Notre Dame has landed a major commitment in its 2026 class, as four-star defensive lineman Tiki Hola has pledged to the Fighting Irish.
Hola, who chose Notre Dame over USC and SMU, becomes the 15th commit in the 2026 class and the first interior defensive lineman.
The Bastrop (Texas) star first visited South Bend in 2023 and has been a consistent presence on campus since. That familiarity paid off, as Notre Dame made him a priority from the start.
Al Washington and Nick Sebastian led the recruitment, with key support from Mike Martin, Marcus Freeman, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa, and Carter Auman.
“They always want to build the relationship with me,” Hola stated. “I always stay in contact with Coach Washington and Coach Sebastian. They also want to build a relationship with me and get to know me overall.”
His most recent visit came during last month’s Blue-Gold Game, where Hola sought to experience more than just football.
“I wanted to experience the things outside of football,” Hola explained. Yes, they are recruiting me for (football), but I wanted to feel like family.”
Hola’s commitment is notable not only for his on-field ability but for his maturity throughout the recruiting process.
“His level of maturity for being a 17-year-old kid in the recruiting spotlight that he’s been in is pretty remarkable,” Batrop head coach Jake Griedl said. “He hasn’t let it get to his head. He’s still as humble as he’s ever been. And to be honest, I think it’s probably humbled him even more just because he realizes with so many of his friends and people who he’s trained with in the past and other people in the state and really across the country who are really good players, not getting the opportunities that he’s getting, I think it’s humbled him to really appreciate it even that much more.
“If you didn’t know Tiki was a Top Five defensive tackle in the nation, you wouldn’t know outside of saying, ‘Man, that kid’s a really big kid.’ He’s just a great individual. I think that type of temperament is ultimately why his final three are his final three. I think he sees very similar values in the d-tackle coaches who would be coaching him and the d-coordinators who would be coaching him, and then also in the head coaches who would be coaching him.”
Griedi hosted some of the nation’s top coaches over the last few years, but Washington and Notre Dame stood out.
“Coach Washington has been outstanding,” Griedl said. “He’s really been a beacon of support for Tiki during this whole process. I can speak to just getting to know Coach Washington and his character through this process. I think Tiki sees that as a strong suit and somebody he could absolutely play for at the next level.
“Coach Washington is a really good coach, and Tiki understands that. He’s hopeful that Coach Washington will coach him all the way through. But if he doesn’t, he also knows the character of Marcus Freeman, and he knows that Marcus is going to go find another great coach who may not be exactly like Coach Washington, but the apple’s not going to fall too far from the tree in terms of the culture and individual that would replace him.”
Hola is Notre Dame’s first interior defensive line commit and will join edges Rodney Dunham and Ebenezer Ewetade in the class.
“I think he has an 84-inch wingspan,” said Griedl. “He’s great at locking people out and playing two gaps. I think the thing that really makes him great is his attention to detail and his coachability. He’s always been a big kid. He’s always been the biggest kid on the field, but really what sets him apart from other big kids is his ability to be kinesthetically aware, feel how his body moves, be able to understand things that he needs to change when we’re coaching him and then being able to feel it and make those changes.
“He’s a team captain for us. He’s a team leader for us. He’s an overall great kid. He has a great family. His parents are unbelievable people. He’s really easy to recruit because he’s just a good dude who is just looking for sincerity and genuineness out of his next stop.”
