Earlier this week, Penn State men’s basketball signed its highest-ranked recruiting class in program history, and head coach Mike Rhoades made it known he’s excited for the future of the team.

In his second year at the helm of the Nittany Lions, Rhoades made a strong push in recruiting high school talent, signing three players from the recruiting class of 2025.

The group, composed of Kayden Mingo, Mason Blackwood, and Justin Houser, is ranked as the No. 20 class in the nation by the 247Sports Composite rankings.

After the recruits officially signed with Penn State, Rhoades discussed each during his media availability on Thursday.

Kayden Mingo

The highest-ranked recruit to ever commit to Penn State, Mingo is a 6’2″ guard out of Farmingdale, New York. He is ranked as the No. 42 prospect and the No. 5 combo guard in the nation, according to 247Sports Composite ratings.

Rhoades discovered Mingo during his sophomore year, and after watching him play, made him a priority target.

“I was just so impressed with the young man. Then, when I started building a relationship with Kayden, I was like ‘Hey, this guy could not only be a heck of a player for us, but he could be a corner piece of us building this program and how we do things,'” Rhoades said.

While talking about Mingo, Rhoades said he’s never cared about rankings, but did note that “it’s great for letting people know that we ain’t messing around here,” and believes Mingo will be key in that.

A product of Long Island Lutheran High School and the PSA Cardinals AAU program, Mingo provides leadership that Rhoades believes will translate to the college level.

“I think he’s just a high-character kid. He cares about his teammates. He’s a leader by example, but also by the way he talks to his teammates. I watched it,” Rhoades said. “I’ve watched it in the summer, I’ve watched it during his junior year last year, and I just felt this was a kid that I want to personally recruit.”

Mason Blackwood

Blackwood committed to the Nittany Lions in September, less than two weeks after taking an official visit, and like Mingo, is listed as a four-star recruit.

Hailing from Rochester, New York, Blackwood is a 6’7″ forward who Rhoades believes will fill the role of Puff Johnson and Nick Kern Jr., who are both set to graduate after this season.

“He’s getting better by the day and he’s got an edge. He will replace Nick and Puff, in that sense where he can play multiple positions,” Rhoades said. “He loves playing defense, and he’s really improved his offensive game. That’s why he got recruited so highly.”

Versatility has been a key piece of Penn State’s forwards in the two years under Rhoades, having players who can be on the floor in many scenarios, and the same will remain true with Blackwood.

“He’s becoming a really good shooter, but he’s physical. He plays with an edge,” Rhoades said. “I just think he’s going to fit that mold of he can play the wing when we play small, he could play the four, he could be on the front of our press or anywhere else in the press.”

Not only will Blackwood provide a spark for his teammates with his competitiveness, but he could become a household name for fans, too.

Rhoades recently made a plea for Penn State fans to show up and be loud for Nittany Lion games at the Bryce Jordan Center and said Blackwood will be someone the crowd will get to know quickly.

“He’s going to come here, he’s going to give us a lot of juice. I think he’ll be a fan favorite quickly, because of how hard he plays and the way he goes about it,” Rhoades said.

Justin Houser

With a 7′ frame, Rhoades is excited about the length and versatility Houser, the No. 37 center in the nation, will bring to the Nittany Lions.

Penn State was the only power-conference school to offer Houser, and he was the first member of the recruiting class of 2025 to commit, deciding in June.

“When I’m looking for big guys, it’s not just the size, it’s the versatility. What I love about Justin is Justin can really shoot the basketball, being a lefty. He’s very physical,” Rhoades said. “Yeah, you want Big Ten size, but it’s got to fit how we play, that versatility part.”

Basketball runs in the Houser family, and Rhoades said if he resembles the game of his father and brother, Houser will be a problem for opposing teams in the future.

Rhoades, a former Lebanon Valley College point guard, spent four years playing against Houser’s dad, Chris, who played at Susquehanna University, while his brother, Tyler, currently plays for Delaware.

“If [Justin] is as tough as his dad, he fills out like his brother, and he shoots the ball like he is now, we got a very versatile 7’0″, 7’1″ player that’s only going to get better,” Rhoades said.