Irish Freshmen Pivotal in Program Resurgence

Credit for all photos goes to Notre Dame Athletics.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are one of the hottest teams in the ACC and have won their last three conference weekends. On April 13th, following a gut-wrenching walk-off series loss at Boston College, Notre Dame was 16-17 overall and dead last in the ACC with an abysmal 4-14 conference record. Since then, they’ve won 10 of 12 and are playing themselves onto the bubble for the NCAA Tournament.

A big reason for Notre Dame’s success has come from their freshman class, who account for nearly 20% of their innings pitched and a third of their at-bats on the season. On Opening Weekend in Mid February at North Florida, head coach Shawn Stiffler started four freshmen in the lineup and used two first year arms out of the bullpen. Notre Dame has had to be patient, but they’ve recruited and developed a young core that has the opportunity to be special.

After making the College World Series in 2022 and losing former head coach Link Jarrett to Florida State, the Irish have been busy rebuilding. Unlike other schools, Notre Dame doesn’t have the ability to reload immediately by signing a slew of veteran transfers to replace departed players. Instead, the coaching staff has focused on finding the right players and developing them into program cornerstones. . 

When Shawn Stiffler was hired in mid-July of 2022 to replace Jarrett, he and his staff were well behind in the recruiting process. As they evaluated their recruiting options, they decided to punt on the 2023 recruiting class after concluding that it would be extremely difficult to sign the caliber of student and athlete they wanted to bring to Notre Dame in the time they had.  

“We got here so late in the process,” Stiffler said, “that the type of student athlete and the type of player in that ‘23 class that we felt like we could get here was just going to be really, really tough to bring in. And so we started with the ‘24 class.”

Stiffler and his coaches got to work early on identifying their targets. They started by focusing on bringing in good players from the Midwest who could handle the travel and weather that comes from being a northern college baseball program. Stiffler’s recruiting team looked for three-sport athletes with high drive and exceptional academics.

The 2024 freshman class consists of 15 players. 11 of them come from traditional Midwest states such as Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio. All 15 were multi-sport athletes and brilliant high school students with AP course loads. They’re a diverse group of team-first athletes that have rejuvenated the program.    

In addition to the aforementioned traits, Stiffler prioritized young men who were willing to make a true commitment to the program for the long haul. 

“At Notre Dame, it's going to start with the person,” Stiffler said. “We have to be recruiting a type of person who wants to be a part of this university and understands that this is a 40-year decision– not a one-year decision or a four-year decision.”

The Irish have ended up with high-character freshmen that enjoy working hard and challenging themselves. As the season has worn on, they’ve gained confidence and displayed mettle in the midst of the ACC slog. While Stiffler was able to bring in kids with similar traits, the personalities vary and each brings a different flavor to the table. 

Bino Watters has started 43 of Notre Dame’s 45 games and is slashing .317/.436/.549 with 19 extra base hits while hitting at the top of the order. A former high school infielder, Watters has had to learn how to play the outfield on the fly, something made difficult after he missed a large part of the fall due to a knee injury. While he’s a fantastic student, his mind is never far from the game of baseball and the art of hitting in particular.  

Freshman Bino Watters prepares to swing in a game against Cal in late April. Photo Credit: Notre Dame Athletics.

“Bino is that guy that's thinking about hitting right now,” Stiffler said. “I don't know where he is, but if he's in calc class, he's thinking about hitting. Bino will ask me scouting report questions on Sunday about a guy we're facing Wednesday. He can’t stand to not be prepared.”

While Bino is stocky and clean-cut, starting first baseman Parker Brzustewicz is lankier with blonde hair that sometimes has a mind of its own. Coach Stiffler said he once described it as “two squirrels fighting in the top of his head.” Brzustewicz is laid back and even-keeled, never allowing his emotions to get too high or too low. That’s helped his middle-of-the-order bat slash .287/.402/.357 on the season.      

“Through the early part of the year, you could sit there and say that Bino and Parker probably felt like they had to carry us a little bit offensively, the way we were going,” Stiffler said. “And they were the only two guys hitting over 300. That's tough for a freshman to have to play in this league, but to have your name circled by the other team before you even show up, that’s unusual.”

Watters and Brzustewicz have known each other most of their lives, growing up together in the town of Rochester Hills, Michigan and playing in the same organization as kids. They live just five minutes from each other and became even closer once each made their commitment to Notre Dame. Over their final year and a half of high school, the pair would spend time together hitting in the cages and building chemistry.

Establishing a recruiting base in the Midwest where most of this freshman class resided was beneficial in building chemistry prior to stepping on campus. 

Outfielder Jayce Lee, who might be the most athletic of the group, knew of fellow recruits well before they arrived in South Bend, allowing him to get to know his future teammates while they were all still in high school.

