Penn State brings youth movement into opener against Fairfield

While most teams in the country are skewing older, Penn State is trending younger -- and more international.

The Nittany Lions will debut their new-look roster on Nov. 3 when Fairfield visits University Park, Pa.

Penn State finished 16-15 in 2024-25, a season marked by two distinct phases. The team started strong at 12-2, including a win over No. 8 Purdue, but then lost 13 of its next 17 games, including 11 out of 12 at one point.

The Nittany Lions have lost most of the key players from that team. This season, they'll rely on Freddie Dilione V (9.4 points per game last season) and a variety of freshmen, including highly regarded point guard Kayden Mingo.

"We're the youngest team in the Big Ten and one of the youngest teams in the country," Nittany Lions coach Mike Rhoades said. "Everybody's paying to get older and more mature. We did it a different route."

The team has also added three international talents: Melih Tunca (Turkey), Ivan Juric (Croatia), and Tibor Mirtic (Slovenia).

"In today's landscape, you're trying to get and afford the best players you can from all over the world," Rhoades said.

Fairfield won 24 games two seasons ago but slipped to 12-20 last season after losing several key players to graduation and transfers.

"I think we have a very talented group," Stags coach Chris Casey told CT Insider. "I think we are a little inexperienced, but I think it is a group that has a big upside to it, so I am really excited going into this season."

Prophet Johnson, the team's leading scorer from last season, transferred to Sacramento State.

Braden Sparks is the leading returning scorer after averaging 9.5 points -- including a team-high 47 3-pointers -- last season, while graduate transfer Deuce Turner (9.6 ppg at UC Santa Barbara last season) will need to step up offensively, as well.

--Field Level Media