Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1533674
A P R I L 2 0 2 5 17 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 1 s t Penn State's place in the Big Ten power rankings that USA Today writer Paul Myerberg released on March. 3. "There's talent, coaching and plenty of motivation after coming close to an appearance against OSU in the champi- onship game," Myerberg wrote. "Can the Nit- tany Lions use that pain to reach new heights under James Franklin? Look for the offense to be the best of his tenure while the defense still has several all-conference or even All-America performers." Ohio State, Oregon, Michigan and Illinois rounded out USA Today's top five heading into the start of spring practice. 2 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year awards for graduate point guard ACE BALDWIN JR. After ranking 10th na- tionally with an average of 2.37 steals per game during the regular season, Baldwin became the first Big Ten player since Purdue's Ken- neth Lowe in 2003 and 2004 to be named the league's top defender in consecutive seasons. 3 r d Penn State's spot in Bill Connelly's first set of SP+ rankings for the 2025 season. The ESPN.com data guru uses a formula that takes into account recruiting success, historical trends and returning produc- tion. Defending national champion Ohio State tops Connel- ly's rankings, followed by Alabama. Georgia and Notre Dame also made his top five. 4 Goals by the Penn State men's lacrosse team in the fi- nal 2:27 of its matchup against third-ranked Cornell on March 8 in Ithaca, N.Y. The Nittany Lions trailed 12-8, but goals by senior midfielders Kyle Aldridge and Luke Wal- strum, sophomore attacker Liam Matthews and graduate midfielder Jack Aimone — the last coming with 16 seconds left — sent the game to overtime. Senior midfielder Ethan Long gave the ninth-ranked Nittany Lions a rousing 13-12 comeback victory when he netted the winner less than a minute into the extra period. 8 t h James Franklin's spot in The Athletic's "Power Rankings" of college head football coaches for 2025. Writers Bruce Feldman and Stewart Mandel submitted separate lists, and Franklin was eighth in both. Mandel said Franklin was "one of the toughest coaches to rank" due to the disparity in his records against top-five op- ponents (1-15) and everyone else (100-27). Feldman acknowledged that Franklin "has had big head- aches against Michigan and Ohio State," but added that he "has a better track record of success than several coaches ranked above him here." Georgia's Kirby Smart and Ohio State's Ryan Day are 1-2 in both lists. 1 4 Wins by the Penn State baseball team in its first 17 games. It's the team's best start since 1979. The Nit- tany Lions' season-opening surge included wins in four of their first five Big Ten games — their best start since going 4-1 to open the conference slate in 2014. 3 1 Victories by the Penn State women's ice hockey team during the 2024-25 season. It was the most wins in program history, surpassing the 26 victories they amassed during the 2022-23 campaign. The season ended with a 4-1 loss to St. Lawrence on March 13 in Columbus, Ohio, in the regional semifinals of the NCAA Tournament. 1 8 1 . 5 Points by the Penn State wrestling team in its first-place performance at the Big Ten Championships on March 8-9 in Evanston, Ill. The Nittany Lions' total was their highest ever at the conference meet, topping the 170.5 they scored last year. Nebraska was a dis- tant second with 137 points, while Iowa finished third with 112. Penn State tied a school record by crowning five Big Ten champions: freshman Luke Lilledahl (125 pounds), sophomore Tyler Kasak (157), redshirt sophomore Mitchell Mesenbrink (165), junior Levi Haines (174) and graduate Carter Starocci (184). 1 0 6 , 5 7 2 Beaver Stadium's official seating ca- pacity prior to the demolition of the west grandstand's upper portion and press box this winter, the first phase of a $700 million overhaul of the venerable facility. PSU plans to erect temporary bleachers to make up for the lost seating. Although athletics director Patrick Kraft did not commit to a specific number when asked in February how many fans the stadium will hold while under construc- tion the next two seasons, he did say he expects it to be "re- ally, really close" to the previous capacity. By The Numbers PHOTO BY MARK SELDERS/PENN STATE ATHLETICS