Tag: Kayden Mingo

Penn State basketball lands elite 2025 guard Kayden Mingo

Penn State landed the highest-ranked recruiting in the history of their basketball program!

It has been an incredible start for Penn State basketball this season in the second year under head coach [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag]. He admitted that things didn’t quite go as expected or planned in the 2023-24 campaign, but after attacking the transfer portal again and bringing in a solid freshman class, the Nittany Lions are rolling.

They scored 100 points in back-to-back games for the first time in program history, signaling that Rhoades might be bringing the exciting brand of basketball to Happy Valley that he promised when he was named head coach.

How the rest of the season goes will be seen, but there is no reason to believe they will slow down when the holiday tournaments get underway and they get into conference play.

As for the future of the program, one things Rhoades has always done no matter where he’s been is recruit at a high level.

Penn State brought in four players as part of the 2024 class, landing them outside the top 65 when it comes to national rankings, but the 2025 cycle has seen them take it to the next level.

First, they earned a commitment from 6-foot-11 in-state big man Justin Houser back in June. That was followed up by landing four-star win Mason Blackwood from the state of New York.

Now, Penn State has landed the highest-ranked recruit in the history of the program with four-star guard [autotag]Kayden Mingo[/autotag] announcing he has committed to the program.

“The energy at Penn State is second to none. The program is great, I really enjoyed watching their practice. The facilities were beautiful and they really impressed me also. The coaches told me they plan on me coming in and they want me to be their point guard and run the show,” he told Nate Bauer of BlueWhiteIllustrated.

This is a major get for Rhoades and the program.

With star guard [autotag]Ace Baldwin[/autotag] expected to depart after this season, Penn State needs another dynamic player who can run this offense and be the point of attack on defense and with the ball in his hands.

That’s the type of player Mingo is.

Ranked No. 43 in the 2025 class by On3’s Industry Ranking, the New York native could be the future star of this program going forward as Penn State tries to build up their basketball program in a loaded Big 10 Conference.

Penn State lands highest-rated basketball recruit in program history

Penn State basketball starts next week, but this may be the biggest win of the season already.

The start of Penn State’s men’s basketball season tips off next week, but head coach Mike Rhoades has already scored perhaps his biggest win of the year. On Friday, Penn State received a verbal commitment from [autotag]Kayden Mingo[/autotag], one of the nation’s top-50 basketball recruits in the Class of 2025. Mingo is the highest-ranked player to ever commit to Penn State in program history, making this one of the biggest recruiting victories for Rhoades since taking over the head coaching job in State College.

Mingo is a combination center and guard from Glen Head, New York. Mingo is a consensus four-star recruit according to the recruiting outlets, and he is rated as the second-overall player in New York according to 247Sports and On3. He is a consensus top-10 center-guard combo as well.

Mingo is ranked as the no. 43 player overall in the Class of 2025 by 247Sports. Prior to the commitment of Mingo, the highest-ranked recruit for Penn State using the same player rankings mechanic was Tony Carr in the Class of 2016 (no. 84 overall). The third highest rated recruit for Penn State will be a future teammate of Mingo, Miles Goodman. Goodman was a four-star center in Penn State’s Class of 2024 and is entering his freshman season with the Nittany Lions.

The addition of Mingo’s commitment has skyrocketed Penn State’s basketball recruiting class all the way up to no. 12 in the nation, which is good for the third-best in the Big Ten at the time of this writing. Penn State currently ranks one spot higher than Kentucky, five spots ahead of Alabama, and nine spots ahead of Michigan State. Time will tell just how long Penn State can hold on to this rare high basketball recruiting ranking, but Rhoades is clearly putting in the work to transform Penn State from a program capable of making an appearance in the NCAA basketball tournament once a decade to realistically expecting annual trips to the Big Dance being the expectation rather than the exception.

Penn State in top four list of elite guard Kayden Mingo

Penn State basketball lands in the top four for a key recruiting target.

While there is a lot of attention being placed on how Penn State finishes their 2025 recruiting cycle on the football side of things, the basketball program is looking to get things rolling under [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag] now that he’s had a full year in Happy Valley.

The former VCU head coach was able to build a solid pipeline at that mid-major level, and the hope is he can do the same thing for the Nittany Lions.

