We’ve all been where recent Notre Dame basketball transfer portal addition Bryce Dortch has been.
Too many contacts gathering dust in your cell phone. Where did this number come from? Where did that one? Do you really need all of them? Dortch had similar thoughts sometime during the 2025-26 college basketball season when he was a reserve forward for Rutgers.
There were days when he wanted to sweep free any handful of numbers, but didn’t. He never knew if there might come a day when a number or two might again come in handy.
That handy day arrived in April, when the 6-foot-9, 210-pound native of Somerville, Massachusetts was one of more than 2,600 players in the transfer portal searching for a fresh basketball start. Several programs reached out to Dortch, who averaged 2.1 points, 3.2 rebounds and 0.1 assists in 14.4 minutes over 31 games with three starts for the Scarlet Knights.
Some area codes that appeared on his phone were foreign. Two took him back to the days when he was a three-star recruit from Brimmer and May School in suburban Boston. Back when he chose Rutgers over the likes of Marquette, Providence, Texas A&M, VCU and Xavier.
As a junior in high school, Dortch had recruiting interest from Penn State. That staff eventually moved to Notre Dame in 2023. Three seasons later, Dortch received calls from Irish head coach (and former Penn State head coach) Micah Shrewsberry and associate head coach (and former Penn State assistant) Mike Farrelly.
Small world, this college basketball. When the names of Farrelly and Shrewsberry popped up on Dortch’s phone, he answered. Quickly.
“It was like, I know these guys,” Dortch said this week while preparing to finish final exams at Rutgers. “They called my family. They called my high school coach. They were close when they were recruiting me.”
When Dortch entered the portal, he had no idea that Northern Indiana might be his next basketball stop. He had been to the Hoosier state once — he played two minutes as a freshman in a loss at Purdue. He knew little about Notre Dame basketball, other than it had been a Rutgers opponent each of the last two years at the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas during Thanksgiving week. Dortch played a season-high 19 minutes with four points and two rebounds in a 68-63 Irish win in November.
Seeing Shrewsberry and Farrelly in Las Vegas the previous two seasons took Dortch back to his high school days. So did last month’s portal calls. A place that he hadn’t considered, he considered.
“It was weird,” he said. “I had a feeling that it might happen, but never really knew that it was going to happen.”
It happened after a weekend campus visit. Everything was so compact, not nearly as spread out as it is at Rutgers. There weren’t as many students going here and going there and seemingly everywhere, which was cool.
“I liked the vibe out there; it was a real college campus,” Dortch said. “Everything’s all in one spot and easy to get around. I can’t wait to be there.”
Even if “there” is a place that Dortch never dreamed he’d be. South Bend, Indiana for the last two years of college? Him? Huh? Try telling him that two years ago or even two months ago.
“I would have thought you were crazy,” Dortch said. “It’s amazing.”
Dortch expected to slow-play the start of his college career. In 2024-25, Rutgers had a pair of top five NBA draft picks in forward Ace Bailey, who played the same position as Dortch, and guard Dylan Harper. The plan was to redshirt Dortch, give him time to grow into his body and learn about life in the Big Ten.
When injuries gutted the frontcourt with 12 games left in the regular season, Dortch had a decision — stay in street clothes or scrap an entire season of eligibility to help. He decided to help. Me guy? More like team guy.
“They asked me if I wanted to play (and) I was ready,” he said. “I wanted to see if I could compete and felt like I did a good enough job.”
That cameo never led to a larger role in his second season. Going from someone who rarely left the floor in high school to someone who barely saw much of it his first two college seasons was a test that Dortch believed he could — and would — pass.
“It’s a different kind of experience, not playing, but everything happens for a reason,” he said. “It’s all about staying with the work every day. Trust in yourself, trust in your circle and know that your time is going to come.”
If it comes for Dortch, it will come at Notre Dame. What are the Irish getting? Some of what they’ve lacked the last three seasons. Dortch likes to use his athleticism to rebound and defend and run the court. He believes he can make the right read with the ball in his hands. He can get to the basket, use his IQ and just play.
Notre Dame needs more of that. When Dortch talked with the Irish staff, one word kept coming up — versatility. Dortch can’t wait to be that, to show that. He believes his game will play better in the open floor of the Atlantic Coast Conference than it did in the meatgrinder of the Big Ten.
“It,” Dortch said, “will be a smooth ride.”
Between final exams and projects, Dortch researched a few links sent by the Irish coaching staff with possible apartments close to campus. He’s scouted out a few. June, and the start of summer school, cannot come soon enough.
“I want to get out there a little early,” he said, “and get to work.”
When his number is called, Dortch will answer.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Why the ACC fits new Notre Dame basketball addition Bryce Dortch
Reporting by Tom Noie, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
