys that are really connected, that care about each other. Guys that want to see each other win. That's the community that I love to be a part of. I just can't wait to get down there in South Bend and start our run.”
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Haralson, who has a higher overall ranking than any Notre Dame signee since Rivals started doing so in the 2003 class, is expected to play more of a guard role at Notre Dame where he can score, distribute and take advantage of his size. The Irish lack his size at guard where Markus Burton (6-0), Braeden Shrewsberry (6-4) and Matt Allocco (6-4) are Notre Dame’s typical starters. Freshman Sir Mohammed (6-6), who made his first career start last night, is the closest to Haralson in size. That’s a big reason why 6-9 forward Tae Davis is asked to do so much ball-handling for the Irish.
Davis, who is ND’s second-leading scorer at 15.5 points per game, emerged as a scoring threat while Burton was sidelined with a knee injury this season. Burton has returned to form in averaging 20.5 points per game. Braeden Shrewsberry is averaging 14.3 points as a streaky 3-point shooter.
Haralason is ready to soak up their experience.
“It’s very exciting,” Haralson said. “Seeing what Markus has done throughout his career, seeing what Braeden has done throughout his career, seeing what Coach Shrews has done throughout his career. Just being a part of that, learning from those guys every day, learning from Coach Shrews, learning from the guards, even the big men — it's everybody in the program. Learning from those guys, taking nuggets from everybody. Coach Shrews has already taught me a lot, and I haven't even gotten there yet.”
Four-star forwards Brady Koehler and Ryder Frost and three-star center Tommy Ahneman joined Haralson in ND’s class. They all committed to the Irish in September after visiting campus around football games before signing in November.
“We’ve got one of the best recruiting classes in the country,” Haralson said. “It’s well built. We’ve got shooters, guys that are good in the low post. Overall, I feel like we’ve got the best recruiting class in the country. Guys that care about each other. We’re in constant communication with each other. We're very close. It’s gonna show on the court next year.”
Haralson started at Fishers (Ind.) High in his first two seasons of high school basketball. He averaged 16.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game as a freshman and 23.4 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists as a sophomore. Then Haralson transferred to La Lumiere, a boarding and day school in Northwest Indiana that’s become a basketball powerhouse in the last 15 years. La Lumiere plays a national schedule and has produced NBA players such as Jaren Jackson, Jordan Poole, Isaiah Stewart and Jaden Ivey.
Head coach Pat Holmes, a Notre Dame graduate and former student manager of the Irish men’s basketball program, has been coaching at the school since 2014 and took over the program in 2017. He sees Haralson as an ideal fit for Shrewsberry’s program at Notre Dame.
“He's a versatile playmaker that makes guys around him better,” Holmes told WSBT. “He's all about winning, the ultimate team guy. As Coach Shrewsberry and those guys start building that program and it keeps getting better and better every year, and keeps getting guys that fit the program, he's a Notre Dame guy. Great student, great kid, all about being a team player. He's going to do whatever is needed for the team to be successful.
“He can be a primary ball handler for you and help facilitate. He can be off the ball and kind of go score some points for you and go rebound. Defensively, he can guard all over the floor at the high school level, and collegiately he can guard point guard all the way up through power forwards depending on who they're playing. A high IQ guy that's always about winning and is always going to make the right play.”
The culture at Notre Dame played a major role in Haralson’s decision to commit to the Irish. It’s a culture he found in the basketball program, around the athletic department and the university. He even had conversations with ND football coach Marcus Freeman about it.
“Coach Freeman, he's well connected with me and given me great advice moving forward,” Haralson said. “The culture, the family. It's a great academic school. It's a community that I want to be a part of.”
That Notre Dame was in Haralson’s home state of Indiana didn’t hurt the Irish.
“I wouldn’t say a big factor,” Haralson said. “I want to do what’s best for my development. I’ll say it was a plus. If Notre Dame was in North Dakota, I still would have looked at it.”
Haralson might not be the best player on his own high school team. Senior guard Darius Adams, who signed with UConn, is rated as a five-star prospect and ranked as No. 15 overall in the 2025 class by Rivals. But that’s the kind of talent required to play against La Lumiere’s schedule.
Haralson should be well prepared for the transition to college basketball.
“That's our goal with our basketball program,” Holmes said. “We’re a little bit different, because we can go against kids from all over the United States, and we have nine seniors, six of which are committed to Division I schools. Our practices are super competitive, and it's trying to help him and all of these guys get ready for college. The conference schedule we play, you're competing against high major players every single day.
“Is it college basketball? No. But helping these guys be a little bit more prepared for what's ahead of them is our goal. He's going to have a leg up on maybe some of his peers that may have matriculated from a traditional high school setting. Nothing against those. It's just hard to get that kind of competition every single day in practices and games.”
Notre Dame will likely find a role for Haralson immediately next season.
“The main thing is just stay ready,” Haralson said of Micah Shrewsberry’s message to him. “Obviously, I know the pressure it is for me as the highest-ranked recruit in Notre Dame history. I know that there will be some expectations with that. He’s telling me constantly put in the work, because it's going to show. That's the main thing: just put in the work because it’s gonna show.”
*WSBT is the TV partner of Inside ND Sports. Interviews by WSBT's Bennett Wise were used to write this story.
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