INDIANAPOLIS ― Someone with the most famous surname in Butler basketball history was back Friday, Oct. 17, at Hinkle Fieldhouse, only this time, running up and down the famed floor.
Notre Dame basketball sophomore guard Brady Stevens, whose father, Brad, coached Butler to unimaginable heights in 2010 and 2011, checked into Friday’s exhibition game against his father’s former school with 7:57 remaining in the second half.
Brad Stevens was there in attendance at Hinkle to see it. He was recognized during the second media timeout of the first half.
Stevens is a 6-foot-4, 195-pound reserve guard for the Irish. He joined the program in 2024-25 as a preferred walk-on after averaging 23.1 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists as a senior at Wellesley High School in Boston. Stevens did not appear in a regular season game last season. He did play 4:25 and scored two points with one rebound in last October’s exhibition at Purdue Fort Wayne, a 91-54 win.
Often last year, as was the case again Friday, Stevens was the first out of the locker room to get loose and get shots up 90 minutes before tip.
Friday was the first time Butler and Notre Dame met since a 67-64 Irish overtime victory in the second round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament in Pittsburgh. This was the first time the teams have played at Hinkle since a 76-60 Butler win on February 15, 1995. That was the last year that Notre Dame operated as an independent before joining the Big East.
The Irish lead the series, which first started in 1909, 72-31, 29-20 at Hinkle.
Butler and Notre Dame are scheduled to meet in an exhibition at Purcell Pavilion in October 2026.
Brad Stevens spent six seasons (2007-13) as the coach at Butler. He went 166-49 and led the Bulldogs, then a member of the Horizon League, to consecutive NCAA Tournament Final Fours/championship games. Among those on his staff was Irish head coach Micah Shrewsberry, who spent four years (2007-11) as a Bulldog assistant before rejoining Stevens in 2013 to serve on his staff with the Boston Celtics.
Stevens is president of basketball operations for the Celtics after serving eight seasons as head coach.
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