Notre Dame men’s basketball coaches break down class of 2025

Notre Dame men’s basketball signed its highest-ranked recruiting class in the internet rankings era Wednesday morning, as five-star guard Jalen Haralson, four-star guard Ryder Frost and four-star forwards Brady Koehler and Tommy Ahneman put pen to paper.

Each signee had a primary recruiter among the Notre Dame coaching staff, led by head coach Micah Shrewsberry.

Assistant coach Ryan Owens, who spearheads Indiana recruiting, handled Haralson and Koehler. Fellow assistant coach Mike Farrelly, who leads the charge on the East Coast, had Frost. In the somewhat uncommon scenario Notre Dame recruits from somewhere else, that’s associate head coach Kyle Getter‘s job, so he had Ahneman.

Each Irish assistant coach broke down their signee(s) on Wednesday. Here’s what they had to say.

Notre Dame associate head coach Kyle Getter on Tommy Ahneman

“Besides being 6-foot-10, got great footwork, hands, skill. He’s ambidextrous. He can score really efficiently around the rim with either hand. One of the things that stood out immediately about Tommy was that he knows who he is. He’s a great teammate. Coach [Shrewsberry] mentioned earlier, his comments about the fit. Tommy fits Notre Dame, and we couldn’t be more excited about him joining us next year.

“Tommy’s 6-foot-10, he’s easy to point out but he comes from an athletic family. His parents are Ben and Erin Ahneman. They both played collegiately. Ben played football at North Dakota State. His mom, Erin, played basketball. He’s got the athletic gene in full effect there.

“Like I mentioned, ambidextrous, right-handed but he really scores will with either hand and can go over either shoulder in the post. He’s kind of like one of those throwback post players. You see his footwork. Deep catches, soft touch, great hands and he’s a deceptively good athlete. Six-foot-10, 235 pounds, moves really well. I think he’ll really fit well with our style of play.

“Very good rebounder, positional rebounder, uses that big frame to wedge in there and get offensive rebounds. He’s got great touch, like I mentioned. And then this is, I think, one of the most underrated qualities that he has, is his passing ability. He’s an underrated passer. He’s got great basketball IQ and instincts around the rim. He feels that double team. He’s used to being double-teamed, being the biggest guy on the court. So as I mentioned, we couldn’t be more excited about adding Tommy Ahneman to our basketball family.”

Notre Dame assistant coach Mike Farrelly on Ryder Frost

“Six-foot-6 wing player from Beverly, Mass. Plays at Phillips Exeter Academy up in New Hampshire, one of the finest academic high schools in the country, obviously is a very good academic fit for Ryder here. Very strong student who’s also driven, obviously, on the court. … He’s also been well-schooled in the AAU ranks, playing for Middlesex Magic on the Under Armor circuit. A bunch of former Notre Dame players have played for the Magic as well, Pat Connaughton obviously being the greatest example of those.

“He can really throw the ball in the hoop. One of the best shooters in the country, deep range, automatic. This is an AAU tournament back in May in Ohio, and he made 8 threes in that game. Really picked up a ton of offers after that weekend, but certainly one of the finest shooters in the country, both off the catch and then you see a lot of movement shooters as well. Thinking back to some of the players that Coach Shrews had a lot of success with, guys that are able to move and shoot like Ryder does. He can shoot off the screens. Gonna be a major weapon for us on baseline out-of-bounds plays and all Coach does after timeouts. “More plays than Broadway,” right?

“He can shoot off the bounce as well. Not just a shooter. He’s able to attack. He’s able to get to the rim when stuff is taken away, but really, his calling card for right now has been his ability to make shots. But also, he’s a really good cutter. He’s an underrated athlete. He’s an underrated passer. He can really do everything.

“There’s a lot of shooters out there, guys that can just stand in the corner and make shots and not do a whole lot else, right? But those guys aren’t great fits for us, for what we want to do and how we want to play. They gotta have great IQ, the ability to pass and move as well, and Ryder fits all that. He’s a really competitive kid, a hard worker who’s gonna fit really well and help continue to lead our culture.”

Irish assistant coach Ryan Owens on Jalen Haralson

“He played AAU for a program that I know well, named Indy Heat. My man, [Indy Heat head coach] Jon Avery, did a great job navigating the five-star process in the summer. They get pulled a lot of different ways, and he coached him hard, he loved him hard and he had his back, also.

“First thing you’re gonna see is him off the bounce. Six-foot-7, strong, athletic guard. Has the ability to really get after it off the bounce and get to the rim. Now you see him getting to his spots, good off the bounce, get to his spots on the court with his size and his athletic ability. A lot of times, when he raises up, it’s just him and the rim, and that’s unique.

“I can show you a little bit of his game off the bounce, shooting the three, catch-and-shoot three. I thought he shot the ball really, really well when I saw him in Turkey [with Team USA] this summer, with the catch-and-shoot threes. Now you see him assisting; that’s one of the best things about his game, is how he makes everybody else around him better. Can really pass that ball. Makes his teammates better. People like playing with him. He has a certain joy about himself on and off the court.

“That’s Jalen Haralson. We’re super excited about the opportunity to invest in him.”

Owens on Brady Koehler

“A little pregame here. I made the mistake of calling him KOE-ler [it’s pronounced KAY-ler]. Don’t do what I did.

“When you think of Brady Koehler, that’s the definition of upside. He produces now, but he still has so much upside. Six-foot-9, 7-foot-2 1/2 wingspan. One of the guys that grows late, grows six or seven inches through high school but never got awkward with it. Check out his fluidity, how he runs up and down the court, catch-and-shoot threes. See him off the bounce a little bit, get to his spot.

“One of the more underrated skills he has, he’s an unbelievable off-the-ball shot-blocker. He can get that ball off the glass and just go and make plays. Right now, getting it, starting the break in transition. Drive, close-outs, can make all the reads Coach Shrewsberry likes in his guys. That’s Brady Koehler.”