Notre Dame baseball earns commitment from 2024 South Bend native Jayce Lee
Jayce Lee has spent his high school baseball career regularly driving past Notre Dame. He will now get to play college baseball for the Irish.
Lee, a 2024 outfielder out of South Bend (Ind.) St. Joseph, committed to Notre Dame on Tuesday. St. Joseph is located 1.5 miles south of Notre Dame’s Frank Eck Stadium, while the Northfield Athletic Complex — home of the Indians baseball team — is 6.4 miles northwest.
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“I’m excited to announce that I will be committing to the University of Notre Dame,” Lee tweeted. “I would like to thank God, my family, and all the coaches that have helped me to this point.”
The 6-3, 175-pound righty posted a .433 batting average and .568 on-base percentage with four home runs, 26 hits, 27 RBI, 27 runs and 13 stolen bases this spring, per MaxPreps. In 81 plate appearances, Lee struck out eight times. He posted a fielding percentage of .974 and made just one error on the year.
“Lee brings some explosiveness to the plate with easy juice and the ability turn the barrel with authority,” said Shooter Hunt, the vice president of scouting for Prep Baseball Report. “Premium upside with impressive athleticism in all facets.”
The Indians finished the regular season with a 14-6 record and won their fifth straight IHSAA Sectional Championship.
In addition to high school baseball, Lee is the Indiana Bulls teammate of 2023 Notre Dame football and baseball commit Drayk Bowen. Ironically, Merrillville (Ind.) Andrean, Bowen’s high school, knocked St. Joseph out of state championship contention in June.
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The newest member of the Irish baseball class is also a basketball player for St. Joseph. Lee averaged 8.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals over 22 games during the 2021-2022 season according to MaxPreps. He shot 31 percent from three-point range and 36 percent overall.
Lee is the fourth 2024 pledge new head coach Shawn Stiffler has at this time; pitcher Calder Glassman and infielders Johnathan Holt and Charlie Vercruysse round out the class. The group will presumably work under the tutelage of expected pitching coach Seth Cutler-Voltz and expected hitting coach Logan Robbins. Notre Dame has not officially announced their hires.
