Notre Dame guard Robby Carmody commits to Mercer as graduate transfer
Three weeks after he entered the transfer portal, former Notre Dame guard Robby Carmody announced Monday his graduate transfer destination: Mercer.
Carmody was one of three Irish players to enter the portal on March 13, the first day it opened for Division I men’s basketball. All three have found new homes with freshman guard JJ Starling picking Syracuse and freshman forward Dom Campbell heading to Howard.
The post-Mike Brey exodus has left new head coach Micah Shrewsberry with four scholarship players remaining from last season’s roster: junior forward Matt Zona, junior guard Tony Sanders Jr., sophomore guard J.R. Konieczny and freshman forward Ven-Allen Lubin.
Graduate senior guard Cormac Ryan could return to Notre Dame for his final season of eligibility, but he both entered the transfer portal and declared for the NBA Draft on March 24. Returning to Notre Dame could be his third-favorite option from that bunch.
The loss of Carmody was expected following a Notre Dame career marred by injury. The fact that the 6-foot-4 Carmody played at all this past season — he clocked 18 minutes in six games with one made free throw — was a bit of a surprise.
Carmody had season-ending shoulder surgery as a freshman, season-ending knee surgery as a sophomore, and another season-ending knee surgery before his junior season began. When Carmody played in one game in March 2022, it ended an absence that stretched back to early December 2019.
Notre Dame signed Carmody as a Mars (Pa.) Area product ranked by Rivals as the No. 22 shooting guard and No. 91 overall in the 2018 class. His younger brother, Michael, is battling for Notre Dame football’s starting left guard spot entering his senior season in 2023.
Notre Dame will add three-star point guard Markus Burton, the lone Irish signee to stick with Notre Dame through the transition from Brey to Shrewsberry. Burton, who Rivals ranks No. 28 at his position and No. 131 overall in the 2023 class, has embraced the opportunity to play close to home for Shrewsberry. Burton led Indiana in scoring with 30.3 points per game as a senior at nearby Mishawaka (Ind.) Penn. He also averaged 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 3.8 steals while listed at 5-10.
Shrewsberry also revealed at his introductory press conference that his oldest son, Braeden Shrewsberry, will follow him to Notre Dame. The younger Shrewsberry previously signed to play for his father at Penn State as a three-star recruit in the 2023 class. Rivals ranks the 6-2 Shrewsberry as the No. 39 shooting guard in the 2023 class. He averaged 17.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game last season.
Penn State’s recruiting class and roster could offer more reinforcements for the Irish. The other two Penn State signees in the 2023 class — four-star forward Carey Booth and three-star guard Logan Imes — have also requested their National Letter of Intent release and five Penn State players — freshman forward Kebba Njie, freshman forward Evan Mahaffey, freshman guard Jameel Brown, junior forward Caleb Dorsey and junior guard Dallion Johnson — have entered the transfer portal in the last three weeks.
Notre Dame will need to be active in the transfer portal market to complete its 2023-24 roster. It remains to be seen if the Irish will be able to rely on underclassmen transfers to help Shrewsberry’s transition.
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