Illinois 2024 basketball prospect Cole Certa pledges to Notre Dame

High-scoring Bloomington Central Catholic guard Cole Certa, arguably the top prospect in Illinois in the Class of 2024, is headed East to play his college basketball. But not too far.

Certa announced Thursday he has committed to Notre Dame where he will play for new Fighting Irish coach Micah Shrewsberry.

A 6-foot-5 shooting guard, Certa averaged 26.5 points per game and made 115 3-pointers during his junior season as he led Bloomington Central Catholic to the runner-up finish in Class 2A.

Certa's recruitment took off during his outstanding junior campaign after he started to accumulate mid-major offers last summer.

He attracted scholarship offers from Bradley, Toledo, Illinois State, Drake, Southern Illinois, Eastern Michigan and Loyola last summer before adding offers from Northwestern, Penn State, Rice, Illinois, Butler, and Nebraska during the season.

Shrewsberry, an Indiana native, offered Certa a scholarship while he was coaching at Penn State and then offered him a scholarship to Notre Dame on April 9.

Certa took a visit to Notre Dame last month, which helped seal the deal for his verbal commitment less than a month after receiving his offer from the Fighting Irish.

“I loved the visit to Notre Dame,” Certa told Joe Henricksen of the Chicago Sun-Times. “The relationship I have with that coaching staff, the style they play and all that Notre Dame has to offer made the decision an easy one.”

Shrewsberry, who grew up in Indianapolis, has had a strong run on the recruiting trail since making the move from Penn State, including flipping three commitments from the Nittany Lions and adding Northwestern transfer Julian Roper to go with holdover pledge Markus Burton.

Certa, who is rated by 247Sports as the fifth-best prospect in Illinois and No. 117 prospect nationally in the Class of 2024, is the first commitment for Notre Dame in the Class of 2024.

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