Penn State basketball found its second leading scorer of the 2024-25 season in a transfer from Northern Illinois. After a year in Happy Valley, though, the junior was looking ahead to bigger things for his career.
Players have been dropping in and out of the 2025 NBA Draft with one international and 50 non-international players having already withdrew. Recently, according to the NBA, 12 more international players have backed out as an early entry candidate.
That leaves 32 non-international players and 14 international players as remaining candidates. Of them, a one-season Nittany Lion Yanic Konan Niederhauser.
Yanic Konan Niederhauser enters his name for the 2025 NBA Draft
Niederhauser was the missing starting piece to head coach Mike Rhoades' 2024-25 team, and landing him out of the transfer portal was like striking gold.
On April 2, however, the seven-foot forward announced that he was declaring for the 2025 NBA Draft. Niederhauser did not forgo his final year of college eligibility, and it was almost expected of him to withdraw his name and head back to the Nittany Lions.
When May 28 rolled around, the final call for early entries to back out while still maintaining their NCAA eligibility, Niederhauser stayed put.
What mock drafts are predicting for Yanic Konan Niederhauser
Whereas it was expected for him to withdraw from the 2025 NBA Draft, his combine invitation and performance kept him in the game and made him a serious second-round contender.
Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman noted at the time that not only was Niederhauser overlooked, he was practically eliminated from discussion entirely. He wrote:
"Some scouts have admitted to missing or overlooking Yanic Konan Niederhauser at Penn State. One said he'd never seen a player go from mostly unknown to generating this much interest in a span of a few days this late in the process."
According the recent ESPN Mock Draft, Niederhauser is expected to be No. 34 overall, getting picked up fourth in the second round by the Charlotte Hornets. ESPN originally had Niederhauser going No. 36 overall to the Brooklyn Nets and Bleacher Report has the Toronto Raptors taking him No. 39 overall.
His slow ascent into the second round is no unsurprising given his combine performance. Wasserman wrote:
"NBA teams are sure to see him as a dangerous lob target as well as a defensive presence . . . I got to see him for a private workout with potential first-round pick Alex Condon, and it wasn't obvious which prospect was more highly regarded."
Niederhauser's fate will be decided on June 25-26.
Yanic Konan Niederhauser's NCAA career
Niederhauser spent two years with Northern Illinois and saw action in 47 games combined as a freshman and sophomore. In his second year, he earned a starting position and averahe 7.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. However, these stats were not up to par with his expectations.
As a junior at Penn State, he showed Rhoades very quickly what he can do for the Nittany Lions. In his first game with his new team, Niederhauser tallied 16 points, seven rebounds, two blocks, and one steal against Binghamton.
He started in 29 games and averaged 12.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.31 blocks per game. Niederhauser led Penn State in rebounds and was at the top of the Big Ten in blocks. Out of all Division I schools, he also landed at No. 12 in blocks in the country. He had a team high shooting percentage of 61.1 from the field and had four double-doubles in the season.
He ended the 2024-25 season with 374 points, 67 blocks, 48 turnovers, 22 assists, and 19 steals. Niederhauser followed behind scoring leader Ace Baldwin Jr.