2025–26 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team

2025–26 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball
2025–26 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	12–20 (3–17 Big Ten)
Head coach	Mike Rhoades (3rd season);
Associate head coach	Jamal Brunt (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Brent Scott (3rd season); Talor Battle (2nd season); Joe Crispin (3rd season);
Home arena	Bryce Jordan Center

2025–26 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 3 Michigan	19	–	1	.950	32	–	3	.914
No. 15 Nebraska	15	–	5	.750	27	–	6	.818
No. 11 Michigan State	15	–	5	.750	26	–	7	.788
No. 13 Illinois	15	–	5	.750	25	–	8	.758
No. 19 Wisconsin	14	–	6	.700	24	–	11	.686
No. 8 Purdue †	13	–	7	.650	27	–	8	.771
UCLA	13	–	7	.650	23	–	11	.676
Ohio State	12	–	8	.600	21	–	13	.618
Iowa	10	–	10	.500	21	–	12	.636
Indiana	9	–	11	.450	18	–	14	.563
Minnesota	8	–	12	.400	15	–	17	.469
USC	7	–	13	.350	18	–	14	.563
Washington	7	–	13	.350	16	–	17	.485
Rutgers	6	–	14	.300	14	–	19	.424
Northwestern	5	–	15	.250	15	–	19	.441
Oregon	5	–	15	.250	12	–	20	.375
Maryland	4	–	16	.200	12	–	21	.364
Penn State	3	–	17	.150	12	–	20	.375

† 2026 Big Ten tournament winner As of March 19, 2026 Rankings from AP poll

The 2025–26 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team represented Penn State University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by third-year head coach Mike Rhoades, and played their home games at Bryce Jordan Center located in State College, Pennsylvania as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 12–20, 3–17 in Big Ten play to finish in last place. They lost to Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten tournament.

Previous season

The Nittany Lions finished the 2024–25 season 16–15, 6–14 in Big Ten play to finish in 17th place.^[1] As a result of finishing in the bottom three, they failed to qualify for the Big Ten tournament.

Offseason

Departures

Penn State departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Jahvin Carter	0	G	6'3"	175	Freshman	Alcoa, TN	Transferred to Middle Tennessee State^[2]
Ace Baldwin Jr.	1	G	6'1"	190	Graduate Student	Baltimore, MD	Graduated, signed with the Osceola Magic
D'Marco Dunn	2	G	6'5"	195	Senior	Tucson, AZ	Graduated
Nick Kern Jr.	3	G	6'6"	200	Senior	St. Louis, MO	Graduated
Puff Johnson	5	G/F	6'8"	205	Graduate Student	Moon Township, PA	Graduated
Miles Goodman	8	F	6'11"	205	Freshman	Seattle, WA	Transferred to UT Arlington^[3]
Joe Sedora	10	F	6'5"	185	Freshman	York, PA	Walk-on; Transferred to West Chester^[4]
Yanic Konan Niederhäuser	14	F	7'0"	225	Junior	Fräschels, Switzerland	Declared for the 2025 NBA draft; Selected 30th overall by Los Angeles Clippers
Kachi Nzeh	15	F	6'8"	230	Sophomore	Upper Darby, PA	Transferred to Little Rock^[5]
Zach Hicks	24	F	6'8"	200	Senior	Camden, NJ	Graduated
Hudson Ward	52	F	6'7"	210	Freshman	Leduc, AB, Canada	Transferred to Western Michigan^[6]

Incoming transfers

Penn State incoming transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Josh Reed	10	F	6'8"	230	Senior	Atlanta, GA	Cincinnati^[7]
Saša Ciani	22	F	6'10"	240	Junior	Nova Gorica, Slovenia	UIC^[8]

