The Penn State men’s basketball team have officially announced their 2025-2026 roster. The young squad is made up of one Senior, two Juniors, two Sophomores, and eight Freshmen.
Josh Reed – #10 – Senior – Forward – 6′-8″ – Atlanta, Ga.
Reed is 1 of the 2 portal transfers who will bring age, maturity, and experience to a young Nittany Lion team. Transferring from Cincinnati, Reed averaged 4.8 PPG and 2.5 RPG last year for the Bearcats. He started in 9 of the final 10 games of the season and scored a career-high 19 points in the opening round of the Big 12 Tournament against Oklahoma State.
Freddie Dilione V – #5 – Redshirt Junior – Guard – 6′-5″ – Fayetteville, NC.
Dilione as a sophomore last year played in all 31 games while making 28 starts. He averaged 9.4 PPG, 2.8 RPG and 1.7 APG. Dilione scored in double figures in 17 games, while leading the team in scoring on 2 occasions.
Sasa Ciani – #22 – Junior – Forward – 6′-10″ – Nova Gorica, Slovenia
Ciani is 1 of the 2 portal transfers who will give Penn State size and playing experience and he is also 1 of the 4 international players on this year’s squad. Transferring from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), Ciani saw action in 27 games while making 21 starts for the Flames and averaging 9.9 PPG and a team-best 7.6 RPG.
Dominick Stewart – #7 – Sophomore – Guard – 6′-5″ – Ocean Spring, Miss.
Stewart saw action in 24 games last year and averaged 2.8 PPG and 1.1 RPG while playing 8.2 minutes a contest. He scored in double figures 3 times.
Eli Rice – #11 – Sophomore – Guard – 6′-8″ – Gallatin, Tenn.
In Rice’s debut last year against Saint Francis (Pa.) in the third game of the season, he suffered a season-ending ankle injury. In the 7 minutes he played, Rice pulled down 2 rebounds.
Mason Blackwood – #1 – Freshman – Forward – 6′-7″ – Rochester, NY
Blackwood was a 4-Star prospect who was ranked the No. 108 overall recruit in the country last year, per 247Sports. He was the No. 29 ranked small forward in the country and played his first 2 seasons of high school at Aquinas Institute of Rochester before transferring to New Hampton Prep School in New Hampshire ahead of his junior season.
Ivan Juric – #3 – Freshman – Forward – 7′-0″ – Zagreb, Croatia
Juric is 1 of the 4 international players calling Happy Valley home this year. He was the top-ranked prospect coming out of the state of Kansas last year. Playing for Sunrise Christian Academy, Juric averaged 14.0 PPG, 9.8 RPG and 1.6 APG. He also represented his home country of Croatia in the 2024 FIBA U18 Eurobasket tournament.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Kayden Mingo – #4 – Freshman – Guard – 6′-3″ – Farmingdale, NY
Mingo was a consensus top-40 ranked recruit coming out of Long Island Lutheran High School last year and is Penn State’s highest-ranked recruit in Penn State basketball history. Mingo was named the 2025 New York Gatorade Player of the Year following his standout senior season.
Melih Tunca – #9 – Freshman – Guard – 6′-5″ – Istanbul, Turkey
Tunca is 1 of the 4 international players of this year’s squad. He played for the Turk Telekom in the Turkish Basketball Super League, the top professional league in Turkey, earning Young Player of the Regular Season honors. The sharpshooter averaged 6.7 PPG, 2.2 APG and 1.1 RPG. Representing Turkey this past summer in the FIBA U20 Eurobasket Tournament, Tunca averaged a stunning 17.7 PPG, 5.7 APG and 4.0 RPG.
Reggie Grodin – #12 – Freshman – Guard – 6′-5″ – Larchmont, NY
Grodin led the Newman School to a 2025 NEPSAC AAA Championship last year while averaging 12.0 PPG, 6.6 RPG, 4.2 APG and 2.5 SPG. He finished his high school career with 1,375 points, 400 rebounds, 204 assists and 140 steals.
Justin Houser – #21 – Freshman – Forward – 7′-0″ – Camp Hill, PA
Houser played 3 years for the Phelps School in Malvern, PA after spending his freshman year at Cedar Cliff High School in Camp Hill, PA. Houser was a first-team All-State selection and team MVP after tallying 401 points, 259 rebounds and 59 blocks during his senior year.
Tibor Mirtic – #16 – Freshman – Forward – 6′-8″ – Ljubljana, Slovenia
Mirtic is 1 of the 4 international players on the team this year. He played the 2024-2025 season with Krka Novo Mesto, a team that plays in both Slovenia’s top professional league, Liga OTP banka, and the ABA League. Mirtic averaged 7.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in 26 games in Krka’s Liga OTP banka contests while shooting 53.0% from two-point range and 41.7% from three-point range.
Chris Lotito – #30 – Freshman – Forward – 6′-7″ – Upper Saddle River, NJ
Lotito enters his first season as a walk-on with Penn State in 2025-2026. Lotito played for Don Bosco Prep where during his senior year he scored 117 points, grabbed 22 rebounds, dished out 4 assists, had 1 swat and 3 steals in 21 games played.
