NEW ERA AT NOTRE DAME AS ND PREP BASKETBALL SET TO BEGIN FIRST SEASON (24 PHOTOS) (October 28, 2026)
BY BRIAN FEESSouthern Tier Sports ReportSOUTHPORT — It’s a new era at Notre Dame as some of the best basketball players in the state will now be competing as part of the school’s new prep basketball team.
Notre Dame Prep basketball, led by director of basketball and head coach James Cray, has brought together a roster of players from across the Unite States, and the world.
The roster features players from inside New York State, like Jaden Schwenebraten, who is from the Rochester Area and played previously at the Salisbury School.
Matthew Pope is another in-state player, having played last year at Baldwinsville High School, near Syracuse.
The team also has international players like Kobe Zhang, a 6-foot, 10-inch player from China, and Manoa Deso from France.
“I’m happy getting a ton of support from the school,” Cray said. “The guys I’ve brought from all over are loving it. I’m excited to get started with these guys.”
The season kicks off for the team on Friday, Nov. 6 when they host Rocktop Academy at 7 p.m.
The discussions for a prep team started a while back and the program has big goals for the future.
“We had a conversation, I want to say in March of last year and I thought in all honesty, Notre Dame is one of the few schools that are kind of getting ahead of the change that’s going on in high school sports,” Cray said. “It’s a market where people want good academics, a private school environment while providing high quality basketball. What makes Notre Dame interesting is it’s keeping the IAC team as well, while building a national brand.
“The goal for me and the program over the next five years is for top players from Upstate, N.Y. instead of having to go super far away they can stay close to home, maybe two, maybe three hours.”
This year the top local player from the area, Nolyn Proudfoot of Corning, will be playing prep school at Western Reserve. Notre Dame Prep is now in the same league as Western Reserve and will face Proudfoot and Western Reserve in a road game this year.
For the players the program is something special.
“I think it’s amazing,” Schwenebraten said. “We practice two times a day, and lift once a day. It really prepares us for college. It’s a college environment and we play hoops.”
Having a program in state makes things easier for guys like Schwenebraten said.
“I was previously at a prep school five hours away for two years and my family didn’t visit often,” he said. “Since I’ve been here they have visited countless times.
“A big thing at prep school is just being away from home, so being so close relieves parents.”
Having players from in state will help with crowds, and so will the community aspect at Notre Dame.
“I coached prep school, I coached boarding school basketball, you don’t get big crowds,” Cray said. “Being close to home gives parents an opportunity to see the kids play and gives the kids an opportunity to see their classmates play. The community, not only at Notre Dame, but in Elira, is going to be excited to come to games and support a high level of basketball.”
Cray quickly saw players that were from not that far away be able to get back and see their family regularly.
“We gave the guys a weekend off (a month ago), because they had been working super hard. I had a guy go home to Central Valley. He went home, was able to spend time there, eat dinner with his mom and dad and watch his girlfriend’s game and come back the next morning.”
The players at Notre Dame Prep stay right at the school.
“What people don’t know is that Notre Dame is so unique,” Cray said. “Notre Dame has dorms on campus. They stay on campus at Notre Dame and have chefs cook for the guys. It makes it easy to get to and from school only having to walk 10 feet.
“With me working in the building I have the ability (to see the players a lot). Yesterday morning after our 6 a.m. practice I went over to the dorms and was able to make sure everyone is up and moving and getting to school on time. That’s one thing I’m huge on, making sure the athletes academics are taken care of.”
Being right on campus makes it easy for the kids when they have practices, time in the weight room, and classes.
“Just roll out of bed and right to practice,” Schwenebraten said.
With players from around the world the team has come together like a family.
“We are like a family, because we don’t have our parents with us,” Deso said.
The players from closer by have really tried to help the kids from other countries.
“Personally, I just try and be someone they can lean on,” Schwenebraten said. “I know it can be very difficult for them being so far away and not having their parents here, so I just want to be a resource for them.”
The support from the school really has helped those international players as well.
“It’s been good, the people in the school are very supportive of the guys,” Cray said. “It’s been fun having our head of school and head of alumni relations come in and see our practice and bond with the guys. It’s good to have a school environment.
“Parents with guys from all over the world can come in and meet new people. We have a kid from France (Deso), 6-6, freshman, 14-years-old. It’s good when sending your kid across the world to know they are in a good environment.”
