On Thursday, a panel of CBS Sports experts ranked the top 101 players entering the 2024-25 college basketball season. For the second consecutive year, Ace Baldwin Jr. cracked the top 50, coming in at 42nd overall.
The 6-foot-1 guard is coming off his best season after winning Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (the second of his career, first with Penn State). Baldwin averaged the fourth most steals in the nation, turning his opponents over 2.67 times a night. He also set career highs in points (14.2) and assists (6.0), finishing second in single-season assists for a single player in Penn State history. By the end of the year, Baldwin was the only active Division I player with career totals of 1,000 (1,297) points, 600 assists (618) and 250 steals (271).
1️⃣0️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ and climbing. Congrats @yeah_ace3! 👏#WeAre pic.twitter.com/RSsX5vvvhu
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) December 29, 2023
Baldwin is a true two-way player, impacting the game on both ends of the floor. He tied the single-game program record for steals with eight against Northwestern on Jan. 1. In the following game against No. 1 Purdue, Baldwin set a career-high 13 assists to go along with seven points and five steals.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.While Penn State finished at the bottom of the conference (11th overall), during Baldwin’s minutes, the Nittany Lions outscored their opponents by six points per 100 possessions, ranking in the 85th percentile in the Big Ten.
Baldwin’s command of the game on offense (2.23 assist-to-turnover ratio) and houndish defensive abilities already made him one of the most dynamic players in the country, but he could be in for a career year.
“This is the best Ace Baldwin I’ve ever seen, on and off the court,” said head coach Mike Rhoades during summer availability.
“He’s been in the gym more than any player on our team this offseason.”
Ace Baldwin Jr. is entering his second season at Penn State. After three successful seasons a Virginia Commonwealth University (2023 Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year), Baldwin followed Rhoades to central Pennsylvania.
