Ethan Roberts Commits to Notre Dame; Irish Snag High-Level Shooter

Brenden Duffy
Apr 16
3 min read

Notre Dame has secured their second addition from the portal, with Penn transfer Ethan Roberts announcing his decision to spend his final collegiate season in South Bend.

Photo via University of Pennsylvania Athletics

Roberts, a 6-5 and 195-pound G/F, joins the Irish as a senior transfer with one year of eligibility remaining.

Originally from Memphis, Roberts and his family relocated to Arlington Heights, IL prior to his junior year of high school. Roberts attended Hersey HS as an unranked recruit despite earning all-state selections. Coming out of high school with limited offers, he ultimately committed to Army over Navy, Lafayette College, and Southern Indiana (DII at the time).

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Roberts showed what schools across the country missed out on as a freshman, compiling a Patriot League Rookie of the Year season with 48-41-85 shooting splits. He averaged 12.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 0.6 steals per game while starting 31 of his 33 games played. Following this successful freshman campaign, Roberts would enter the transfer portal.

Roberts drew plenty of interest before committing to Drake for a variety of reasons including NIL, being closer to home, and the Bulldogs were coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance. Unfortunately, Roberts never had the chance to suit up at Drake after a series of physical and mental health battles derailed his year, highlighted in this feature article from The Daily Pennsylvanian. Unsure of what would come next, Roberts once again entered his name into the portal following this scary year.

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Penn was one of the few DI programs to reach out to Roberts in the portal as he decided to commit to the Quakers. In 2024-25, his first season at Penn, Roberts averaged 16.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 0.9 steals per game, starting all 25 games played with 43-37-82 shooting splits.

This past season, Roberts impressed again, averaging 16.9 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 1.0 steals per game across 23 starts (notably missed Ivy & NCAA Tournaments). The senior earned All-Ivy Second Team honors as he shot 40% from three, and recorded six games with at least 25 points, including a career-high of 31 in a win against St. Joseph’s.

How Roberts’ game will translate to ACC play will be something to monitor. Without question, he will play a vital role on this season’s team, whether it be as a starter or a key reserve. This will likely be Cole Certa’s replacement, who recently announced his transfer to Clemson. Compared to Certa, I do think Roberts is a slightly better defender, but he may be a notch below his offensive skill level. In general, I think Roberts is a solid all-around player. One of my only concerns would be with his health, as it appears he has not played a complete season since his freshman year at Army. Injuries have been a theme in the Micah Shrewsberry era for Notre Dame and Roberts’ track record regarding availability is not perfect. Regardless, I expect his great three-point shooting (39% career) to carry over to South Bend while his defense will likely be tested against most high-major opponents.

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