Notre Dame freshman forward Brady Koehler plans to remain with program

The glimpses of a promising basketball future for freshman Brady Koehler started to become more frequent at the end of Notre Dame’s 2025-26 season.

The 6-foot-10, 205-pound forward started the final 13 games of the season and averaged 7.1 points and 4.7 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game during that stretch. Koehler will continue to try to reach his potential at Notre Dame. He provided the first positive news of the offseason for the Irish men’s basketball program when it announced Saturday his return for the 2026-27 season.

Three Notre Dame players — sophomore guard Sir Mohammed, sophomore forward Garrett Sundra and freshman forward Ryder Frost — have already expressed their plans to enter the transfer portal, which opens April 7 and will stay open for two weeks. That Koehler won’t be joining them is a big win for Notre Dame.

Koehler replaced Sundra in ND’s starting lineup after logging a career-high 17 points in a road loss to Virginia Tech. The younger forward finished the season averaging 16.0 minutes, 5.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.

What made Koehler so valuable for the Irish was his ability to impact the game in a number of ways. He shot 50.7% on two-point shots (35-of-69), 38.2% on 3-pointers (21-of-55) and 73.9% from the free throw line (34-of-46). He led the Irish in blocks (22) with as many as Sundra and starting forward Carson Towt combined. Koehler also tied Towt and junior guard Logan Imes with a team-high 20 steals.

Koehler, who shares a high school alma mater with Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry, signed with the Irish as part of a star-studded 2025 class. The Indianapolis Cathedral product was ranked as the No. 15 power forward and No. 78 overall in the 2025 class in the Rivals Industry Rankings.

Koehler announced his verbal commitment to the Irish in September 2024, two days ahead of guard Jalen Haralson, who became ND’s top-ranked recruit in the class. The additions of Koehler and Haralson, who were teammates on the Indy Heat 17U EYBL, marked significant recruiting wins for Shrewsberry as he tapped into his Indiana roots.

With Koehler staying, the attention will now turn to Haralson to announce his decision on what’s next for him. Impending decisions from junior point guard Markus Burton and sophomore shooting guard Cole Certa will also significantly impact the path ahead for Notre Dame.

Shrewsberry’s blueprint of recruiting and developing high school players is being tested by the departures of Mohammed, Sundra and Frost. Koehler is the kind of player worth building around, but he’s going to need some help.

Shrewsberry’s plan hasn’t resulted in winning basketball at Notre Dame so far. His third consecutive losing season to start his Irish tenue ended with a loss at Boston College, a 13-18 record and a 4-14 conference record that prevented the Irish from qualifying for the ACC Tournament.