Gonzaga transfer point guard Braeden Smith commits to Notre Dame

Notre Dame has its point guard. Gonzaga transfer Braeden Smith committed to the Irish, he told On3’s Joe Tipton on Sunday evening.

Notre Dame needed a lead guard to replace the departed Markus Burton, who ran the point during head coach Micah Shrewsberry‘s first three seasons. Smith, who stands 6-foot, averaged 5.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and most notably 3.6 assists in 17.1 minutes per game. He played in 35 games for the Bulldogs last season, starting 18.

Smith joins former Penn wing Ethan Roberts and former Winthrop center Logan Duncomb in Notre Dame’s transfer portal haul thus far. The Irish plan to take one more significant addition, likely a forward or a second wing.

A graduate transfer on his third school, Smith has one year of eligibility remaining after redshirting the 2024-25 season at Gonzaga. Before he joined the Bulldogs he was the Patriot League Player of the Year with Colgate in 2023-24. That season, he averaged 12.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.6 assist per game.

As pure a point guard as pure point guards can be, Smith is first and foremost an elite passer. His assist rate of 30.8 ranked 76th in Division I this past season, according to KenPom. With Colgate three years ago, it ranked 16th at 35.7. His assist-to-turnover ratio was superb this past season too, at over 3 to 1.

He also contributes defensively with steals, ranking 57th in steal rate in his final season at Colgate and 144th last year at Gonzaga.

Smith can score the basketball as well, posting a slash line of 46.7% on field goals, 33.3% on three-pointers (in just 51 attempts) and 80.5% on free throws. His primary job will be setting the table for Notre Dame’s top scorers, who should be some combination of Duncomb, Roberts, senior guard Braeden Shrewsberry and sophomore guard Brady Koehler.

Analytically, Smith rates very well on EvanMiya.com. While On3 rates him as the No. 250 transfer in the 2026 cycle, EvanMiya has him at No. 79. His projected Bayesian Performance Rating for next season, which measures a player’s value to a team when he’s on the floor, is 4.32. That includes a 3.14 mark on offense and a 1.18 rating on defense.

Smith won’t be expected to replace Burton’s scoring output after the Mishawaka native averaged 19.1 points per game throughout his college career. He will be expected to run the show as an experienced point guard and set the table for his teammates.

Smith will compete with incoming freshman Jonathan Sanderson for the starting point guard job when Notre Dame opens its season in Rome, Italy against Villanova.