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Star point guard Markus Burton returning to Notre Dame for junior season

IMG_7504by:Jack Soble•04/04/25•

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Notre Dame guard Markus Burton
Notre Dame point guard Markus Burton. (Photo courtesy of Notre Dame Athletics)

Star point guard Markus Burton is returning to Notre Dame for his junior season, according to ESPN NBA Draft analyst Jonathan Givony. Blue & Gold can confirm Givony’s report.

This has been the likely outcome since the transfer portal opened, but Burton’s agent, Ron Shade of Octagon, told Givony that Burton will not test the portal or the NBA draft process.

Burton confirmed the news with a highlight video on his Instagram page, captioned with one word: “Loyalty.”

After speaking with multiple sources, Blue & Gold and On3’s Jamie Shaw reported that Burton was likely to stay on March 25. There was “very real smoke around Burton testing the portal,” according to Shaw, but the Atlantic Coast Conference’s leading scorer will remain in a blue-and-gold uniform for one more year.

Burton was named second-team All-ACC for his sophomore season, in which he averaged 21.3 points per game. He also improved his efficiency, particularly from beyond the three-point line, where he shot 37.5 percent (up from 30.0 percent as a freshman).

Burton’s usage rate was the third-highest in college basketball throughout the 2025-26 campaign, as he was forced to shoulder the load on offense. The Irish hope to bring that down next season with a supporting cast led by incoming freshman Jalen Haralson, the No. 23 player in the 2025 On3 Industry Ranking.

Notre Dame is set to feature 11 scholarship players for the 2024-25 season, although the Irish are trying to add at least two players in the transfer portal. They are not expected to lose anyone else to the portal, aside from junior forward Tae Davis and senior guard J.R. Konieczny.

Last season, Burton’s turnovers went down from his freshman year — 3.7 for game to 2.7 — but so did his assists, from 4.3 to 3.1. Team success likely hurt his first-team All-ACC campaign, too; the Irish finished the season 8-12 in ACC play and 15-18 overall.

The Mishawaka, Ind. native also missed seven games due to a knee injury, which he suffered early in Notre Dame’s Nov. 26 loss to Rutgers.

Still, the Irish needed every ounce of Burton’s scoring output in order to avoid bottoming out. He averaged 26.6 points per game in the seven ACC wins he was a part of. He also left voters with an exceptional final impression: A 43-point outburst in a quadruple-overtime win over California on Saturday.

“I wasn’t gonna force it, but I knew it was my time to put on a show and will my team to victory, and that’s what I had to do,” Burton said. “I feel like the coaching staff trusts me, but also the whole team around me.”

Burton has two seasons left at Notre Dame. It’s up to the Irish to build a winning team around him.

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