Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1534903
3 8 M A Y 2 0 2 5 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P e n n S ta te h ea d coa c h M i ke Rhoades established clear pa- rameters for his team this offsea- son. Set to lose five seniors, plus a handful of others via the transfer portal, the Nittany Lions would need to reshape their roster in preparation for the 2025- 26 campaign. To do so, they would look for talent, improved shooting, and size. "You always want to get a level of tal- ent. You've got to get players who can help us win Big Ten games from the get- go," Rhoades said. "The one thing that I had to learn even more is the level of size, one through five, [that is neces- sary]. Returning players have got to put on a body of armor that can win games in the Big Ten, but we also have to go out and recruit a body of armor, guys with size and girth at all positions. I think that's important. "We could still play the style that I want to play while being bigger and stronger and taller and having more girth. So that's huge." Given the program's roster last season and its losses this offseason, the senti- ment is deeply rooted for Penn State. Gone are point guards Ace Baldwin Jr. and Jahvin Carter, standing 6-foot-1 and 6-3, respectively, while weighing roughly MEN'S BASKETBALL Size Size Matters Matters Penn State reassembles its roster with an eye toward bulking up for the Big Ten NAT E BAU E R | N AT E . B A U E R @ O N 3 . C O M 1 9 0 p o u n d s apiece. Shooting guard D'Marco Dunn (6-5, 205 pounds) also exhausted his eligibility, as have Nick Kern Jr. (6-5, 205), Puff Johnson (6-8, 210) and Zach Hicks (6-8, 205). Combined with the transfers of wing Hudson Ward (6-7, 210), power forward Kachi Nzeh (6-8, 225) and center Miles Goodman (6-11, 225), the roster turnover is extensive. Returning players include only red- shirt junior guard Freddie Dilione V (6-5, 195), sophomore guard Dominick Stew- art (6-5, 195), junior wing Eli Rice (6-8, 220) and senior center Yanic Konan Nie- derhauser (7-0, 250). Penn State's true freshman class, set to arrive this sum- mer, features star point guard Kayden Mingo (6-3), forward Mason Black- wood (6-7) and center Justin Houser (7-0). Complicating that picture, Konan Niederhauser has entered himself Guard Dominick Stewart is one of three scholarship players who are set to return next season. A 6-5, 195-pound rising sophomore , Stewart averaged 2.8 points in 24 game appearances during his freshman year. PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS