Penn State men’s basketball has made a notable staffing addition. Scott Pera, who served as Rice’s head coach over the past seven seasons, was hired as the Nittany Lions’ first-ever general manager, the team announced on Tuesday.
A Hershey native, Pera graduated from Penn State Harrisburg in 1989 before entering the coaching ranks. He and Mike Rhoades have a deep history from the Nittany Lion frontman’s three-year tenure leading the Owls, at a time Pera served under him as associate head coach.
As general manager, Pera will be “tasked with organizing and executing recruiting and long-term roster management strategies, developing NIL networks, aiding in fundraising for the program and leading game scheduling efforts,” per a statement released by the program.
“I am thrilled to be the new GM of Penn State Basketball,” Pera said. “To have this opportunity at my alma mater with one of my best friends is such a unique and awesome opportunity. I am looking forward to helping Coach Rhoades continue to grow this program as we navigate the constantly changing landscape of college basketball. I hope to assist him and the staff in a variety of ways to help them take Penn State back to the NCAA Tournament.”
Pera compiled a 96-127 record over seven years leading Rice, which dismissed him as head coach in March. He has made the NCAA Tournament just once during his career, 2009, when he was an assistant coach for an Arizona State team led by James Harden.
Aside from the Owls and the Sun Devils, Pera has made collegiate coaching stops at Penn and Elizabethtown College. He also has 13 years of high school head coaching experience at Palmyra and Annville-Cleona in Pennsylvania, as well as California’s Artesia.
“We are really excited to have Scott Pera join our program as General Manager,” Rhoades said. “Scott is well equipped to navigate the new landscape of college basketball and brings a wealth of experience, passion and leadership with him. He directly knows how I want to operate a program and develop our young men moving forward. It is great to bring Scott back home and work with him again. Please welcome Scott and his family to PSU.”
Helping rebuild Rhoades’ Penn State program won’t likely be an easy feat. The Nittany Lions lost nine total players this offseason between exhausted eligibility and the transfer portal, and could lose another in standout center Yanic Konan Niederhauser, if he remains in the NBA draft.
Rhoades didn’t find much luck in a high-stakes transfer portal cycle that left him with just one addition, former Cincinnati forward Josh Reed. Penn State ultimately added two incoming freshmen to a now five-legged 2025 recruiting class, prying guard Reggie Grodin away from Fordham and landing 7-foot Croatian center Ivan Juric.
They will help make up the highest-rated recruiting class in program history, a group that includes four-star Kayden Mingo, one of the nation’s top guard prospects. Still, Pena should have his hands full for a program that will look to not only return to the NCAA Tournament, but the Big Ten Tournament, after missing out on both this past year.
