Notre Dame junior guard Markus Burton plans to enter transfer portal

Markus Burton‘s junior season at Notre Dame came to an early end with an left ankle injury Dec. 5 at TCU. Now the star point guard for the Irish is set to explore an early end to his Notre Dame career.

Burton, a two-time All-ACC selection, is expected to enter the transfer portal, according to On3’s Joe Tipton. The transfer portal for men’s college basketball opens April 7 and will stay open for two weeks. Four Notre Dame teammates have also expressed their plans to enter the transfer portal: sophomore guard Sir Mohammed, sophomore forward Garrett Sundra, freshman forward Ryder Frost and freshman guard Jalen Haralson.

The 6-foot Burton injured his ankle in Notre Dame’s 10th game of the season. He averaged a team-high 18.5 points and 3.7 assists per game before his injury. By not playing again during the 2025-26 season, Burton should qualify for a medical hardship waiver, which would leave him with two years of remaining NCAA eligibility.

Burton, who was named 2023 Indiana Mr. Basketball following his senior season at Mishawaka’s Penn High, chose to stick with his signed commitment to Notre Dame through the head coaching transition from Mike Brey to Micah Shrewsberry in early 2023. Burton became a star player for Shrewsberry almost immediately as a freshman.

The ACC recognized Burton, who averaged 17.5 points, 4.3 assists and 1.9 steals per game, as the conference’s Rookie of the Year and a Third Team All-ACC selection. Burton set a Notre Dame freshman scoring record with 577 points and ranked third nationally among Division I freshmen in total scoring for the 2023-24 season.

Burton earned Second Team All-ACC honors as a sophomore in the 2024-25 season despite missing seven games with a knee injury. He upped his scoring average to 21.3 points per game with 3.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

Notre Dame started the 2025-26 season with a 7-3 record through the first 10 games in which Burton played. But the Irish struggled without him and finished the season with a 13-18 record and a 4-14 conference record that prevented the Irish from qualifying for the ACC Tournament. Notre Dame finished 16th in the 18-team conference, one spot out of the 15-team tournament.

The two teams below Notre Dame in the ACC standings, Boston College and Georgia Tech, fired their head coaches following the season. Shrewsberry remains at the head of Notre Dame’s program with a 41-56 record and a losing record in each of his first three seasons with the Irish.

The potential loss of Burton and others will make it harder for Shrewsberry to find success next season. The Irish learned to play without Burton, but that required the now-departing Haralson to fill the starting point guard role on offense. Junior Logan Imes played as the primary backup point guard.

The Irish added another point guard option for the 2026-27 season in the 2026 recruiting class: Jonathan Sanderson from La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere. The son of Notre Dame director of men’s basketball strength and conditioning Jon Sanderson, is the No. 12 point guard and No. 97 overall in the 2026 Rivals Industry Ranking.

The only good news for Notre Dame this offseason so far came last Saturday when the program announced freshman forward Brady Koehler intends to return next season.