Penn State lands blue-chip prospect to round out its 2025 recruiting class

As the days dwindle until the new college basketball season embarks, the Penn State basketball faithful receive extraordinary news. Kayden Mingo, high four-star recruit out of Long Island Lutheran High School in Glen Head, New York, pledged his commitment to play for head coach Mike Rhoades and the Nittany Lions on the Breakfast Club talk show Friday morning.

Mingo is currently ranked 42nd by 247sports’ composite rankings in the 2025 class. He’s a 6-foot-2 combo guard with a 6-foot-6 wingspan. 247sports’s Adam Finkelstein wrote a scouting report on Mingo:

“He plays with an attacking mentality on both ends of the floor. He pressures the ball defensively, gets over screens, rebounds from the perimeter, has deceptive switch-ability onto bigger players, and a chance to really be a standout on that end of the floor. Offensively, he’s a drive-first type of scorer who puts a lot of pressure on the rim.”

Mingo expressed his interest and reasons for considering and ultimately choosing Penn State throughout his recruiting process to On3 Sports, stating, “the visit was excellent overall. The energy at Penn State is second to none.” He also revealed Penn State’s “coaches told me they plan on me coming in and they want me to be their point guard and run the show.”

Mingo is the third commit for Rhoades’ 2025 class, alongside small forward Mason Blackwood and center Justin Houser. Mingo becomes Penn State’s highest recruit since 247sports started grading recruits, which dates back to the 2000’s. He overtakes Tony Carr, who had a player rating of 92 back in 2016. For reference, Mingo has a rating of 94, Blackwood is ranked 102nd nationally with a 90, and Houser is ranked 221st with a rating of 88.

The most intriguing part about Mingo committing to Penn State on Friday is about his younger brother, Dylan, a top 20 recruit in the 2026 basketball recruiting class. Dylan is a 6-foot-5 point guard who will consider playing with his brother at Penn State. Its certainly too early to tell, but something to keep an eye on for Nittany Lion basketball fans for the next several months. 

This is likely the last commit for Rhoades in his 2025 class, and he closed it out with a bang. Alongside a top five class in the Big Ten for the 2024 class, Rhoades is setting a great foundation for Penn State basketball. Bringing a quality and quantity of recruits to Happy Valley has been a struggle in the program’s history, and Rhoades is turning the page to start a new chapter for Nittany Lion basketball. The NIL and transfer portal era of college basketball is altering the landscape of the sport, and Penn State seems to be evolving with the changes well.