“I had a bond with Bino even before we got to campus,” Lee said, “just envisioning what we could do was something he and I were always talking about.” 

Lee has established himself as the fourth outfielder and played in 32 games this year. With graduate transfer Jared Zimbardo out injured, Lee has seen increased playing time. He’s made the most of that opportunity with several big hits and a handful of defensive web-gems. 

Notre Dame Freshman Jayce Lee makes a sliding catch against North Florida in February. Credit: Notre Dame Athletics.

Jayce is a 6’4”, 196 pound local kid who lights up every room he’s in. He’s quick with a smile and a laugh. The gregarious slugger is the type of person who is comfortable in any group and eager to make new friends. And as Lee grew up in South Bend, he’s the go to for restaurant recommendations and directions for his teammates. 

Noah Coy, who started Opening Weekend at second base but saw his playing time decrease with the emergence of Connor Hincks’ success, was described as a future team captain by Stiffler. In an attempt to get Coy more playing time, Stiffler hinted that we could see him at third base in the near future.

On the pitching side, Brady Koester, Kellan Klosterman, and Chase Van Ameyde have all contributed big innings in high leverage situations for the Irish. All three are Midwest kids with high upside. Van Ameyde, the son of Michigan State pitching coach Mark Van Ameyde, is a sidearmer that grew up in Michigan near Brzustewicz and Watters.

Perhaps the loudest personality on the team is freshman pitcher Oisin Lee, a 6’6” right-hander from Newton, Massachusetts. A first-generation American, Oisin is the son of two Irish immigrants. His big personality is a result of a mixture between his Irish heritage and his suburban Boston upbringing. His entire extended family still resides in Ireland and while he did consider other schools, Notre Dame always suited Oisin and his heritage best.

While most of the impact freshmen made their debuts on Opening Weekend, Oisin did not take the mound until their first ACC game at Wake Forest. Since then, the right-hander has been one of Stiffler’s most often used arms, making 13 appearances on the year with 21 strikeouts over 15 innings pitched. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and lets it loose on the mound after a big out.  

“Oisin is just a wild man,” Coach Stiffler said with a smile. “He’s making everyone laugh. He's got the antics on the mound that, that, that are genuine. That's what I love about Oisin as so much in the game is scripted now whereas with Oisin, the joy you see is the joy of two immigrants whose son is at Notre Dame achieving.”

In addition to being described as the class clown by teammates, Oisin is laid back and relaxed amongst his friends. On the mound, however, he’s a different person with an intense bulldog mentality that enjoys challenging the league’s best hitters.

“Once I cross that line, I just want to do everything that I can do for us to win,” Oisin said. “That's the only thing that's on my mind. A key moment from a Clemson game, when I came into the game in the 8th inning  and I didn't know who I was going to face. Then I saw Cam Cannarella coming up. I  just smiled to myself because I knew I was going to give him my best stuff, he’s going to give me his best stuff, and we'll see who wins from there. I just love competing.”

In that game on March 14th, Oisin Lee struck out the side in order with the Irish trailing by just a single run in the 8th inning. While Notre Dame was unable to score in the 9th and tie the game, the high leverage success Lee experienced was pivotal in his emergence as a key arm in the bullpen. Oisin also credited the team chemistry for their early success as a group.

This class is exceptionally close which pays dividends within the team chemistry as a whole. Both Stiffler and the players credited Notre Dame’s Summer Bridge program, which is an eight-week academic course over the summer that all freshman baseball players are required to take. Other athletes, including the prestigious football team, take the course as well.

The recruiting class, which had been developing a bond even before united on campus, were now thrust together essentially 24/7 for eight weeks. They lived together, they attended the same classes together, and they trained together. There were 6 AM weight lifting sessions and going out for dinner, followed by evening sessions hitting in the cages.  

“For [eight] weeks, it's really just them, the baseball field, the training room, the weight room and academics,” Stiffler said. “They developed a very, very tight bond. I don't even think I realized how close these guys are.”

That team chemistry, along with Stiffler’s plan to give the freshmen plenty of playing time, has allowed the Irish to weather an up-and-down season. 

“They're our first recruiting class, right?” Stiffler explained. “That's where the importance started with me. And I said from the moment they set foot on campus, there was going to be a commitment to playing them and to getting them in there and letting them get their feet wet.”

Notre Dame started the season with an 8-1 non-conference record, winning road games over North Florida, Stetson, and Belmont. They beat the Big 10 leaders in Iowa at a neutral site in extra innings.

Watters, Brzustewicz, and Jayce Lee all checked in with their first collegiate hits on Opening Weekend in their second game of the season, a 19-6 run-rule victory over North Florida. The trio each had a multi-hit game while Watters hit his first collegiate home run as well. Kellan Klosterman tossed a scoreless 7th inning to finish the game and from there, the freshmen were off and running.     

