Penn State has landed its first transfer of the 2023 Class, and its a big one; VCU’s Ace Baldwin.
Baldwin tweeted his commitment Easter Sunday evening.
— Buttons Son (@yeah_ace3) April 9, 2023
Baldwin, the reigning A-10 Player of the Year, announced that he’d be entering the transfer portal Thursday, March 30, the same day Baldwin’s coach at VCU, Mike Rhoades, was introduced as Penn State’s new boss.
Not too long after, people started to predict that Baldwin would be following Rhoades to Penn State.
Hours after Rhoades press conference, a source told Nittany Sports Now that Penn State was targeting Baldwin out of the transfer portal. All four of 247Sports’s Crystal Ball projections had Baldwin picking Penn State, and those predictions proved to be accurate. As a result, Penn State is getting a guy that should be an excellent replacement for the departing Jalen Pickett at point guard.
The departing Pickett finished up one of the best seasons in Penn State history last month, becoming Penn State’s first All-American since Jesse Arnelle accomplished that feat in 1955. Baldwin finished last season averaging 12.7 points and 5.8 assists per game, helping VCU to a sweep of the A-10 regular-season and tournament championships.
PSU needs all the players it can get. A combination of maximized eligibility and the transfer portal has left Penn State with two scholarship players that are firmly committed to the program. Baldwin would be a great start to forming what will essentially be a new roster.
Baldwin is the biggest transfer Penn State is likely to get in the 2023 cycle. In other transfer news. Kebba Njie, who entered the portal last week, told college basketball insider Jon Rothstein that Penn State is among the schools interested in him.
