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Penn State Lands Second Transfer From VCU

Former Rams guard Nick Kern, Jr. joins teammate Ace Baldwin, Jr. in transferring to the Lions.

Mark Wogenrich

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Penn State men's basketball coach Mike Rhoades has landed a second transfer from VCU, as guard Nick Kern, Jr. announced his decision to join the Nittany Lions.

Kern, a 6-6 junior joins, former VCU teammate Ace Baldwin, Jr. in transferring to Penn State. 

Kern started 19 games for the Rams last season, averaging 5.3 points and 2.7 rebounds. He was one of five players to play in VCU's 35 games.

Kern, from St. Louis, was the Missouri Class 4A player of the year as a senior at Vashon High. He averaged 18 points and 8.5 points and led Vashon to the third state title of his high school career. Kern played in 31 games as a freshman at VCU, averaging 10 minutes per game.

Kern announced his decision three days after Baldwin, the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, said he was transferring to Penn State. Their decisions helped start Rhoades' roster rebuild.

Five players from Penn State's 2022-23 team have entered the NCAA Transfer Portal. Two have chosen transfer destinations. Dallion Johnson recently announced that he would join former Penn State coach Pat Chambers' roster at Florida Gulf Coast University. Caleb Johnson is headed to William & Mary.

At his introductory press conference in late March, Rhoades discussed how he would approach recruiting to build his first Penn State roster.

"I told them not too long ago, to build relationships takes two things: time and trust. I'm going to give them my time and hopefully that builds trust," Rhoades said. "And then we're going to be very active recruiting, and that's why our staff is here, and that's what you've got to do.

"We've got to go build a roster. But I assure you this: We're going to do it right, and we're going to do it so we build this to last."

Elsewhere, guard Kanye Clary announced that he will return to the Lions next season. Clary, who did not enter the transfer portal, played in 32 games. He averaged 10.4 minutes and 3.7 points per game.

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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. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.

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Mark Wogenrich
MARK WOGENRICH

Mark Wogenrich is Editor and Publisher of AllPennState, the site for Penn State news on SI's FanNation Network. He has covered Penn State sports for more than two decades across three coaching staffs and three Rose Bowls.

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