Ryder Frost has been one of the biggest stock-risers in the country over the last year, and now he has a college home. The 6-foot-6 wing from Beverly, Mass. has committed to Notre Dame, he told New England Basketball Journal.
Frost chose to take his talents to South Bend, Ind., to play for Notre Dame head coach Micah Shrewberry in 2025 over a group of five other finalists that included Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Virginia Tech and Syracuse. The decision is the culmination of a dream Frost has worked his entire life for, and a recruiting journey that picked up steam during a breakout summer this year for the Middlesex Magic on the Under Armour grassroots circuit.
Frost – who won NEPSAC Class A Player of the Year as he led Phillips Exeter to the Class A championship in the spring – carried that momentum into a massive summer in which he firmly cemented himself as one of the best shooters in the country, leading the Under Armour circuit with a 45 percent clip from 3-point range. Frost, who received his first Division 1 offer from Le Moyne last summer, saw his recruitment soar as he picked up more than 30 D1 offers, including several high-major schools. He also cracked the Top 100 national recruiting rankings on both ESPN and 24/7 Sports, both at No. 97.
With his decision in the books, Frost took some time for a wide-ranging interview with New England Basketball Journal. The discussion includes his Notre Dame decision, his wild recruiting journey, his reaction to making the national rankings, how he’s become such an elite shooter and much more.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Where are you committing to play college basketball, and why?
“I decided to commit to Coach (Micah) Shrewsberry and Notre Dame. The (recruiting) process was really amazing. It was a blessing. I got to meet so many great people, so many great coaches, all the schools I was able to visit were so impressive. The process has been something I’ve been working at and working towards for years, just kind of working every day, day in and day out, trying to expand my game, grow in areas where I’m good but also just grow in areas I need to work at and I just want to reiterate I’m really grateful to be in this position.
“I ultimately chose Notre Dame. I really just loved everything about it. The visit was great. I really connected with Coach Shrewsberry, Coach (Mike) Farrelly, they had built a good connection with me and my parents and my coaches. Just connected with them and the entire coaching staff down to the managers, the strength and conditioning coach, the trainers. It felt like home. It felt like the place for me. I connected with the players a lot. I had known Brady Stevens, who’s a freshman this year. I was able to play with him for two years with the Middlesex Magic, so even just having that little connection going in was big for me and it was just great to connect with the guys. I think the team culture is great and it feels like I would fit in really well.
“Basketball-wise, I think it complements my game and I’m about what they’re about. I think I’m a competitor, someone who wants to win, someone who will be a great teammate and someone who’s just going to work hard every day to impact winning in any way I can, and I think that’s just how they’re doing things and I think I fit that mold.”
When did you visit?
“I visited the weekend of September 7th. I was actually at the football game when they lost to NIU. So, it was an interesting Saturday.”
How do you see yourself making an impact there? What did the coaching staff say to you about where they see you fitting in?
“They were super honest and super real about how I fit with them. They play fast, which is kind of similar to how I play with my school team Phillips Exeter and also with Middlesex, so I thought that was definitely a positive. They said they play with a lot of freedom and they give a lot of freedom to their guys, but a lot of just being able to go out there and play. Coach Shrews’ system really translates and helps guys that play like me, and I just feel like going in, trying to make an impact from Day 1, and like I said, try to impact winning in any way I can.”
You got your first Division 1 offer from Le Moyne in 2023. What do you remember about that moment?
“We had played a game in the NEPSAC showcase, and then we went to one of my teammates’ houses — he was a postgrad, Henry Bickford, who’s at NYU now. We were just at his house, the whole team was hanging out because we had a game later that day. We had a cookout, had some food, it was really our first time really hanging out with each other and after that first game, just hanging out at his house and got a call from Coach (Nate) Champion and he offered me on the call. It was just surreal. Like I’ve been working at that for a while and definitely made it one of my goals to be a Division 1 player and get an offer. I was super excited that it all kind of worked out. It kind of only made me want to keep expanding my game and keep getting better and keep working harder, so yeah, I’ll always remember that.”
When you think about that moment, was that something that drove you and made you want to get all the high-major interest you ended up getting?
