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Penn State basketball earns commitment from 7-foot international big man

Mike Rhoades and Penn State basketball have hit the international market to add to the Nittany Lions’ roster for next season.

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January 12, 2025. Penn State basketball coach Mike Rhoades looks on during the Nittany Lions' 82-81 loss to Oregon. © Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2025.

Penn State basketball has gone overseas to add to its 2025-26 roster. On Tuesday, the Nittany Lions earned a commitment from Croatian forward Ivan Juric in the class of 2025.

Juric’s decision was first reported by Jonathan Givony of ESPN and Draft Express. The 7’0, 244-pound big man spent his senior season at Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas.

A three-star, Juric is the 20th-ranked center in the country for the 2025 recruiting cycle, according to On3. He turned heads at the FIBA U18 Eurobasket last summer, averaging 14.4 points and 5.9 rebounds in seven games for the Croatian national team. He then averaged 5.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 0.8 blocks in 15.3 minutes per game for Sunrise last season.

Penn State basketball has hit the international market for high school big men in each of the last two recruiting cycles, adding Bragi Gudmundsson (Iceland) in 2023 and Hudson Ward (Canada) in 2024. Both have since transferred out of the program. The Nittany Lions are also awaiting a decision regarding the 2025-26 season from rising Swiss star Yanic Konan Niederhauser, who is exploring the NBA Draft.

Juric becomes the fourth commit for Mike Rhoades in 2025, joining top 50 recruit Kayden Mingo along with Mason Blackwood and Justin Houser. In April, the Nittany Lions also added a transfer portal commitment from former Cincinnati guard Josh Reed.



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