The month of July had a lot of fireworks for the Penn State men’s basketball team, to say the least. The coaching staff was busy trying to build their program with a total of five offers to young, promising prospects. Mike Rhoades and company also got good news when two players officially signed with the Nittany Lions.
Here are the big Penn State basketball happenings in chronological order.
Herly Brutus – Offered on July 3rd. The 2026 prospect is a 6′-5″ Small Forward from The Villages, Florida. Brutus plays for The Villages Charter School. Per 247Sports, is currently the #17 ranked player in Florida, the #84 ranked player in the country, and the #33 ranked Small Forward in the country. Brutus also has offers from Houston, Gonzaga, Florida State, LSU, Maryland, and Ole Miss.
Dionycius Bakare – Signed on July 7th. Bakare is the first recruit signed out of the 2026 Class. He is a 6′-5″ Small Forward from the Phelps School in Malvern, Pa. Per 247Sports, Bakare is the #3 ranked player in Pennsylvania, the #163 ranked player in the country, and the #55 ranked Small Forward in the country. He will join fellow Phelps School graduate, Justin Houser, in State College.
Jalan Wingfield – Offered on July 10th. Another promising prospect from the Class of 2026. Wingfield is the #106 ranked player in the country, the #16 ranked Power Forward in the country, and the #7 ranked player in Georgia. The 6′-8″ prospect plays for Tri-Cities High School in Atlanta Georgia. Wingfield also has offers coming in from Alabama, Auburn, Michigan, Michigan State, Florida State, and Georgia Tech.
Add Nittany Sports Now as a preferred source in Google! Click here to add us.Marcellous “Cello” Jackson – Offered on July 17th. Jackson is a 4-Star athlete from the 2026 Class who plays for Columbus High School out of Miami, Florida. Per 247Sports, he is the #139 ranked player in the nation, the #48 ranked Small Forward in the country, and the #22 ranked player in Florida. The 6′-4″ prospect also has offers from Memphis, California, George Mason, Virginia Tech., and Wichita State.
Tibor Mirtic – Signed on July 18th. The 22-year-old, 6′-9″ freshman forward from Ljubljana, Slovenia will be a Nittany Lion this upcoming season. Mirtic is the fourth international talent that Coach Rhoades and his staff have brought on board this year. He comes to Penn State after playing 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.
Jamison White – Offered on July 19th. From the 2026 Class, White plays for East St. Louis High School out of East St. Louis, Illinois. Is currently the #242 ranked player in the country, the #37 ranked Power Forward in the country, and the #3 ranked player in Illinois. Also has offers coming in from Kansas State, Saint Louis, and Southeast Missouri State.
Chase Richardson – Offered on July 25th. Richardson is a 6′-1,” 165 lb., point guard for Friendswood High School out of Friendswood, Texas. Being from the Class of 2027, Richardson already has offers from Arizona State, LaSalle, New Mexico, Ole Miss, Oral Roberts, Purdue, SMU, UTEP and Rice. Per 247Sports, Richardson is the #83 ranked player in the country, the #19 ranked point guard in the country, and the #5 ranked player in Texas.
Let’s hope there will be more fireworks when these young hoopsters commit to Penn State and the two signings flourish in State College.
