Penn State men's basketball saw a number of players and coaches alike depart after the 2025-26 season that saw the Nittany Lions sink to the very bottom of the Big Ten. Aside from transfers, head coach Mike Rhoades also lost associate head coach Jamal Brunt to Syracuse and assistant to the head coach Joe Crispin to Air Force.
On Thursday afternoon, it was reported that Brent Scott, a former Penn State assistant coach, was promoted to associate head coach. He spent three seasons since 2023 as the Nittany Lions' assistant coach and has stuck by Rhoades throughout his coaching career.
Prior to Penn State, Scott was on Rhoades' staff at VCU (2017-23) and Rice (2016-17). He was also part of Trent Johnson's staffs at TCU from 2012-16 and LSU from 2008-12. He held assistant roles at each stop and has grown into a respected coach for post player development and recruiter.
Scott is also a former professional basketball player. He attended and played for Rice University in college and ultimately went undrafted in the 1993 NBA Draft. As an undrafted free agent, he joined the Indiana Pacers for the 1996-97 season, playing in 16 games.
Penn State’s Brent Scott has been promoted to associate head coach.
— Will Horstman (@WillHorstman_) May 28, 2026
Scott was an assistant coach for the past three seasons under Mike Rhoades. He’s been key in the development of the Nittany Lions’ centers, such as 2025 first round NBA draft pick Yanic Konan Niederhauser
Penn State basketball promotes Brent Scott to associate head coach
Despite the tumultuous offseason for the Nittany Lions, Scott's promotion offers some stability and familiarity on the staff. They added former Denver Nuggets general manager Calvin Booth who played collegiately at Penn State as well as former Western Michigan head coach Dwayne Stephens. Booth was brought in to assist with roster management while Stephens took over as an assistant coach.
The rest of Rhoades' staff includes assistant coaches Talor Battle and Clay Conner, general manager Scott Pera, chief of staff Patrick Dorney, director of operations Jake Szczecina, video coordinator/player development Sam Little, and graduate assistants Elvin Edmonds, T.J. Lewis, and Logan Pearson.
Little is new to Penn State. He served as the Broncos' assistant coach/video coordinator for two seasons. He also had stops at Stanford, Prolific Prep, Tarleton State, and Arkansas.
Battle and Conner return for their second seasons as assistants, and Pera is also on year two in his general manager role.
Dorney is new to his position, but previously served on Penn State's staff for three seasons prior as director of basketball operations. Szczecina takes over Dorney's previous role for the first time. He was the Nittany Lions' video coordinator for his first three seasons on the staff.
Edmonds, Lewis, and Pearson enter year two as graduate assistants for the blue and white.
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