Notre Dame lands commitment from four-star PF, former Penn State signee Carey Booth

Carey Booth’s allegiance to Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewsberry are apparently stronger than his ties to Penn State, which weren’t just a letter of intent he signed to play for Shrewsberry and the Nittany Lions last fall.

Booth, a four-star forward and the son of Penn State all-time blocks leader Calvin Booth, requested a release one day after Shrewsberry’s March 22 departure for Notre Dame. The Irish and Shrewsberry felt like a strong contender — if not the leader — the moment he did. They now have him in the fold.

The 6-foot-10, 195-pound Booth committed to Notre Dame Tuesday, he told On3’s Joe Tipton.

“I feel like it’s a unique opportunity to grow under one of the best minds in basketball and in one of the NCAA’s toughest conferences,” Booth told Tipton. “With these two things in mind, it made it a pretty easy decision to follow him.”

Booth’s decision comes after taking an official visit to Notre Dame in late April. He’s the No. 71 overall player and the No. 13 power forward in the 2023 On3 Industry Ranking. The On3 Top 150 has him slightly higher, at No. 70 overall.

PROMOTION: Join for only $29.99 until Aug. 31 to unlock premium access to Blue & Gold. This is a limited time offer, so act fast!

“Booth has a long and lanky frame with natural athleticism,” On3 national analyst Jamie Shaw wrote. “He plays with a high motor, creating multiple chase-down and weak-side blocks. Booth knocked down three or four threes in both games we watched; the release was consistent and high. Booth is still raw as he will need to continue tightening his ball skills and shot selection.

“He will also need to continue adding weight. However, the intrigue comes with his ability to knock down threes and protect the rim.”

Booth played his final high school season at Wolfeboro (N.H.) Brewster Academy, a popular prep school transfer destination for high-major prospects. He spent three years at Cherry Creek (Colo.) High School before going to Brewster. He moved to Colorado in 2017 when Calvin was named the general manager of the Denver Nuggets. Calvin is now the team’s president of basketball operations. He played in the NBA for 11 years following his 1995-99 stint at Penn State.

Penn State and Shrewsberry originally landed Booth in August 2022 over Ohio State, Stanford, Texas and Vanderbilt. He also held offers from Cal, Arizona State, Colorado State, Florida, Georgetown, Iowa, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, Marquette, Northwestern, Purdue, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Xavier and Wake Forest. Notre Dame was not involved before Shrewsberry was hired.

Shrewsberry was part of the draw that led Booth to Penn State — more so than his legacy status.

“I felt like it kind of convoluted things that I went to Penn State,” Calvin Booth told BlueWhiteIllustrated in August. “It was more about Coach Shrewsberry’s aptitude and his plan for Carey and the upside he has as a coach, and the upside the program has because he’s running it.

“Coach Shrewsberry, whatever school he was at, Carey probably in all likelihood would have followed where he’s at.”

Booth, like his dad suggested, focused on Notre Dame when it became Shrewsberry’s new home. He took no other visits after he received his release. He was Penn State’s highest-rated signee in a three-man class that also included three-star guard Braeden Shrewsberry (Micah’s son) and three-star guard Logan Imes. Notre Dame has one holdover signee from the fall, three-star Mishawaka (Ind.) Penn guard Markus Burton.

Braeden Shrewsberry announced his commitment to Notre Dame May 1. The Irish are also pursuing Imes, who played at Zionsville (Ind.) High School and also received his release from Penn State after the coaching change.