Recruiting classes

2025 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Kayden Mingo CG	Farmingdale, New York	Long Island Lutheran High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Nov 1, 2024
Kayden Mingo CG	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (87)
Mason Blackwood SF	Rochester, New York	New Hampton School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Sep 18, 2024
Mason Blackwood SF	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (81)
Justin Houser C	Camp Hill, Pennsylvania	The Phelps School	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Jun 27, 2024
Justin Houser C	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: (77)
Ivan Jurić C	Zagreb, Croatia	Sunrise Christian Academy (Kansas)	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	250 lb (110 kg)	May 6, 2025
Ivan Jurić C	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: (NR)
Reggie Grodin SG	Larchmont, NY	The Newman School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	May 6, 2025
Reggie Grodin SG	Recruit ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: (NR)
Melih Tunca SG	Istanbul, Turkey	FMV Ayazağa Işık High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jun 2, 2025
Melih Tunca SG	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Tibor Mirtič PF	Ljubljana, Slovenia	Gimnazija Moste	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jul 18, 2025
Tibor Mirtič PF	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Overall recruit ranking: Rivals: 31 247Sports: 42 ESPN: —
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Penn State 2025 Basketball Commitments". Rivals. Retrieved August 29, 2024. "2025 Penn State Nittany Lions Recruiting Class". ESPN. Retrieved August 29, 2024. "2025 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved August 29, 2024. "Penn State 2025 Basketball Commits". 247Sports. Retrieved August 29, 2024.

Roster

2025–26 Penn State Nittany Lions men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	1	Mason Blackwood	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Fr	New Hampton School	Rochester, NY
F	3	Ivan Jurić	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Fr	Sunrise Christian (Kans.)	Zagreb, Croatia
G	4	Kayden Mingo	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Fr	Long Island Lutheran HS	Farmingdale, NY
G	5	Freddie Dilione V	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS Jr	Tennessee	Fayetteville, NC
G	7	Dominick Stewart	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	So	SoCal Academy	Ocean Springs, MS
G	9	Melih Tunca	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Fr	FMV Ayazağa Işık HS	Istanbul, Turkey
F	10	Josh Reed	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Sr	Cincinnati	Atlanta, GA
G	11	Eli Rice	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	RS So	Nebraska	Bradenton, FL
G	12	Reggie Grodin	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	The Newman School	Larchmont, NY
F	16	Tibor Mirtič	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Fr	Gimnazija Moste	Ljubljana, Slovenia
F	21	Justin Houser	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Fr	The Phelps School	Camp Hill, PA
F	22	Saša Ciani	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Jr	UIC	Nova Gorica, Slovenia
F	30	Chris Lotito (w)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Fr	Don Bosco Prep	Upper Saddle River, NJ

