SOUTH BEND – For a couple of hours on an ideal summer Sunday afternoon, almost immediately after making the biggest decision of his basketball life, Jonathan Sanderson cut all connection to the outside world for more important matters.
A June weekend at the family lake house in the Irish Hills of Michigan meant something more than just grilling and chilling. For Sanderson, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound point guard in the Class of 2026, the day meant it was time to do something that he likes to do.
Make that, loves to do.
Work.
For Sanderson, a summer Sunday meant pulling weeds around the property. That meant hauling firewood from the car and stacking it in the corner for fires come those fall and winter nights. It meant spreading mulch. It meant ignoring the sounds of Michigan International Raceway, located about a mile away, on its biggest day and getting stuff done.
It’s not how you’d expect someone to celebrate their commitment to play for Notre Dame basketball come 2026-27, but that’s how Sanderson is wired.
Wired to work.
“Honestly, it’s a way of life for me,” he said late Sunday afternoon. “I like to work hard. We get to work around here.”
Sanderson also does work on the basketball court. This past season, where he played at The Ensworth School in Nashville, Sanderson averaged 24.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.8 steals to earn Tennessee Gatorade Player of the Year honors.
Nearly two years earlier, between his freshman and sophomore years at Saline (Mich.) High School in Ann Arbor, Sanderson received initial interest from Irish head coach Micah Shrewsberry.
“Right when he got to Notre Dame, he started recruiting me,” said Sanderson, a consensus four-star prospect ranked No. 42 by ESPN.com, No. 55 by 247Sports and No. 62 by Rivals. “He didn’t recruit me when he was at Penn State, but my dad, he’s known him for a while, so he’s had me on his radar.”
Notre Dame will be a family affair for Sanderson. His father, Jon, a member of Ohio State’s 1999 Final Four team, was hired in early May by Shrewsberry as Notre Dame basketball director of strength and conditioning. The elder Sanderson spent last season working with the basketball program at Vanderbilt, which is why Sanderson attended high school in Nashville, after 15 years as strength coach at Michigan.
“I don’t think it will be that weird with him at Notre Dame,” Sanderson said of his dad. “He’s kind of always been my strength coach and has helped out at every school I’ve been to.”
Other schools recruiting Sanderson included Creighton, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Oregon, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt. He made his first visit to Notre Dame– unofficially – for the Ohio State football game in 2023.
Why commit to Notre Dame the day before the moving trucks come to haul everything from the lake house to Northern Indiana? Why not?
“Really, I’ve known for a while,” Sanderson said. “Everything has been set. My family and I are like, ‘Let’s just go for it. Let’s do it.’”
Following his junior year at Ensworth, which followed those two years at Saline (Mich.) High School, Sanderson will play his senior year at La Lumiere School in nearby LaPorte. Come October, he’ll be the third Laker in the last five recruiting cycles to sign with Notre Dame.
Former McDonald’s All-American guard J.J. Starling signed with Notre Dame in 2021. He spent one season in South Bend before transferring to Syracuse. Fellow former McDonald’s All-American Jalen Haralson, a consensus top 20 recruit, is a freshman combo guard at Notre Dame. He’s expected to challenge for a starting spot this fall.
With one graduate transfer (Carson Towt) and one traditional senior (Kebba Njie) on the 2025-26 roster, Notre Dame looks to add at least three high school seniors to its 2026 recruiting class. Sanderson is the first. He might not be the last from his family. Kind of.
Jon Sanderson and his wife, Jenn, are legal guardians of Gan-Erdene Solongo, a 7-foot-1 native of Mongolia who also played last season at Ensworth with the younger Sanderson. Solongo will also play his senior season at La Lu. This coming season will be his second year of basketball at any level.
“Oh, man, we’re going to have a squad,” Sanderson said of La Lu. “We’re going to be solid.”
Sanderson feels the same about Notre Dame’s roster. This year’s freshman class, which officially reported to campus Sunday for the start of the summer session, was a consensus Top 20 class. That group should be seasoned sophomores next season. This year’s sophomore class will be veterans. Shooting guard Braeden Shrewsberry will be a senior. Point guard Markus Burton may also return for a final run.
“We’ve got some dawgs on that squad,” Sanderson said. “We’re going to be solid.”
That includes Sanderson, who plans to be an important piece to the puzzle when he arrives this time next summer. He’ll be one of the guys, but not just another guy. Not the way he works.
“I’m about winning,” he said. “I’m willing to do anything to win. I’m not going there just to put on a jersey. I’m going there to win.”
Time to work. Time to win.
Follow South Bend Tribune and NDInsider columnist Tom Noie on X (formerly Twitter): @tnoieNDI. Contact Noie at tnoie@sbtinfo.com
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