GREECE, N.Y. — A 2023 Greece Athena grad got the gig he’s always dreamed of. Riley Catena has the luck of the Irish on his side for sure and he's ready to share it with thousands of sports fans. 

What You Need To Know

  • The University of Notre Dame selected four students to be mascots for the 2024-2025 school year

  • Riley Catena will be one of four Notre Dame Leprechauns

  • He is part of the cheer team at Notre Dame

The soon-to-be sophomore at the University of Notre Dame will be leading the charge for the Fighting Irish as its next mascot.

Catena played baseball and football at Athena, was in school musicals and was also the school mascot. He is full of energy and is all smiles.

"We were the Trojans so I wore the Trojan suit and I did all of the basketball games and some of the girls flag football games as well," said Catena.

He took all that school spirit and auditioned at Notre Dame. After two rounds of tryouts, Catena was selected to be one of four Fighting Irish Leprechauns. It's a mascot recognized around the world.

"Ever since I was a little kid I wanted to go to Notre Dame and so that was the first goal and the second goal was becoming the mascot. Both of those are checked off so that's pretty great," said Catena.

Catena is ready for the Fighting Irish and the never-say-die fighting spirit and qualities of grit, determination and tenacity. He's always wanted to be the guy in the green suit. He's ready for all those sideline pushups.

He'll be assigned a different sport each season. He says he will start with women's volleyball, then men's basketball. He is a member of the cheer team  and gets all the gear, the workouts and practice.

He is also eligible for NIL deals. He's now part of the leprechaun legacy.