Head coach

Mike Rhoades (Lebanon Valley)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 19, 2025 2:00 p.m., FDSNO		at Dayton	L 62–78	–	16 – Tied	6 – Tied	4 – Mingo	UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH
October 26, 2025 2:00 p.m., B1G+		Shippensburg	W 86–67	–	21 – Dilione V	9 – Jurić	7 – Mingo	Bryce Jordan Center (1,086) State College, PA
Regular season
November 3, 2025* 7:00 p.m., B1G+		Fairfield	W 76–68	1–0	19 – Tunca	11 – Mirtic	6 – Tunca	Bryce Jordan Center (5,547) State College, PA
November 8, 2025* 1:00 p.m., NEC Front Row		at New Haven	W 87–43	2–0	18 – Stewart	7 – Dilione V	6 – Mingo	Hazell Center (1,087) West Haven, CT
November 11, 2025* 6:30 p.m., BTN		Navy Military Appreciation Game	W 80–71	3–0	19 – Dilione V	7 – Mingo	4 – Mingo	Bryce Jordan Center (5,772) State College, PA
November 15, 2025* 1:00 p.m., Peacock		vs. La Salle Basketball on Broad: Autumn Invitational	W 83–69	4–0	20 – Tunca	6 – Jurić	7 – Mingo	Xfinity Mobile Arena Philadelphia, PA
November 19, 2025* 6:30 p.m., B1G+		Harvard Fight for Literacy Game	W 84–80	5–0	24 – Mingo	9 – Jurić	6 – Tunca	Bryce Jordan Center (5,708) State College, PA
November 22, 2025* 4:00 p.m., TruTV		vs. Providence Hall of Fame Showcase	L 65–77	5–1	22 – Dilione V	9 – Dilione V	4 – Dilione V	Mohegan Sun Arena (6,456) Uncasville, CT
November 25, 2025* 7:00 p.m., Peacock/NBCSN		Boston University	W 96–87	6–1	17 – Reed	8 – Reed	4 – Tied	Bryce Jordan Center (4,424) State College, PA
November 29, 2025* 6:00 p.m., Peacock/NBCSN		Sacred Heart	W 90–59	7–1	14 – Jurić	9 – Jurić	5 – Mingo	Bryce Jordan Center (4,703) State College, PA
December 2, 2025* 6:00 p.m., BTN		Campbell	W 87–76	8–1	21 – Mingo	4 – Tied	5 – Stewart	Bryce Jordan Center (6,139) State College, PA
December 9, 2025 8:30 p.m., FS1		at Indiana	L 72–113	8–2 (0–1)	19 – Mingo	3 – Tied	2 – Tied	Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN
December 13, 2025 12:00 p.m., BTN		No. 9 Michigan State Student T-Shirt Giveaway & Schuylkill County Day	L 72–76	8–3 (0–2)	23 – Dilione V	7 – Mingo	8 – Mingo	Bryce Jordan Center (7,091) State College, PA
December 21, 2025* 12:00 p.m., BTN		vs. Pittsburgh	L 46–80	8–4	23 – Dilione V	6 – Tied	5 – Mingo	GIANT Center (8,191) Hershey, PA
December 29, 2025* 1:00 p.m., BTN		North Carolina Central	W 90–67	9–4	19 – Mingo	5 – Ciani	5 – Tied	Bryce Jordan Center (5,285) State College, PA
January 3, 2026 7:00 p.m., BTN		vs. No. 20 Illinois White Out	L 65–73	9–5 (0–3)	16 – Mingo	4 – Tied	5 – Mingo	Palestra (4,686) Philadelphia, PA
January 6, 2026 7:00 p.m., FS1		No. 2 Michigan Bryce Jordan Center 30th Anniversary Celebration	L 72–74	9–6 (0–4)	20 – Jurić	10 – Reed	4 – Dilione V	Bryce Jordan Center (5,491) State College, PA
January 10, 2026 2:00 p.m., BTN		at No. 5 Purdue	L 85–93	9–7 (0–5)	25 – Dilione V	10 – Jurić	5 – Dilione V	Mackey Arena (14,876) West Lafayette, IN
January 14, 2026 8:30 p.m., FS1		UCLA	L 60–71	9–8 (0–6)	16 – Stewart	9 – Jurić	3 – Tied	Bryce Jordan Center (5,836) State College, PA
January 18, 2026 12:00 p.m., BTN		at Maryland	L 73–96	9–9 (0–7)	19 – Mingo	4 – Stewart	5 – Mingo	Xfinity Center (11,567) College Park, MD
January 22, 2026 7:00 p.m., FS1		Wisconsin Return to Rec	L 71–98	9–10 (0–8)	18 – Reed	12 – Jurić	5 – Mingo	Rec Hall (5,774) University Park, PA
January 26, 2026 7:00 p.m., FS1		at Ohio State	L 78–84	9–11 (0–9)	20 – Rice	14 – Juri	8 – Mingo	Value City Arena (10,358) Columbus, OH
January 29, 2026 8:00 p.m., Peacock		at Northwestern	L 73–94	9–12 (0–10)	15 – Mingo	6 – Jurić	5 – Tunca	Welsh-Ryan Arena (5,143) Evanston, IL
February 1, 2026 2:00 p.m., Peacock/NBCSN		Minnesota Coaches vs. Cancer Game & Alumni Day	W 77–75	10–12 (1–10)	25 – Dilione V	5 – Tied	4 – Mingo	Bryce Jordan Center (6,820) State College, PA
February 5, 2026 6:30 p.m., FS1		at No. 2 Michigan	L 69–110	10–13 (1–11)	19 – Dillone V	7 – Dilione V	3 – Tied	Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI
February 8, 2026 12:00 p.m., BTN		USC THON Game	L 75–77	10–14 (1–12)	23 – Dilione V	8 – Jurić	4 – Dilione V	Bryce Jordan Center (6,504) State College, PA
February 11, 2026 10:30 p.m., BTN		at Washington	W 63–60	11–14 (2–12)	16 – Dillone V	6 – Tied	3 – Mingo	Alaska Airlines Arena (7,306) Seattle, WA
February 14, 2026 3:00 p.m., BTN		at Oregon	L 72–83	11–15 (2–13)	24 – Mingo	5 – Jurić	2 – Tied	Matthew Knight Arena (6,102) Eugene, OR
February 18, 2026 6:00 p.m., BTN		Rutgers Academic Achievement Night & Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night	L 72–85	11–16 (2–14)	22 – Reed	6 – Reed	6 – Mingo	Bryce Jordan Center (6,230) State College, PA
February 21, 2026 2:00 p.m., BTN		at No. 9 Nebraska	L 64–87	11–17 (2–15)	13 – Tied	10 – Jurić	6 – Mingo	Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,128) Lincoln, NE
February 28, 2026 12:00 p.m., BTN		Iowa Autism Awareness Game	W 71–69	12–17 (3–15)	25 – Reed	8 – Jurić	4 – Reed	Bryce Jordan Center (6,922) State College, PA
March 4, 2026 7:30 p.m., Peacock		Ohio State Senior Night Presented by the Penn State Alumni Association	L 62–94	12–18 (3–16)	15 – Tied	3 – Blackwood	4 – Stewart	Bryce Jordan Center (6,137) State College, PA
March 7, 2026 12:00 p.m., BTN		at Rutgers	L 62–74	12–19 (3–17)	16 – Jurić	8 – Reed	5 – Stewart	Jersey Mike's Arena (8,000) Piscataway, NJ
Big Ten Tournament
March 10, 2026 7:30 p.m., Peacock/NBCSN	(18)	vs. (15) Northwestern First round	L 66–76	12–20	22 – Jurić	6 – Jurić	5 – Mingo	United Center (15,828) Chicago, IL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Sources:^[9]

