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.