This isn’t the first time Notre Dame has brought in students in different sports. They have worked with the Elmira Aviators and players on that team attend Notre Dame for school.
“Notre Dame had a blueprint in terms of the Aviators,” Cray said. “They do their school at Notre Dame and live at Elmira College. The school has a diverse international program and it gave the school, and us, an opportunity to tie that all together. Instead of just elite hockey that has the school for academics, now you have elite basketball that wears the school name wherever they go.”
The hope for Cray is to build something special in Elmira.
“I’m a really big proponent if you build it the right way they’ll come,” Cray said. “When I announced bigger name recruits the number of people that reached out was astronomical. You have to build it the right way, and we have something worth building for. The academics at Notre Dame and then on top of the great athletics, we have the chance at something special in Upstate, N.Y. between us and Albany Academy. We all have a chance to do something pretty good.”
It’s a big change for a lot of the kids coming from around the world to Elmira, but they are getting used to the area.
“I think truth be told a lot of these guys I made sure I recruited gym rats,” Cray said. “They are around a bunch of guys that love hoops. Guys that like hiking we have taken the out to do different things. We have made a lot of Tops runs. Something that I”m used to but a lot of the guys love it. We have spent a lot of time on campus in the area.
“Everyone on our team being from different areas it’s good to know people from Elmira, from Ithaca, building relationships. Boarding school is supposed to be an experience with academic and athletics and socially. Building relationships in the area. We take recommendations on where to take the kids to dinner. Anne’s Pancakes was really good. The guys at school are good at recommending places to go.”
The players on the team really like the community aspect at Notre Dame.
“One big thing about Notre Dame is they have a really strong community,” Schwenebraten said. “We are going to be at a lot of home games for them (the other sports teams) and hopefully they show up for us as well.”
For the coaches having the kids on campus, with kids who grew up in the area, makes things easier for the kids to get used to the area.
“Integrating our guys is a lot easier knowing we all go to the same school every day on campus,” Cray said. “Football games, the basketball team was there. Just being able to help these guys with a real community has been fantastic to start what we are building.”
For Cray it’s been special being a part of the community.
“The community has been awesome,” Cray said. “What’s strange is before moving down here everyone had an opinion on Elmira. My stepmom is originally from Elmira so I had feedback from her. The community has been nothing but supportive. Elmira to Elmira Heights to Ithaca, so many people are excited to support what we do. So many people care about this area. It’s something to continue to push the local brand and people really do appreciate that.”
Having the IAC team too is just an opportunity for the Prep basketball team to get to know other kids from Elmira.
“The IAC team is really, really good,” Cray said. “I was able to catch the sectional championship last year. They have some super talented players return including a really talented kid named Rocco (Sayers). They are hoopers, they love it. They have asked to be part of workouts. It’s nice see the school’s IAC team is full of really good players that want to get better.”
This is a younger team for Notre Dame prep, which is good for the future of the program.
Believe it, or not, I have 11 underclassmen, juniors and below,” Cray said. “I’ll return ideally 11 kids that are very talented. The sophomore group we have three kids, 6-10 or taller. I have a freshman that I think will be a top 150 player in the country one day. I don’t have to recruit too much going into next year. We have a good amount of home games in January and late December. We have a kickoff game and hope to bring as many people as the gym will hold, sell it out, have local media and have local fans come out.”
For the younger players the hope is that being part of this team will help them grow as players.
“I’m from France and in France it’s not the same,” Deso said. “It’s ore physical (at Notre Dame), more practice, more lifting. I think in 2-3 years I will be much better than right now, because it’s better practice, better players.”
This team is a pretty special group with players from around the world.
“I think it’s amazing, our team is a melting pot of personalities and everyone shines in the same way,” Schwenebraten said.
There were some things that had to change for the Prep team, from kids living on campus, to much smaller, less noticeable things.
“It’s such a small thing to think about, but we have our shortest player on our team is 6-1,” Cray said. “I didn’t think about this when I took the job but we actually had to buy new rims, buy breakaway rims, college edition. Not a lot of guys in this area are doing on a consistent basis what are guys are doing with the dunking.”
The players are ready to kick off the season and see what they can do this first year.
“Even though it’s our first year I think we are going to be really good,” Schwenebraten said. “We are going to turn some heads, shock some people. So, I’m excited for that.”
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PHOTOS FROM PRACTICE. . . PHOTOS BY BRIAN FEES
PHOTO GALLERY FROM PRACTICE:
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