Tag: Ace Baldwin

Penn State lands former VCU star Ace Baldwin out of transfer portal

Penn State basketball picked up a major commitment out of the transfer portal with Ace Baldwin.

One benefit that was hoped for by fans and media alike was that new Penn State coach [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag] would bring with him some talent from VCU. The new coach and his staff wasted no time in securing a big transfer out of the portal from his former team.

[autotag]Ace Baldwin[/autotag], the reigning Atlantic 10 Player of the Year and defensive player of the year, is leaving VCU and heading with his coach to State College. He brings with him a stat line that is made up of 12.7 PPG, 5.8 APG, and 2.9 RPG. That complete offensive production s of course accompanied by his defensive prowess meaning that as Penn State loses a do-it-all player like [autotag]Jalen Pickett[/autotag] they gain one in Baldwin.

Baldwin was the star and key component of a VCU team that went 27-8 and made the NCAA Tournament this past season. Baldwin however couldn’t play in the tournament which played a part in their Round of 64 exit.

He was also a sought-after recruit coming out of high school as a three-star recruit. He had offers from Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Kansas State, Maryland, Miami, Providence, Rhode Island, Rutgers, Seton Hall and TCU. He chose VCU at the time with the coaching staff at the time that is now in State College which is a major reason for his commitment to Penn State.

Baldwin will be expected to start for the Nittany Lions as they are set to lose four of five starters this coming year leaving Rhoades to utilize the portal to find starters and rotation players. Other VCU players such as Jayden Nunn, Nicholas Kern, Jalen DeLoach, and Jamir Watkins remain in the transfer portal with Penn State expected to pursue them.

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Ace in the portal? Crystal ball picks favor Penn State for top VCU transfer

Penn State could get an Ace in the transfer portal for new head coach Mike Rhoades

After Penn State hired away [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag] from VCU, the VCU program was hit hard by players entering the transfer portal. The likelihood that at least one VCU player makes his way to Penn State to continue playing for Rhoades seemed pretty obvious as Penn State’s roster was also decimated by departures and the transfer portal in the fallout of its own coaching search’s early stages. According to a handful of predictions from recruiting experts, Penn State is the early favorite to land not only VCU’s top player in the transfer portal, but the Atlantic-10 player of the year.

Adrian “Ace” Baldwin is the hot name in the transfer portal out of VCU at the moment. And while the A-10 player of the year figures to have plenty of worthwhile offers to consider, Penn State is the crystal ball prediction from three recruiting analysts on 247Sports. Tyler Calvaruso of Lions247, Colby Giacubeno of InsideMDSports and Justin Thind of SpartanTailgate all have cast a crystal ball prediction in favor of Penn State since [autotag]Ace Baldwin[/autotag] entered the transfer portal just two days ago when Rhoades was formally introduced as Penn State’s new head coach.

The Baltimore native point guard averaged 12.7 points per game and 5.8 assists last season for VCU. In addition to being named the A-10 player of the year, Baldwin was also praised for his defense as the conference’s defensive player of the year. As Penn State is in need of veterans on the roster with the roster turning over the way it is, Baldwin would be a tremendous asset to the team in 2023-24 if he decides to continue playing for Rhoades at Penn State.

Penn State experienced tremendous success with the transfer portal under Micah Shrewsberry. Penn State’s first NCAA tournament team since 2011 was fueled by transfers Jalen Pickett, Andrew Funk, and Camren Wynter. Baldwin could be the next in line to give Penn State hope through the transfer portal, although he would definitely be more known for his defense than his offensive skillset. And that could be the biggest difference between Shrewsberry’s teams and Rhoades’ as Shrewsberry was more about the offense and Rhoades specializes more with his defensive approach as a head coach.

But that doesn’t mean Penn State won’t have offense to worry about. The hiring of former Nittany Lion on Crispin figures to help design an offense that will keep the scoring output going after directing one of the better offenses in Division 3.

Penn State currently has four players in the transfer portal; [autotag]Jameel Brown[/autotag], [autotag]Evan Mahaffey[/autotag], [autotag]Dallion Johnson[/autotag], and [autotag]Caleb Dorsey[/autotag]. It would not be shocking to see any of these players decide to withdraw from the transfer portal as the decisions to enter the portal were largely made as Penn State searched for a replacement for Shrewsberry. But expect plenty of transfer portal activity for Penn State as Rhoades looks to fill his first roster in State College.

Baldwin would be a great addition to get the momentum going in the portal.

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As expected, Braeden Shrewsberry will follow father Micah to Notre Dame

Micah Shrewsberry announced who the first player to leave Penn State for Notre Dame will be.

Amid a flurry of Penn State basketball roster changes, this may be the most likely development that was expected. [autotag]Braeden Shrewsberry[/autotag] has reportedly asked to be released from his national letter of intent at Penn State and will instead play for Notre Dame. Shrewsberry’s father, [autotag]Micah Shrewsberry[/autotag], has been named the head coach of the Fighting Irish after two seasons in charge of the Penn State basketball program.

Micah Shrewsberry revealed the news during his introductory press conference at Notre Dame on Thursday. The news was hardly a surprise but is another blow to the Penn State basketball roster that has been shredded since the end of the NCAA Tournament run by the program.

The loss of Shrewsberry, at least for the moment, leaves Penn State with just three players on scholarship heading into next season. That leaves a lot of room for new head coach Mike Rhoades to start filling with the transfer portal.

It’s also worth noting that a number of VCU players coached by Rhoades entered the transfer portal on Thursday as well, and Penn State could see Rhoades welcome some to Happy Valley. The top player on that list may be Ace Baldwin, the A-10 player of the year last season. At the moment, there are seven players from VCU in the roster, and Penn State has 10 scholarship spots to fill. Don’t be surprised if there is a little VCU flavor on next year’s Penn State roster.

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