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
	Seasons ← 2024–25 2026–27 →

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.

ConferenceBig Ten Conference

Record12–20 (3–17 Big Ten)

Headcoach

Mike Rhoades (3rd season)

Associate headcoachJamal Brunt (3rd season)

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2025–26 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 1 Michigan	19	–	1	.950	37	–	3	.925
No. 14 Nebraska	15	–	5	.750	28	–	7	.800
No. 5 Illinois	15	–	5	.750	28	–	9	.757
No. 11 Michigan State	15	–	5	.750	27	–	8	.771
No. 25 Wisconsin	14	–	6	.700	24	–	11	.686
No. 6 Purdue †	13	–	7	.650	30	–	9	.769
UCLA	13	–	7	.650	24	–	12	.667
Ohio State	12	–	8	.600	21	–	13	.618
No. 15 Iowa	10	–	10	.500	24	–	13	.649
Indiana	9	–	11	.450	18	–	14	.563
Minnesota	8	–	12	.400	15	–	18	.455
USC	7	–	13	.350	18	–	14	.563
Washington	7	–	13	.350	16	–	17	.485
Rutgers	6	–	14	.300	14	–	20	.412
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 Rankings from AP poll

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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]

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]

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.

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.

2025–26 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team

Previous season

Offseason

Departures

Incoming transfers

Recruiting classes

2025 recruiting class

Roster

Schedule and results

References

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