True Freshman Jalen Haralson Leads Notre Dame to Win Against TCU

The 2026 NBA Draft class could be another group loaded with talent.

Aside from the obvious talent at the top of draft boards with players like Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, Mikel Brown Jr., Caleb Wilson and others, the class also boasts a number of solid players outside of the upper echelon.

Plenty of under-the-radar freshman and veterans around the country have shined early in the college basketball season, with Neoklis Avdalas, Kingston Flemings and Yaxel Lendeborg, among others, turning heads in the NBA Draft community.

On Friday night, another freshman starred, as Jalen Haralson helped Notre Dame pick up an 87-85 win against TCU. The Fighting Irish guard finished with 20 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds and a block in the victory while shooting 8-of-12 from the field, 0-of-1 from beyond the arc and 4-of-7 from the free throw line.

While Haralson committed 5 turnovers in the contest, he still tied for Notre Dame's leader in scoring and assists. Cole Certa, a sophomore guard, also chipped in 20 points as the Fighting Irish beat the Horned Forgs in overtime.

Heading into Friday night's matchup, Harlason was averaging 13.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists while shooting 51.3% from the field in 23.9 minutes per game across 8 appearances and 6 starts. The freshman's performance against TCU marks a new career high in points and assists.

Hailing from La Lumiere School, Haralson was rated the No. 17 overall prospect and the No. 3 small forward in the 2025 recruiting class, according to the 247Sports' composite rankings.

Listed at 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds, the Fighting Irish freshman has excellent size on the wing combined with solid athletecism. That could be enough for Haralson to garner attention from NBA teams, especially if he shows the potential to extend his shot beyond the arc.

In his first 9 college basketball games, the Notre Dame wing is 0-of-7 from 3-point range, and likely needs to improve as a perimeter shooter to be a reilable rotation player at the next level.

Still, Haralson clearly has the athletic ability and size to play at the next level.

For TCU, sophomore David Punch tallied a team-high 20 points to go along with 7 rebounds, an assist and a bock while shooting 6-of-11 from the field, 1-of-3 from beyond the arc, and 7-of-10 from the free throw line. Listed at 6-foot-7 and 246 pounds, Punch was averaging 12.7 points, 7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.3 blocks and 1.4 steals per game heading into Friday's contest.

Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.