This offseason, head coach Mike Rhoades flat-out admitted that Penn State doesn’t invest enough in its basketball program to be successful.
That was probably always true for an athletic department that considers wrestling its second-biggest draw, and hopes to contend for national championships in women’s volleyball and attract future NFL talent to its newly competitive men’s hockey program. But in the NIL era, that lack of investment is especially impactful.
The estimated average cost of a men’s basketball roster in the Big Ten is around $15 million, with the serious contenders spending upwards of $20 million a year to assemble their team. Penn State just isn’t in that ballpark. Because of that lack of interest, Rhoades is back for his fourth year, despite winning just 12 games in 2025-26 and finishing last in the Big Ten.
A year after bringing in the highest-ranked recruit in program history, Kayden Mingo, Rhoades reversed course this offseason, prioritizing experience above all else. With Mingo and Freddie Dilione V among the nine transfer portal exits, Rhoades may not have as much talent as the rest of the conference, but maybe the guile of a veteran-laden roster can close that gap? It’s worth a shot.
Penn State projected starting lineup for Year 4 under Mike Rhoades
Point guard: Jay Rodgers, 6’3” 185 lbs 5th year
Jay Rodgers graduated high school in 2020 and began his collegiate career at New Orleans. From there, he transferred to Cochise College before spending four years at Central Connecticut State. He is 25 years old and coming off a season in which he averaged 11 points and 6.9 assists in 30 minutes a game. He’s likely to be Penn State’s primary ball-handler this season.
Shooting guard: Robert Blums, 6’4” 190 lbs 3rd year
Rhoades didn’t just prioritize experience after fielding one of the youngest rosters in the country last year; he went after shooting and got plenty of it to put on the wing. Last season at Davidson, Blums, who is Latvian-born, shot 40.7% from deep on nearly six attempts per game.
Small forward: Brant Byers, 6’8” 200 lbs 4th year
Byers was a pretty key cog for an exciting Miami (OH) team that found itself on the right side of the NCAA Tournament bubble last year. Like Blums, he shot over five threes a game and hit at a nearly 40% clip. He went 4-9 from deep in the First Four win over SMU, finishing with 19 points.
Power forward: Roko Prkačin, 6’8” 225 lbs -
Roko Prkačin officially signed with Penn State in August, and it seems that the 24-year-old former European professional player is likely to be eligible for the 2026-27 season. Prkačin made his professional debut at 15 years old, nearly a decade ago, and has played in both the top leagues in Spain and France.
Last season, he played for Nanterre 92 in France and averaged 10 points, 4.3 rebounds, and an assist per game. A multi-skilled frontcourt player with plenty of explosiveness, he’ll be the most talented player on Penn State’s roster. He’s best as a straight-line driver and can score from the mid-post with a good-looking jump shot and decent touch.
Center: Ivan Jurić, 7’0” 250 lbs, 2nd year
Jurić provides the only returning production on this team from last season. The Croatian-born center averaged 10.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, and only 0.2 blocks per game, which miraculously led the team.
Jurić doesn’t provide much as a rim protector, but he’s a solid interior scorer who began testing the outer limits of his range last season. If he can start to space the floor, he can become a pretty efficient and versatile forward who can play about 30 minutes a night. That’s a useful player.
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