Notre Dame trending to land 4-star WR Kaydon Finley

After building a nice base to its 2026 recruiting class in the fall, Notre Dame has been a touch quiet on the trail so far this calendar year. With momentum in-hand and big decisions looming, though, that’s likely to change in April.

One top target that the Fighting Irish are looking to close on sooner rather than later is Aledo (Texas) four-star wide receiver Kaydon Finley. The son of former longtime Green Bay Packers tight end Jermichael Finley, Kaydon has emerged as one of the top pass-catchers in the country ahead of his senior season.

Plenty of teams have pushed to land his pledge, but it’s Notre Dame that currently has the edge, according to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM), thanks to picks from Irish insider Mike Singer and On3 VP of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong.

The 6-foot-2 receiver returned to South Bend for a spring visit over the weekend and was also on campus in January. With head coach Marcus Freeman and Co. in the driver’s seat, Finley’s recruitment has the feel of one that could come to a close earlier than expected, according to Singer.

“It’s interesting, because Finley told me in an interview after his visit that he’s got more spring visits locked in, he’s got some summer official visits, but my sources all calendar year have indicated to me that Finley just seems close,” Singer told On3’s Josh Newberg on ‘The Inside Scoop.’

“Yeah, he does have these visits scheduled, but as we know, plans change. A kid might have this visit scheduled, but they pop earlier than anticipated, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s Kaydon Finley. If that is the case, I think that Notre Dame would be in a really good spot.

Fighting Irish continue to push hard for Finley

Finley got to spend more time with Freeman, receivers coach Mike Brown and the ND staff over the weekend and he left feeling even better about the program. There is competition in Finley’s recruitment, though, primarily the in-state Longhorns.

The blue-chipper will continue to work through his process, but Singer continues to like where Notre Dame sits in Finley’s recruitment heading into the back half of spring.

“You have to talk about Texas, with his dad, Jermichael Finley, being a Texas alum. We’re talking about a legacy prospect here for the Longhorns. I think Notre Dame is doing a really good job in this recruitment,” he said.

“I’m feeling good about that (RPM) pick, but it’s not done.”

Finley is the No. 117 overall prospect and No. 16 WR in the 2026 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He’s also the No. 17 player in Texas.

Notre Dame has seven commits in its class to date. It ranks No. 13 in the nation early on, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings.