Two top-ranked transfers expected to commit to Penn State

Historically, Penn State University is not known as a “basketball school” by any means. Still, during the 2022-23 season, fans became incredibly invested as the Penn State basketball team made a historical run; the Nittany Lions finished the season 23-14 overall with the program’s first NCAA tournament berth since 2011 and its first tournament win since 2001. Shortly after the season ended (with a loss to Texas in the Round of 32), former head coach Micah Shrewsberry bolted for Notre Dame — since then, the Lions have hired former VCU coach Mike Rhoades. With only two scholarship players remaining on the roster, Penn State will need a lot of help from the transfer portal and is currently expected to land two top-ranked transfer portal recruits ahead of next season.

Penn State basketball expected to land top top 75 transfers

When Micah Shrewsberry left, the remaining Penn State basketball players flocked to the portal, leaving the Lions with two scholarship players. While that was not a fun experience for Penn State fans, the same happened to VCU when Mike Rhoades left, and he is currently expected to bring a few of his top-ranked transfer portal recruits from the A-10 with him.

Ace Baldwin

The first top 75 player that Penn State basketball is favored to land is A-10 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Ace Baldwin. Baldwin had an incredible season with the VCU Rams a season ago, helping lead his team to an A-10 tournament title and the team’s third NCAA tournament berth in six seasons under Mike Rhoades’ direction.

Baldwin is ranked 11th in the 247 Sports transfer portal rankings — he is a 6-foot-1, 190-pound guard from Baltimore, MD, and averaged 12.7 points per game and 5.9 assists per game during his most recent campaign. He currently has two crystal balls to wind up at Penn State basketball.

Jalen DeLoach

The second top 75 transfer that is expected to come to Penn State basketball is Jalen DeLoach, another former VCU Ram. DeLoach is a 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward and is ranked as the No. 75 player in the transfer portal according to 247 Sports.

DeLoach had a standout year in 2022-23, averaging 9.7 points per game, 6.9 rebounds per game, and one assist per game during VCU’s most recent season. Out of high school, DeLoach was ranked as the No. 51 power forward and the No. 18 player in Georgia by 247 — he recently included Penn State basketball in his top 6 and is expected to follow Mike Rhoades to State College all said and done.

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