What Ace Baldwin Jr.'s Return Means for Penn State

The Big Ten's defensive player of the year will play a second season with the Nittany Lions.

Penn State Nittany Lions guard Ace Baldwin Jr (1) celebrates with the fans after making a three-point shot during the second half against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Bryce Jordan Center. / Matthew O'Haren-USA TODAY Sports

Ace Baldwin Jr., the heart of Penn State men's basketball and the Big Ten defensive player of the year, made it official Friday. He's returning to the Nittany Lions for a second season in 2024. Baldwin announced his decision on social media in a video 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 6-8 freshman Kachi Nzeh from Xavier.

Penn State went 16-17 in Rhoades' first season.

"What I learned about myself is I know we can get this done at Penn State," Rhoades said following the season. "I know it's gonna be really hard, but I know I have some great support. I know there's some things that are different right now when people are dealing with Penn State basketball than before. I think I have people really looking to help me push the envelope to move this program forward. I feel that, and I'm excited about that. I'm not going to stop that. You're gonna have to kill me before you stop me from trying to move this program forward."

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.