Men’s Basketball: 2025-2026 Preview – Penn State

Howdy, y’all, we’re back again with another Big Ten Basketball preview! Today we’re going to be looking at the Penn State Nittany Lions. Last season Penn State finished with a record of 16-15, with an abysmal 6-14 conference record, finishing the season 17th in the Big Ten. With most of the previous roster either graduating or entering the transfer portal, third year head coach Mike Rhoades had some work to do this off season.

Some of the names you should be on the lookout for this season are true freshmen Kayden Mingo and Mason Blackwood, as well as senior transfer Josh Reed. Mingo is coming in as the #4 PG recruit in the country, and #34 overall recruit. He’s got a bit of an awkward shooting motion, but he connects at a pretty solid rate of his jumpers and has no problem getting into the paint and finishing at the rim. He’s a pretty willing playmaker and seems comfortable with the ball in his hand during the pick-and-roll. He’s got a pretty good 6’6” wingspan, and uses that length to make plays on defense, especially in the passing lanes. He’s definitely a name to watch as an early NBA Draft jumper.

Blackwood is joining the program as the #29 Small Forward recruit in the nation and hopes to bring some size and strength to the Penn State frontcourt. He’s an above average shooter at 6’7”, albeit with a less-than-ideal shot motion and has the ability to be an above average rebounder for his position as well, showing more and more willingness to go after the ball on both ends of the floor. Blackwood can play either forward spot, which lines up great with the versatility of my next name, Josh Reed.

Reed is a senior forward transfer, coming in from the Cincinnati Bearcats. Reed is 6’9” and has shown to be a solid three-point shooter in his limited action throughout his career, knocking down 33% of his shots from deep. If he can see consistent minutes, I believe he will have by far the best year of his college career this season.

I’m sorry to any Penn State fans reading this, but I’m not going to sugarcoat this: This team will probably not be very good. Hopefully I’m wrong, for your sake, but I just don’t think they added enough pieces to compete in the Big Ten. Most of the players on the roster have seen very little, if any, playing time in D1 basketball, and that’s not usually a recipe for success.

The Ducks will host Penn State this year, date and time TBD.

And, as always, ‘Sco Ducks