Nittany news and notes: Best recruiting class in program history, and more

Penn State men’s basketball coach Mike Rhoades has his Nittany Lions off to a hot start in his second year at the helm, but he’s been even more successful on the recruiting trail. Rhoades landed just a three-player recruiting class for 2025, but with two four-stars it is the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history. 

Four-star guard Kayden Mingo is the No. 43 ranked player in the country and the highest-ranked prospect in Penn State history. Along with Mingo, four-star small forward Mason Blackwood and three-star center, Justin Houser make up the 20th-ranked class in the country. 

The most recent recruiting class in Penn State men’s basketball history to remotely rival this group was the 2016 group which included Tony Carr, Lamar Stevens, Joe Hampton, and Nazeer Bostick. Carr is the second-highest-ranked prospect to ever choose the Nittany Lions, behind Mingo. 

Big weekend for women’s volleyball

Penn State women’s volleyball is 25-2 after a 2-0 weekend with wins over Illinois and Maryland, but Katie Schumacher-Cawley’s team will face a big test on Thursday night at Rec Hall against No. 8 Purdue. Both losses that the No. 4 ranked Nittany Lions have suffered this season have been against top 10 teams, on the road at No. 1 Pitt back in September and at No. 7 Wisconsin on Saturday, November, 9. 

The Boilermakers are 22-5 and riding a five-game win streak into Thursday night’s matchup. Despite being one of the most dominant teams in the country, the Nittany Lions have struggled to slow down elite outside hitters and will have their hands full with junior outside Eva Hudson. Hudson leads the Big Ten in total kills and kills per set at 4.68. 

After facing Purdue, Penn State will host Washington on Sunday afternoon. The Huskies head into the weekend at 19-7 with a 9-7 record in Big Ten play. 

More: Penn State women’s cross country heading to NCAA Championships

For the second straight year, Penn State women’s cross country will be heading to nationals. The Nittany Lions earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships in Madison Wisconsin on Saturday, November 23 after a third-place finish in the 2024 Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, hosted in Happy Valley. 

The women’s team will be joined by Brian Dicola of the men’s team, who grabbed an individual qualifier spot with a fourth-place finish in 29:37.1 over the 10K course. Florence Caron led the Penn State women, also finishing fourth, running 19:41.7 for 6K.