2020 Notre Dame TE Commit Kevin Bauman Enjoys Homecoming

Kevin Bauman‍ returned to Notre Dame this past weekend for the first time since the 2020 New Jersey tight end committed to the Irish back in June.

“It was incredible,” Bauman said of the visit. “My dad and I went out on Friday and got to experience gameday for the first time.

“We got to check out some of the things we didn’t get to see on our last visit. We got a chance to meet with the coaches a little bit. I got to meet with Coach (Brian) Kelly for the first time in person, which was awesome. That was cool.”

Kelly explained why the Red Bank Catholic High School standout’s decision was such a good one.

“The perks of being a part of Notre Dame, being part of the Irish,” Bauman said of what he heard from Kelly during their meeting. “Obviously, the school and the football program sell themselves. Just being a part of the team and school and what that brings to you, not only as a football player, but in your life outside of football; your academic life, your faith life and career and all of that.”

Bauman also enjoyed everything around the game itself.

“I got to watch The Walk into the stadium from the library, which was incredible,” he said. “Everything with the game, from pregame with the Play Like A Champion Today sign, seeing the players come out, being on the sidelines for warm-ups and everything and getting to be in person for the ‘Here Come The Irish’ song was awesome for me. I’ve been waiting a while to hear that in person.”

He was able to connect with some future teammates and potentially others while in town.

“I got to see Cam Hart, who was actually there the last time we visited,” he said. “Jack Kiser was there, I met with him for a little bit. Also, I met with some of the other prospects who are being recruited heavily.”

Bauman plans on attending the Shamrock Series Game at Yankee Stadium next month against Syracuse, but it’ll depend on his own team’s schedule.

“We’re 6-0 right now, we just had our bye week,” he said. “We have a big game Friday. We have two more regular season games and then the playoffs.”

He said a state championship is the ultimate goal “of course,” but that isn’t his team’s focus right now.

“We really do focus on one day at a time,” he said. “This Friday is huge for us. Our focus is on that and the rest will take care of itself.

“I’m playing both sides of the ball, offense and defense, which is fun and just making an impact anyway I can. Playing with this group of guys is awesome, some of my best friends, it’s just a lot of fun.”

The 6-foot-5, 235-pound junior first visited Notre Dame back in June and committed a little over a week later. He acknowledged it was different being back in South Bend as a committed prospect.

“Being there and seeing everything, knowing, ‘Wow, this is going to be my home for a few years,’ is incredible,” he said. “Talking with the coaches and everything, Coach Kelly, Coach (Chip) Long, it’s just awesome. It really feels like home, seeing everything, knowing that’s going to be your home is very special.”