“I was really nervous going on my first at bat,” Brzustewicz said of his first career start. “And then my second at bat, got a single and obviously it meant a lot to me to have both of my parents there for that.”

The Irish began ACC play at Wake Forest on March 7th and had yet to play a home game in South Bend. They entered the game riding an 0-15 road ACC losing streak but looked poised to end that after their strong non-conference start. Over their first five conference games at Wake and Clemson, Notre Dame never led as their losing streak extended to 20 straight road losses. 

The losing streak was snapped on March 16th with a 7-3 win over #4 Clemson to avoid an 0-6 ACC start. Watters, Brzustewicz, and Jayce Lee all played in that crucial win while upperclassmen pitchers Rory Fox, Rickey Reeth, and Tobey McDonough combined for 6.2 one run innings against the Tigers.

“That game [against Clemson] really showed us that we can be one of these teams that can compete in the ACC,” Brzustewicz said. “We don't have to sit at the bottom all the time and get swept. That game proved it to us. Getting that first win after so many losses and watching all the seniors celebrate because they couldn't do it last year, it was just a big [team moment] for me.”

It wasn’t yet a turnaround point for the team as Notre Dame were swept by Georgia Tech at home to start conference play 1-8. They then nearly earned upset series wins against Florida State and Virginia Tech, before a heartbreaking walk off loss on the road at Boston College left them 4-14 and last in the ACC. 

Notre Dame may have snapped their road losing streak earlier in the season at Clemson, but the Irish still hadn’t won a road conference series since April 7th, 2023 when they won two games at Pittsburgh. Over two years later, on April 19th, 2025, Notre Dame clinched a road ACC series win over Stanford in Palo Alto with an emphatic 11-0 run-rule victory in seven innings. But the Irish weren’t satisfied– they wanted a sweep.

While Carson Tinney enjoyed the weekend performance of a lifetime, it was Bino Watters who ended up the hero following a go-ahead two run blast that ultimately clinched the series sweep for Notre Dame and sparked this hot stretch of wins. 

“To do it for my team, even though I hadn't been producing all weekend was something that I'll cherish forever,” Watters said of his favorite individual moment.

“We were down one,” Jayce Lee said of Bino’s season changing home run. “And the dugout was deflating a little bit. We realized that we could be a team and that was just a big moment for us.”

The Irish have gone on to sweep Cal at home and earn a series upset over #17 Louisville. At 12-15 in the conference, the Irish have an uphill battle to climb if they want to make the NCAA Tournament. They host Bowling Green in a non-conference tilt this weekend before a final midweek against Eastern Michigan. They cannot afford to lose a single one of those games. And they’ll have to pull off another upset– this time on the road– over a scorching Miami team that has won five straight conference weekends. 

Even that may not be enough to get Notre Dame into the postseason, but the blueprint for the future is there as the Irish expect to return all of these key freshmen plus star sophomores Carson Tinney, Davis Johnson, Jack Radel, and DJ Helwig. And the boys cannot wait.

“All of us are excited,” Brzustewicz said. “It’s one thing to do it with a team that you're not really close with, but the best part is doing it with some of your best friends. I met [some of] them less than a year ago and can already say that they're some of my best friends in my life. It's even better when the on-field successes are with your best  friends. We’re just such a tight knit group on the field and off the field.”

“We all played in the Wake Forest series,” Jayce Lee said, referencing Notre Dame’s opening conference series. “Coming into that atmosphere and seeing what ACC baseball is about is something you can't really imagine unless you're in it. Having that under our belt coming into next year and knowing the arms we're going to see…I mean, we already performed at this level this year and having that built-in confidence inherently is going to build success heading into next year.”

Shawn Stiffler went 57-49 over his first two seasons in South Bend while waiting for his first true recruiting class. While he’s coached the likes of talented players like Estevan Moreno, Jack Penney, and Matt Bedford, he hasn’t had the opportunity to develop his own hand picked recruits until now, with the exception of a small sophomore class that includes slugger Tinney and ace Radel.    

“Now, we have the ability for a player like Carson Tinney, who has the ability to be the National Hitter of the Week every week,” Stiffler said. “Bino Watters has the ability to come up in the ninth and hit a game tying or a game winning home run. We just didn't have that before, we didn't have that player in our program. They're in our program now.”

Now that Stiffler has the core that his team needs, it’s up to his coaching staff to develop them and give them opportunities to succeed while recruiting more of the right players to join the program. The coaching staff has had to remain patient and keep one eye on the future, and their vision is starting to pay off. It’s taken a few years, but Notre Dame baseball is trending upwards with a talented core and more reinforcements on the way.  . 

“Everybody else is building a team,” Stiffler said. “We have to build a program.”