Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1534903
M A Y 2 0 2 5 3 9 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M into the NBA Draft process while main- taining his eligibility. In a recent Insta- gram post, he announced that if he de- cides to withdraw from the draft, he will return to Penn State next season. An honorable mention All-Big Ten se- lection this past season, Konan Nieder- hauser was particularly effective down the stretch, and he's inspired consider- able optimism for his fourth and final sea- son of eligibility … if he decides to use it. Overcoming the persistent foul trouble that plagued him earlier in the campaign, he averaged 16.4 points in the Lions' last five games, and he did so while playing 32.2 minutes, up from his season average of 25.1. Konan Niederhauser has until June 16 to decide whether to move forward in the draft process or return to Penn State. With broad changes to the roster hav- ing already been made, and some still to come, this is how the Nittany Lions are shaping up heading into the summer months: Outgoing Transfers Carter, the Nittany Lions' true fresh- man point guard out of Alcoa, Tenn., was the first to enter the NCAA transfer por- tal. In his debut season, he averaged 2.1 points and 0.7 assists over 8.2 minutes per game. He appeared in 26 of the Nittany Lions' 31 games, including a season-high 23 minutes at Illinois on Jan. 8 after Bald- win suffered a lower-back injury. For the season, he connected on 11 of 34 shots from beyond the arc (32.4 per- cent) while hitting 32.8 percent of his at- tempts from the floor overall. Carter will continue his career at Middle Tennessee State. Ward, a rising redshirt freshman for- ward out of Alberta, Canada, was the sec- ond 2024 signee to depart. The three-star forward played in eight games with the Nittany Lions during his debut season. He tallied just 21 minutes, finishing with 5 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block. A third 2024 signee, Goodman, soon joined his classmates in the portal. He played in 13 games during his debut sea- son, averaging 1.2 points and 1.4 rebounds over 5.9 minutes per game. Goodman hurt his shoulder shortly after the start of organized practices last year. The injury required surgery, and he was forced out of action until Jan. 2. He is now headed to Oregon and will have three seasons of eligibility with the Ducks. The final Nittany Lion to enter the portal this spring was Nzeh, who made the call on April 18. A rising junior for- ward who transferred from Xavier to play for the Nittany Lions this past sea- son, he appeared in 29 games, starting two. Nzeh averaged 2.6 points and 2.2 rebounds while playing 11.3 minutes per outing. He twice scored a season- high 8 points — against Virginia Tech in November and again versus Iowa in January. His season-high in rebounding came against the University of Mary- land Baltimore County in November when he totaled 6. Incoming Transfer Josh Reed, a 6-7, 220-pound wing, pledged to the Nittany Lions after spend- ing his first three seasons at Cincinnati. Reed was an On3 Industry Ranking three- star prospect in the 2022 class. He was ranked No. 149 nationally, No. 38 among all shooting guards, and No. 5 in Georgia for the cycle. At Cincinnati, Reed played an ever-ex- panding role, culminating in a late-season surge this past year. He started nine of the Bearcats' last 10 games, coming off the bench only for senior day. Closing out Big 12 play with a two- game appearance in the conference tournament, he averaged 28.8 minutes, putting up double-digit scoring perfor- mances in five games. He also hit 11 of 28 three-point attempts in the season- closing stretch and had a career-high 19 points against Oklahoma State in the Big 12 Tournament. A veteran player who has appeared in 97 games over the past three years, Reed boasts the size and experience Penn State wanted to add to the roster this offseason. He is strong and physical on the floor but is considered versatile on the defensive end, able to guard bigger forwards, wings and guards alike. As of late April, Penn State's coach- ing staff was continuing to evaluate and pursue potential additions to its 2025-26 roster. As part of that effort, the Nittany Lions were believed to be actively evaluat- ing the international market, primarily in Europe's many professional leagues. Overseas prospects have become in- creasingly appealing to major-conference programs, as evidenced by the recent suc- cess of Michigan's Vladislav Goldin and Illinois' Kasparas Jakucionis. Penn State is among the programs that are eager to reap the rewards of international contri- butions. "We're recruiting all over the world. I think in the landscape of college athletics and college athletic recruiting, you have to be open to everything — high school kids, the portal, and of course interna- tional," Rhoades said. "We've recruited internationally before. I have guys on our staff who have done it and have made many trips all over the world to do that. I think that's very important to us. "You've seen it around college basket- ball the last two years, especially this past year, and in our league. Let's be open to that." ■ PENN STATE SCHOLARSHIP ROSTER TRACKER Returnees G Freddie Dilione V G/F Eli Rice G Dominick Stewart Signees F Mason Blackwood F Justin Houser G Kayden Mingo Incoming Transfer G/F Josh Reed (Cincinnati) Declared Early For NBA Draft C Yanic Konan Niederhauser Portal Exits G Jahvin Carter (Middle Tennessee State) C Miles Goodman (Oregon) F Kachi Nzeh G/F Hudson Ward (Western Michigan) Eligibility Expired G Ace Baldwin Jr. F Zach Hicks F Puff Johnson G Nick Kern Jr.