A 7-Foot Center Is Penn State Basketball's First Commit of 2025

Justin Houser, a 3-star prospect from the Phelps School near Philadelphia, leads off Mike Rhoades' 2025 recruiting class.

Penn State men's basketball coach Mike Rhoades high-fives Penn State students following a victory over Ohio State at the Bryce Jordan Center. / Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports

Penn State men's basketball coach Mike Rhoades has sought more size for his future rosters. He found a fit with 7-foot center Justin Houser, who committed to the Nittany Lions.

Houser, a 3-star prospect from the Phelps School near Philadelphia, became the first player to commit to Penn State basketball's 2025 recruiting class. Houser announced his decision on social media. Houser is the 12th-ranked player in Pennsylvania, according to On3. Houser also has offers from Temple, Delaware, Saint Joseph's and Siena, among others. Houser joins Mike Watkins as Phelps School players who committed to Penn State.

Following his first season at Penn State, in which the Nittany Lions went 16-17, Rhoades said he wanted to add more size to the roster. Penn State brought in 7-foot center Yanic Konan Niederhauser from Northern Illinoics and recruited 6-11 forward Miles Goodman. The Lions also added 6-8 forward Kachi Nzeh from Xavier.

“With the experiences in my first year in Big Ten play have — I'm not gonna say reshaped my thinking — but has changed some of it, and our staff everyday is discussing it,” Rhoades said after the season. "... “We're going to try to get specific needs, and because of the experience we've had really the last two years with this, we could maybe pinpoint some things to our needs a little bit better, a little bit more."

Dreams to Reality #committed #WeAre pic.twitter.com/4hYDwcuS2z

— Justin Houser (@JustinHouser24) June 27, 2024

A key player returns for the 2024-25 season

Ace Baldwin Jr., the heart of Penn State men's basketball and the Big Ten defensive player of the year, announced his return to the Nittany Lions by releasing a video on social media titled, "Not Done Yet."

Baldwin, a defensive player of the year in two different conferences, was the center of Penn State's team last season. A third-team All-Big Ten player, Baldwin led the conference in steals (88) and steals per game (2.67), ranking among the top 5 in each category nationally. Baldwin's 88 steals rank third all time at Penn State. Baldwin led the Big Ten in steals per game (2.7) during conference play, the Big Ten's best number since 2014. He also led a Penn State defense that paced the conference in steals and 3-point defensive percentage.

Baldwin came to Penn State from VCU in 2023 with head coach Mike Rhoades. At VCU, Baldwin was the Atlantic 10 defensive player of the year in 2023. Rhoades has said that his relationship with Baldwin is "bigger than basketball." Baldwin said that Rhoades helped him through a difficult time in 2019, when Baldwin's father passed away. Baldwin dedicated his return to Penn State to his father.

"The greatest compliment you can get in a team sport is you make those around you better. That's Ace on a daily basis," Rhoades said of Baldwin in 2023. "His competitive spirit, his competitive fire. He doesn't like to lose. He's emotional in a good way and he pulls guys along. I think the one thing that Ace does better than everyone that we know is he gives out confidence to his teammates, competitive confidence to his teammates. As much as a coach wants to pump your players up, when a teammate, when the best player on the team is giving out that confidence to their teammates, everybody plays better. Everybody plays hard. Everybody plays the right way. You can't quit. He won't let guys quit. That's just who he is."

Baldwin's return, though expected, is significant for a Penn State team undergoing another overhaul in Rhoades' second season. The Nittany Lions lost three players to the NCAA Transfer Portal following the 2023-24 season. In addition, former guard Kanye Clary, the team's leading scorer who parted with the team during the season, transferred to Mississippi State. Rhoades also brought in several players from the portal, including Nzeh, the 6-8 freshman from Xavier.

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AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich.