Penn State Men’s Basketball: Nittany Lions Add Tennessee Transfer

Penn State men’s basketball rounded out its roster with a 13th scholarship player on Wednesday morning as four-star former Tennessee guard Freddie Dilione verbally committed to Mike Rhoades and his staff out of the transfer portal. Dilione, who has three years of NCAA eligibility remaining, marks the fourth transfer pickup for the Nittany Lions this offseason, joining Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Eli Rice, and Kachi Nzeh.

Dilione, who originally hails from Fayetteville, North Carolina, hits the scales at 6-foot-5 and 195-pounds. While at Tennessee, Dilione made appearances in 18 games, logging 93 minutes while recording 30 points, 14 assists, 10 rebounds, and six steals. To see what Dilione can bring to Penn State, you can check out his highlight reel. As a recruit, Dilione was a four-star prospect as a member of the 2022 cycle with offers from VCU, Alabama, Virginia and Wake Forest among others.

Penn State is now left to await the status of star guard and Big Ten Defensive Player of The Year, Ace Baldwin who has still yet to announce whether or not he intends on returning to State College, transfer, or declare for the NBA Draft. Baldwin has made no indication publicly regarding his decision but is coming up against various deadlines. From the NBA perspective, April 27th is the deadline for athletes to apply for early entry while May 29 marks the last day to withdraw from the draft and uphold their college eligibility. The NCAA transfer portal closes for players wishing to enter the portal, on May 1st.

Somewhat obviously, if Baldwin were to not return, that would open an additional scholarship for Penn State to work with.