Player updates announced in offseason

By TYLER REIDY sports Writer

After posting a 16-16-5 record and missing the nc AA tournament, the Irish hockey offseason is in full swing. Two of the team’s three h obey b aker Award nominees, senior goaltender r yan b ischel and senior forward Trevor Janicke, announced m onday they would return for the 2023-24 season. m eanwhile, three Irish forwards have signed professional contracts over the past two weeks.

With bischel’s return, the Irish already have a headstart on next year’s nc AA Tournament aspirations. The netminder took the conference by storm in his first full season as notre d ame’s starter, securing the b ig Ten Goaltender of the Year award. As of this week, bischel’s 1,183 saves still lead the nation, and his .931 save percentage ranks third in America. o ver the season’s final 13 games, bischel stopped 40-plus shots on four different occasions, carrying notre d ame back into postseason contention.

Janicke, a 2022-23 alternate captain, will also remain in s outh b end after a productive year. The Anaheim d ucks draft pick led all returning players in goals (eight), assists (14), points

Irish senior forward Trevor Janicke off in a 3-1 win. Notre Dame hockey had a 16-16-5 record for the 2022-2023 earn such recognition this season. s he led the club with 252 kills and 2.83 kills per set, and 303 individual points. s he will be a big part of the team’s offense next year as they look to build upon r ockwell’s first season.

8. Sonia c itron, sophomore guard (women’s basketball) n otre d ame women’s basketball continued their trend of excellence with another strong season in 2022-23, highlighted by sophomore s onia c itron. c itron played more than 1,000 minutes, which translated to a team lead in points (484) and points per game (14.7). s he also paced the i rish in both three-pointers made and three-point percentage at 48 and 40%, respectively. c itron and teammate o livia m iles found themselves on the a ll- acc First Team at year’s end, capping off their successful season.

7. Daniel r usso, junior forward (men’s soccer)

The n otre d ame men’s soccer team posted a strong 8-7-2 record this past autumn, thanks in large part to junior forward d aniel r usso’s teamleading six goals and 16 points. The team thrived on their depth, but r usso led the way while earning Third-Team a ll- acc honors and c ollege s occer n ews n ational Player of the Week from o ct. 23-30. h e will be an integral part of the offensive attack for the i rish in 2023 as they look to advance past the first round of the acc Tournament and beyond.

6. Nate Laszewski, graduate forward (men’s basketball) a lthough the final season of m ike b rey’s tenure at n otre d ame did not go as well as hoped, n ate Laszewski was a consistent bright spot on the floor for the Fighting i rish. The 6-foot-10 Florida native started all 32 games during the 2022-23 campaign, racking up 438 points and 230 rebounds, both the most on the team. h e also posted an impressive three-point percentage at 39.2% and led the team in free throw percentage at 84.7%, while finishing just one block behind the team lead of 23. Laszewski was truly a do-it-all player on the court.

5. Eszter Muhari, freshman epee (fencing)

The n otre d ame fencing team took home its third consecutive and 13th overall national championship in m arch of 2023. The team featured numerous superstars, none better than e szter m uhari, a freshman who put together an incredible 19-2 record in her first season in s outh b end. The native of b udapest, h ungary, capped off her near-perfect year by winning the national title in women’s epee m arch 26. m uhari is set to be an integral part of the team again next year as they look to continue their fencing dynasty.

4. Jadin O’Brien, sophomore hurdler/jumper/sprinter (women’s track and field) m ost incredibly, she accomplished all of this in only her second year competing at the collegiate level.

The sheer number of track and field athletes at the collegiate level makes winning the acc Women’s i ndoor Field Performer of the Year a ward nearly impossible, yet n otre d ame’s own Jadin o ’ b rien, a sophomore out of Pewaukee, W i , did just that. o ’ b rien thrived in essentially every competition she participated in, highlighted by her record-setting 4512-point performance in the pentathlon.

That score was enough to win her the national title in the event. o n top of that, o ’ b rien is also the newest owner of the U s TF ccca Great Lakes Field a thlete of the Year award.

3. r yan Bischel, senior goalie (hockey)

The first, and only, senior on this list is n otre d ame hockey’s top performer of 2022-23, r yan b ischel. b ischel finished the season with an astounding .931 save percentage ( sv %), the third best in college hockey, and a .938 mark in b ig Ten play (first). h e helped n otre d ame clinch home ice for a first-round playoff series despite the i rish ranking n o. 53 out of 60 d ivision i teams in scoring offense. i n honor of his success, b ischel was named b ig Ten Goaltender of the Year and earned nominations for the h obey b aker (best player in the nation) and m ike r ichter (best goalie) a wards. The best part? h e is coming back next year to rep the blue and gold.

2. Korbin Albert, sophomore midfielder (women’s soccer) i n any normal year, Korbin a lbert, superstar sophomore midfielder out of i llinois, would be a slam-dunk choice to rank atop this list. a lbert recently signed with Paris s aint-Germain (P s G) after a sensational year with the i rish women’s soccer team, where she posted 16 goals and five assists (37 points) in

22 games, as well as six game-winning scores. P s G is world-renowned for producing generational talents, including Kylian m bappe and Lionel m essi on the men’s side. a lbert will be greatly missed on the field at n otre d ame, but her accomplishments are sure to continue overseas as she enters her prime years as an athlete.

1. Michael Mayer, junior tight end (football) m ichael m ayer will be a first-round pick in the 2023 n FL d raft after being the most reliable target for the Fighting i rish for more than just the past year. i n 2022 specifically, m ayer reeled in 809 yards, an average of 67.4 per game, along with nine scores. i n doing so, he captured the record for most career touchdown receptions by a n otre d ame tight end. h e also set the tight end record for most singleseason scores this year. i n honor of his excellence, m ayer was named a consensus a ll- a merican, n otre d ame’s first at the tight end position since Ken m ac a fee in 1977. i t is difficult to argue that he is not the best tight end in i rish history.

Contact Charlie Morris at cmorri27@nd.edu