Notre Dame Freshman Standout Ends Two-Sport Pursuit

It was an admirable effort, but Notre Dame freshman football standout Mark Zackery IV has stepped away from his second sport on campus, basketball.

Zackery joined the men's basketball team shortly after Notre Dame's football season came to an end, but a little less than two months into the project, has decided to focus only on football.

Notre Dame cornerback Mark Zackery IV is no longer with the Irish basketball program per media relations. He's re-joined the football team for winter conditioning.
— Tim O'Malley (@timomalleyND) January 24, 2026

Zackery's collegiate basketball career ends with appearances in four games for a total of 16 minutes. He scored two points in those four games, with those coming the heartbreaking and controversial loss at California.

It wasn't said officially anywhere, but my best guess is that had Notre Dame basketball gone better than the 3-6 it went in the nine games since he joined the roster, that he'd be sticking around.

Whatever the case, Zackery now heads back to the football team for winter conditioning.

Several Notre Dame Players Going 'Football Only' Now

I've always been a fan of athletes playing as many sports as they possibly can. I know times have changed but historical looks at guys like Jackie Robinson, who starred collegiately in seemingly any sport they wanted, always fascinate me.

Reality is that sports are becoming more specialized these days, though. If you're at Notre Dame and your NIL deal is paying you a lot more to play football than basketball, then aren't you going to proceed with the utmost caution on the hardwood?

Zackery joins the likes of Jordan Faision and Drayk Bowen, both of which have stopped the multiple sport approach somewhat recently at Notre Dame.

Faison was a significant goal scorer on the Notre Dame lacrosse team, and helped the Fighting Irish to a national championship in that sport in 2024. He however opted to drop lacrosse and focus on football this season.

THAT'S WHAT SPEED DO. @DraykBowen makes a STATEMENT in his first appearance for the Irish and we take the lead!

☘️ 8
🦉 7#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/IHkMIpx8Og
— Notre Dame Baseball (@NDBaseball) February 18, 2024

Captain and linebacker Drayk Bowen came to Notre Dame originally to play two sports, with baseball being his second. After appearing in three games as a sophomore in 2024, Bowen gave up playing baseball before the 2025 season.

While it's fun to look back on the days of Jeff Samardzija and Golden Tate playing a couple of sports at Notre Dame, the days of big time athletes playing multiple sports in college seems that much more unrealistic.

For Zackery, the hope is that he continues to build on an impressive freshman football season. After all, as a true freshman he did see action right away, playing in 11 games, and filling in as a starter when All-American Leonard Moore was out due to an injury.