Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman during the College Football Playoff game between Notre Dame and Indiana. Michael Clubb/South Bend Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

How Many Five-Star Recruits Will Notre Dame Land in 2026?

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Mason Plummer | Last updated Jul 8, 2025 10:33 AM ET

Notre Dame recruiting has been on fire this summer, adding a new stud recruit seemingly every other day. Nearly all of the recruits the Fighting Irish staff has been landing are of four-star status or above, with a few emerging as five-star candidates. Both qualify for the all-important blue-chip rating.

Five-star status is exclusive, as it should be, with only the top 32 recruits in the country earning the title of five-star. There are often massive discrepancies between the ratings services, making it even more difficult to be a consensus five-star among 247Sports, On3/Rivals and ESPN.

Notre Dame does not land five-stars nearly as often as the likes of Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, etc., but landing top-end talent under Marcus Freeman has become more and more common.

The recent five-stars Notre Dame has landed according to 247Sports include: S Kyle Hamilton (2019), TE Michael Mayer (2020) and DE Bryce Young (2024).

BREAKING: Five-star safety Joey O'Brien commits to Notre Dame.

He spoke in-depth about picking the Irish and why the brotherhood matters so much to him.

VIP Story: https://t.co/bkgxs6RGD0 @NDFootball @247Sports / @Joey_obrien6 pic.twitter.com/ccXMa0apPw
— Tom Loy (@TomLoy247) June 20, 2025

According to 247Sports, four recruits in the 2026 cycle are at or near five-star status and are committed to Notre Dame.

DE Rodney Dunham (No.15)
S Joey O'Brien (No.30)
CB Khary Adams (No.36)
TE Ian Premer (No.43)

Dunham and O'Brien are already industry five-stars, while Adams and Premer are on the verge. On3 specifically has Premer as a five-star, with 247Sports ranking him just outside five-star range.

I know everyone and their brother is tweeting about Notre Dame's hot streak and incredible 2026 class. This seriously is nuts though.

— Notre Dame's class "score" is currently a 92.84. That's better than the 2013 class that had a score of 92.74 and ranked No. 4 overall

— That… pic.twitter.com/v2ZVVfUjQg
— Mike Singer (@MikeTSinger) June 26, 2025

If the Fighting Irish are able even bring in one five-star, that has to be considered a win, but it seems reasonable that they land two, if not three, this cycle. Landing five-stars and top 100 players is vital to being elite in recruiting and bringing in game-changing talent. Notre Dame is doing that more than it has in the last 30-plus years.

On top of the group above, there is a real chance that defensive back Ayden Pouncey, who is criminally underrated, could end up in that top 30-40 range if he impresses in his senior season as many expect him to.

It also would not surprise me one bit if four-star offensive lineman Grayson McKeogh makes a big jump into that range.

Notre Dame is adding elite talent at every position group, and it is only going to continue to finish up this 2026 class and kick off 2027.

Take this prediction to the bank: Notre Dame recruiting is trending in an elite direction and will land two five-stars in 2026 AND 2027.

This article first appeared on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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