Brant Byers spent his first few weeks at Penn State driving around campus, still trying to wrap his head around where he is.

The Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, native grew up watching Penn State hoops with his family and occasionally attending games in Happy Valley. Now, after three seasons at Miami (Ohio), Byers is back in Pennsylvania playing for the program he once rooted for.

“I don’t know if it’s sunk in completely yet, but just driving around campus, even driving by Beaver Stadium and the Bryce Jordan Center, it’s been pretty crazy and awesome to get to experience that,” Byers said. “I think as we keep moving along, it’ll keep sinking in a little bit more how awesome and special this opportunity really is.”

Byers’ Pennsylvania roots gave Penn State an obvious connection, but head coach Mike Rhoades said the staff’s interest centered around what he could bring to a roster built around experience.

“We wanted to make sure we really tried to find older guys with skill that could really shoot the ball,” Rhoades said. “Of course, he was one of those guys at the top of the list, and then the connection of him being from Chambersburg and us knowing some people that he knows, we sort of ran with it. It just worked out really well, and we’re very fortunate.”

The interest was mutual from the beginning. Byers entered the portal knowing he wanted to visit Penn State, then spent only a couple of days considering his options after arriving in Happy Valley before committing.

It was a much shorter process than his original recruitment, but he was also making the decision this time with three seasons of college basketball behind him.

Byers wanted to know exactly what he was joining. He, his family, and his agent looked into Rhoades’ system, how he coaches his players, and how Byers’ game would translate before deciding Penn State was the right fit.

“Definitely opportunity played a big role in that, and then just the relationship that I was able to build with Coach Rhoades and the rest of the staff played into that heavily,” Byers said.

Returning home made the opportunity more meaningful, but neither side treated Byers’ Pennsylvania background as the sole reason for the transfer. His production and shooting placed him near the top of Penn State’s portal board before the local connection helped the two sides come together.

After redshirting during his first season at Miami in 2023-24, Byers broke into the rotation as a redshirt freshman and earned MAC Freshman of the Year honors while averaging 8.4 points per game in 2024-25.

He nearly doubled his production during his second season on the court, averaging 14.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, reaching double figures 27 times, and scoring at least 20 points in six games. His final season at Miami also included second-team All-MAC honors and a 19-point outing in the RedHawks’ NCAA Tournament win over SMU in the First Four.

The 6-foot-8 wing shot 39.2% from three last season and has connected on 40.1% of his attempts across his college career. Nearly 60% of his shots came from beyond the arc, but he still averaged 4.8 free-throw attempts per game, showing he can attack when defenders run him off the line.

His efficiency also held up as his role grew. Byers recorded a 122.2 offensive rating while using 18.3% of Miami’s possessions. He also took 19.4% of the RedHawks’ shots while on the court.

Still, Byers’ 0.6 assists per game show that there is room for his role to expand. He arrived at Penn State as a proven scorer and floor spacer, but Rhoades doesn’t want his game to stop there.

“I’ve been really challenging him to do more on the court, not just be an elite shooter, which he is, but to do other things as well,” Rhoades said. “He has absolutely tried to take off with that.”

Those challenges have shaped Byers’ first summer in Happy Valley. Along with adding strength in the weight room, he has spent workouts handling the ball more and becoming comfortable making decisions in situations he wasn’t regularly placed in at Miami.

“I think in practices and workouts, just getting stronger, even in the weight room, definitely is helping a lot with that,” Bryers said. “Then also, I’d say just handling the ball and being in position. I haven’t always been in that position growing up, so just working on that kind of thing, coming off ball screens, improving my passing, things like that, have really improved my game and are things I need to keep improving.

Rhoades believes Byers’ willingness to work outside his comfort zone has revealed more than what he can do with the ball. It’s also shown the competitiveness Penn State hoped it would get by adding through the portal.

Byers also brings more than individual production to Penn State. He was the second-leading scorer on a Miami team that finished the regular season undefeated, reached the top 25 for the first time since 1999, and set a program record with 32 wins.

As the wins and attention surrounding the RedHawks’ miracle season continued to build, Byers learned what it took to prevent one result, good or bad, from changing the team’s approach.

“I think last year one of the biggest lessons that our team learned was just how to be consistent every day because you’re not always going to have your best shooting days,” Byers said. “You’re not always going to have the most energy, but I think just keeping the main thing the main thing every single day is something that we learned. Then keeping outside voices out also was something that last year we really experienced, and we saw the positives of that.”

That experience could end up extremely valuable on a Penn State roster that’s bringing together players from around the nation.

Many of the Nittany Lions’ transfers are making the jump from mid-major basketball, and Byers acknowledged that skepticism around whether they are ready for the Big Ten has created a chip on their shoulders.

However, he doesn’t want proving those people wrong to distract from what Penn State is trying to build. Byers said the oldest players have already proven themselves at their previous schools, and their different backgrounds can now help the Nittany Lions move forward faster.

“I think it’s an advantage just because there are so many different experiences coming into one locker room,” Byers said. “I think if you can use all those experiences and put them towards one goal, that can really boost the progress you can make in a short amount of time.”