The awards are pouring in for Penn State men’s basketball. Nittany Lions Ace Baldwin Jr., Qudus Wahab, Nick Kern Jr., Zach Hicks, and Puff Johnson each earned All-Big Ten honors Tuesday afternoon.

Baldwin walked away with several honors, including a highlight Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year distinction. Baldwin became the first Nittany Lion to win the award since Josh Reeves in 2019.

On top of that, Baldwin was named to the All-Defensive Team and the Third Team All-Big Ten. Baldwin finished the regular season averaging 14.3 points, six assists, and 2.71 steals per game. His steals ranked him first in the Big Ten and fourth in the nation.

Wahab, Kern, and Hicks also each were recognized on the All-Big Ten Honorable Mention team. Wahab averaged 9.6 points and seven rebounds per game and also shot a career-best 62.8% from the field. He was also the team leader in total rebounds with 240 and total blocks with 46.

Kern shined in his first year in Happy Valley, scoring 8.8 points per game and 10.3 points in conference play. He finished the season with 12 double-digit scoring performances and even dropped his career-high 22 points in the Nittany Lions’ upset victory over No. 12 Illinois during the Return to Rec game.

While it took him a while to get going, Hicks finished the season averaging 8.8 points and four rebounds per game and led Penn State with 58 three-pointers in conference play. His play improved as the season went on as in his final 10 games of the season, Hicks averaged 11.5 points per game while shooting 38.7% from three.

Johnson was named Penn State’s recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. The sportsmanship award is given to student-athletes from each Big Ten school who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior.

Johnson was named a captain for this season after transferring in from North Carolina. In his first season at Penn State, Johnson averaged seven points and three rebounds and appeared in 27 games for Rhoades’ squad.