One of the best players in Penn State basketball history is coming home.
Per reports by multiple outlets, Talor Battle is joining Mike Rhoades’ staff as an assistant.
Sources: Penn State is adding Talor Battle as an assistant coach with Jimmy Martelli departing for VCU.
More here:https://t.co/W2ha80wush
— Jon Sauber (@JonSauber) April 1, 2025
Penn State basketball is making some coaching staff changes following the 2024-2025 season. They include the return of program legend Talor Battle to State College.
Details from @NateBauerBWI here: https://t.co/UusmmyIpYl pic.twitter.com/yXqNbKT2BX
— Blue White Illustrated (@PennStateOn3) April 1, 2025
The downside to this is that Penn State is losing Jimmy Martelli, who had been on Rhoades’ staff through his first two seasons in Happy Valley.
Martelli will be returning to VCU, where he and Rhoades were before Rhoades got the Penn State job. Although losing Martelli stings— the Martelli name is legendary in PA basketball— most Penn State fans will be excited that Battle is coming back.
If there were a Penn State basketball Mount Rushmore, it’s hard to imagine Battle not being on it.
Battle is the all-time leading scorer at PSU, but more than that, he brought light to a program that desperately needed it in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
In 2008-09, Battle led Penn State to the NIT title.
Two seasons later, he led the school to the NCAA Tournament, a place it hadn’t been for 10 years and wouldn’t return for another 12.
After college, Battle played overseas for seven years before getting into coaching.
He started his second career at his Alma Mater, where he was on Jim Ferry’s staff for the 2020-21 season.
After that, he became an assistant under Chris Collins at Northwestern, where he was for three seasons and coached his brother, Boo Buie.
Battle’s most recent stop was in Columbus, Ohio, where he was an assistant on Keith Diebler’s staff for the 2024-25 season. Now, he’ll be coaching for one of Ohio State’s rivals.
Yep, Talor Battle is back.