References

^ "2024-25 Men's Big Ten Conference Season Summary". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 15, 2025.
^ Hasselbach, Logan (April 17, 2025). "Men's Basketball inks Alcoa native Jahvin Carter". goblueraiders.com. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
^ "MBB: Mavs Add Penn State Transfer F/C Miles Goodman". utamavs.com. September 23, 2025. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
^ Horstman, Will (April 12, 2025). "Penn State men's basketball forward Joe Sedora transfers to West Chester". Daily Collegian. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
^ "Trojans Add More Home-Grown Talent in Final Signing Period". lrtrojans.com. July 9, 2025. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
^ "Broncos Sign Penn State Transfer Hudson Ward". wmubroncos.com. May 2, 2025. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
^ "Nittany Lions Sign Cincinnati Transfer Josh Reed". gopsusports.com. April 21, 2025. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
^ "Nittany Lions Welcome Transfer Saša Ciani". gopsusports.com. June 28, 2025. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
^ "2025–26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Penn State University Athletics. Retrieved October 29, 2025.

[1] "2024-25 Men's Big Ten Conference Season Summary". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 15, 2025.

[2] Hasselbach, Logan (April 17, 2025). "Men's Basketball inks Alcoa native Jahvin Carter". goblueraiders.com. Retrieved October 30, 2025.

[3] "MBB: Mavs Add Penn State Transfer F/C Miles Goodman". utamavs.com. September 23, 2025. Retrieved October 30, 2025.

[4] Horstman, Will (April 12, 2025). "Penn State men's basketball forward Joe Sedora transfers to West Chester". Daily Collegian. Retrieved October 30, 2025.

[5] "Trojans Add More Home-Grown Talent in Final Signing Period". lrtrojans.com. July 9, 2025. Retrieved October 30, 2025.

[6] "Broncos Sign Penn State Transfer Hudson Ward". wmubroncos.com. May 2, 2025. Retrieved October 30, 2025.

[7] "Nittany Lions Sign Cincinnati Transfer Josh Reed". gopsusports.com. April 21, 2025. Retrieved October 30, 2025.

[8] "Nittany Lions Welcome Transfer Saša Ciani". gopsusports.com. June 28, 2025. Retrieved October 30, 2025.

[9] "2025–26 Men's Basketball Schedule". Penn State University Athletics. Retrieved October 29, 2025.

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Penn State Nittany Lions basketball
Venues	Armory (1896–1929) Rec Hall (1929–1996) Bryce Jordan Center (1996–present)
Culture & lore	Legion of Blue Nittany Lion "Fight On, State" Penn State Blue Band
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics