Penn State basketball moved back onto campus this weekend and the 2025-26 roster is taking shape. The Nittany Lions are welcoming eight new faces to head coach Mike Rhoade's team: seven freshmen and one senior transfer.
Fresh faces settling into Happy Valley 🏠#WeAre pic.twitter.com/8aJNO46hTL
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) June 14, 2025
Justin Houser, Mason Blackwood, Kayden Mingo, Ivan Juric, Reggie Grodin, Melih Tunca, and Chris Lotito are the seven incoming freshman starting their NCAA careers. With a slew of Nittany Lions entering the transfer portal after Penn State failed to make the Big Ten Tournament, this new crew is carving out a path of excitement for Rhoades.
Justin Houser
Houser, a seven-foot forward from Phelps School in Camp Hill, Pa. and No. 9 ranked recruit from his state, is the No. 42 center overall and No. 245 overall player of his class, according to 247Sports Composite rankings. The incoming freshman originally had eight offers, but committed to the Nittany Lions on June 26, 2024.
The three-star freshman, per his player bio, led his high school team to the 2025 PAISSA State Championship and was selected to the first-team All-State. Houser also was named team MVP after his senior season with 401 points, 259 rebounds, and 59 blocks.
Mason Blackwood
Blackwood, a three-star small forward from New Hampton School in New Hampton. N.H. is a No. 150 overall recruit, No. 40 overall small forward, and No. 7 recruit from his state, according to 247Sports Composite rankings.
Per Adam Finkelstein's scouting report:
"[He] is evolving from more of a smallball-four into more of a combo-forward or potentially even a big wing. He’s been an effective straight-line driver, particularly in transition, for several years, but has made more recent strides with his shooting . . . Simultaneously, there has been a lot of recent growth on the defensive end of the floor. Not only was he built like more of a four-man earlier in his career, but he moved like one too. Now, we’re not only seeing more positional versatility, but a willingness to take on challenges and defend the opposing team’s most dangerous wing scorer."
Blackwood also helped his New Hampton team to consecutive NEPSAC AAA finals in 2024 and 2025 and was named first-team NEPSAC AAA honors as a senior.
Kayden Mingo
In this high recruitment class, Mingo is a four-star point guard from Glen Head, N.Y. where he played at Long Island Lutheran High School. Per 247Sports Composite rankings, he is the No. 37 overall recruit, No. 5 combo guard, and No. 2 overall recruit from New York.
Per Finkelstein's scouting report:
"Mingo is a highly competitive overachiever, in the most complimentary sense. He may not be the biggest or have the most polished game, but he plays hard, truly competes, and has a proven history of production against the highest levels of competition."
As a senior at Long Island Lutheran, he averaged 13.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game, according to his player bio. Mingo is considered one of the top players to watch on Penn State's court.
Ivan Juric
Seven-foot Juric from Croatia is one of two international recruits. He is three-star power forward from Sunrise Christian Academy in Kandas, No. 20 center overall, and No. 3 player from Kansas. He previously played in the U18 Eurobasket and Sunrise Christian Academy. In Wichita, Kans., he averaged 14 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
Reggie Grodin
The combo guard from Boston, Mass. went to the 2025 NEPSAC AAA Championship, according to his player bio. Throughout the season at Newman School, Grodin averaged 12 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, and 2.5 steals per game along with a 68 percent from two-point range and 41 percent from three-point range. He initially played for Greenwich Country Day School in Connecticut as a freshman and sophomore and ended his high school career with 1,375 points and 400 rebounds.
Melih Tunca
Tunca, a 19-year-old from Turkey, committed at the start of June. The guard played in Turkey's top professional league, the Turkish Basketball Super League with the Turk Telekom. The shooting guard averaged 6.7 points, 2.2 assists, and 1.1 rebounds per game. He had a 55 percent two-point shooting range, 47.5 percent from 3-point range, and 96.4 percent from the free throw line.
His international experience and size at six-feet-five-inches made him a top candidate for Rhoades' recruitment.
Chris Lotito
Lotito joined the Nittany Lions as a walk-on. The six-foot-seven freshman is a power forward and will likely be a behind-the-scenes presence as the top recruits of his class get a taste for the court first.
Senior transfer Josh Reed is joining these seven true freshmen in their first stint with the Penn State Nittany Lions. The six-foot-seven wing from Cincinnati saw himself in a starting spot on the court as a junior and also logged time in the Big 12 tournament. He averaged 4.8 points and 2.5 rebounds. He was 41 percent shooting from the floor and 85 percent shooting from the free throw line.
Over the weekend, the new Nittany Lions were welcomed with open arms. The eight newcomers will fill in the holes with the sparse remaining roster of Freddie Dilione V, Dominick Stewart, and Eli Rice.