So far, Rhoades and his staff were already able to make one splash in the 2025 class when they landed four-star recruit Mason Blackwood from New Hampshire. The 6-foot-7 wing is the first major get that Penn State has secured in his tenure.

But, the Nittany Lions are still searching for another high-profile commitment.

Recently, four-star guard [autotag]Kayden Mingo[/autotag] trimmed his list of schools to four, and Penn State was included.

https://www.instagram.com/_kaydenmingo/p/DBEzOpgSmAn/?hl=en

Ranked as the No. 44 overall player in the 2025 cycle by On3’s Industry Ranking, this would easily be the biggest win Rhoades has made on the recruiting trail.

“The energy at Penn State is second to none. The program is great, I really enjoyed watching their practice. The facilities were beautiful and they really impressed me also. The coaches told me they plan on me coming in and they want me to be their point guard and run the show,” Mingo said to On3.

He visited Penn State back in September, and even though that was one of his first official visits of the fall, that trip clearly left a lasting impression on him, describing it as “excellent.”

On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine has the Nittany Lions as the favorite to earn a commitment from him with 21.6%, ahead of the other three on his list Virginia Tech, Georgia, and Wake Forest.

“My interactions with the staff were great. We have all been building for a while now so getting to know more about each coach and meeting their families was excellent. I loved the fit and really enjoyed how Coach (Mike) Rhoades explained to me the vision he has in place for me,” Mingo added.

There is still work to do before this is finalized, but Penn State is in a good position to land their most high-profile recruit of the Rhoades era.

Notre Dame basketball offers 2025 top-100 point guard

The Irish enter the mix for the New York native

Although it is early in the 2025 basketball recruiting cycle, Notre Dame isn’t waiting if they believe a player will help them.

One of those players is New York point guard [autotag]Kayden Mingo[/autotag], who the Irish offered on Monday afternoon. The 6-foot, 1-inch and 160-pound distributor is ranked as one of the best prospects in the country as the 247Sports Composite Rankings has him as the No. 79 overall player and 12th at his position.

At this current moment, head coach Micah Schrewsberry does not have any commitment for the class, but is clearly looking to change that. The Irish have been a player in his recruitment for a while, but now it has changed with the offer.

Mingo was an efficient scorer this past season, averaging 13.9 points on minimal possessions. Hopefully the Irish can seal the deal with him in the near future.

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Rising 2025 point guard Kayden Mingo plans to visit Penn State

Penn State basketball will get an official visit from a top 100 recruiting target.

With the [autotag]Mike Rhoades[/autotag] era at Penn State officially underway, there’s a lot of interest surrounding the product that is put on the court this season in his first year in charge and how he recruits in his first full cycle.

It’s been a struggle on the court so far as they sit with a 9-10 overall record and are 3-5 in Big Ten play.

That probably should have been expected with so many transfers coming in, but there’s still some time for the program to continue improving in the first year under Rhoades.

Known as a very good recruiter, Rhoades and his staff have been very active on the trail, handing out 37 scholarships to the 2025 class according to 247Sports.

None of these offers have result in a commitment, but it’s still very early.

One player the Nittany Lions are interested in has started to see his profile rise in the recruiting rankings.

[autotag]Kayden Mingo[/autotag], a 6’1″ 160-pound point guard from New York, recently moved into 247Sports’ Top-100 when he jumped 77 spots to being listed as the 69th best prospect in the class of 2025.

Composite rankings have him as a three-star, but his new bump with 247Sports has moved him into four-star status with their evaluators.

Penn State seems to be high on his interest list as well, telling Dushawn London that his first official visit will be to Penn State.

“The relationship with Penn State is real good … Coach Martelli and coach Rhoades are real good coaches and they keep it honest with me. They let me know what I need to work on and are really consistent with the way they stay in contact. I appreciate them a lot,” he told London.

It’s a great sign that he continues to be in contact with Penn State and is already viewing the program as the first place he wants to visit.

Other offers have come pouring in for the rising point guard and he mentioned he’s going to be patient throughout his recruiting process.

Rhoades and his staff will have to continue staying consistent with the point guard if they want to land him.

This would be a huge win for the program if they can do that.