“I wouldn’t say I set out as a goal (to receive high-major recruitment). I think I was just always focused on just getting better and really just trying to be the best player I could be, trying not to compare myself to other kids or other kids I played against and really just focus on myself and stayed disciplined and stayed working hard every day and getting multiple workouts in. I definitely think it drove me, like I said, to keep working harder, and really to see how far I can take it. I feel like that’s where I’m at now, just wanted to be the best player I could be and keep growing my game. Like I said, I wouldn’t say it was definitely like, ‘Oh, I want to get high-major recruitment,’ it was more just like, I like this, I like to work at it, and let’s just see where it goes and how far I can take it.”
How would you describe what this summer was like with all the offers and interest you were getting?
“It was amazing. It was great to meet a bunch of coaches. The day after one of our sessions in Ohio, on (a) Monday, I got eight high-major offers in a day, which was crazy. That was a surreal moment. All day, I was just getting calls and I was in my friends’ dorm rooms, and we were just hanging out and it was happening, and it was just a crazy day. It was just so cool to meet so many people and hear from schools that I had watched my whole life. It was surreal. It was just a super fun time.”
A few weeks ago, you cracked the ESPN Top 100. What was your reaction to that? Do you care about rankings at all?
“I think it’s cool, it’s cool to see rankings and all that stuff. I wouldn’t say I’m doing it for that. I just think it’s more motivation for me to just keep working, keep growing. I think the rankings are cool, but at the end of the day, rankings don’t matter to me personally. I’m not putting in all this work for any rankings or anyone else’s opinion. I’m just trying to go out there and get better every day.”
Have you always been a shooter? What kind of strides do you feel like you made this summer with the Magic?
“My dad was the one who kind of taught me how to shoot. Always kind of been a shooter on my travel basketball, middle school teams and all that. But when I grew, it was kind of just easier to get my shot off. My freshman year, I was probably 6-2, and I kind of just kept growing and then the end of my sophomore year, I ended at around 6-5 and then my junior year 6-6. I’ve always been able to get it off and it’s just been something I’ve continued to work at and not get satisfied. I know the percentages and all that stuff may show that, but really just trying to expand it and not just be a catch and shoot guy, be able to put it on the deck, put it on the floor, come off screens. I’ve really been trying to work on my mid-range game this summer and this fall, being able to take guys off the dribble and use my catch and shoot ability, if they do run me off the line, be able to attack the mid-range game. But yeah, it’s been something I’ve been working at and I pride myself on and just giving me a lot of confidence to just go out and play, not think, just go out and hoop.”
What do your shooting workouts look like?
“I’ll usually start with close shots and form shooting and just getting a feel, making sure my shot’s feeling good, my form’s feeling good, but I do a lot of specific spot shooting. I’ll do mid-ranges and 3s from three spots, the corner, kind of between the corner and wing and then kind of between the wing and the top of the key. I’ll do that on both sides, each spot going like middies, 3s, kind of different footwork, backing up, coming into it, off the dribble, just kind of working on different things. I like having it be, not like freestyle but just kind of playing. Sometimes I’ll do specific footwork, but other times I’m just doing kind of whatever I’m reacting to. I’ll do that on both sides, top of the key stuff, kind of the same thing. I think the biggest thing for me is just staying consistent with it, just doing something every day, and then whether it’s a shooting workout or specific shots I want to get up or something like that, just always staying consistent with it, always getting something in.”
What are other things are you working on? What other parts of your game do you want to be strengths?
“I would say definitely just trying to get more athletic, get stronger, get quicker, get faster, being able to guard multiple positions, it’s definitely something I want to keep getting better at. I would say my ball-handling, that’s been a main emphasis for me. Like I said, people closing in on me hard off the line, being able to take guys off the dribble and really work on my mid-range game with my ball-handing. And just, I think I always pride myself on just making the right play. My passing, finding the open guy, making the extra pass, being a great teammate.”
What are your goals and what’s driving you for your final season at Exeter?
“I’m just trying to get better every day. Being a leader, working on being able to lead the new guys and like I said, just trying to expand my game, trying to go out and get another Class A championship. We were able to accomplish that last year and we want to repeat that. Not focus on anything too ahead of us, just kind of take it day by day, we’ve been putting in a lot of work in the fall with lifts and playing a bunch and skill work and all that stuff, so just kind of taking it day by day, but working towards that Class A championship.”
