Penn State men’s basketball is losing its best player before the 2025-2026 season.
Center Yanic Konan Niederhauser did not withdraw his name from the 2025 NBA Draft ahead of the deadline Wednesday night, meaning he’ll stay in the draft and depart from the Nittany Lions.
Konan Niederhauser rose up big boards during the draft process after a successful appearance at the G-League Combine that led to an invitation to the NBA Draft Combine, where he showed off his elite size and athleticism.
Here’s how Konan Niederhauser’s departure will affect the Nittany Lions.
Others must step up
Without Konan Niederhauser, Penn State could be in serious trouble this season. He was already one of the team’s best players last season, making an impact on both ends of the court as an elite roll man and rim protector, but the expectations were even higher for 2025-2026. Konan Niederhauser was going to be the focal point of the team and was expected to be one of the better players in the Big Ten this season. Now the Nittany Lions will be forced to rely heavily on returning guard Freddie Dilione V to lead the way among the veterans, with highly-touted freshman Kayden Mingo forced to carry a heavy load in his first year on campus. Those two players will be key in determining if Penn State can have any level of success in Mike Rhoades’ third year leading the program.
Barren in the frontcourt
Konan Niederhauser is leaving a massive hole at the top of Penn State’s depth chart at the center position. He is the third departure of the offseason at the position after Miles Goodman and Kachi Nzeh entered the transfer portal. The team will have freshmen Justin Houser and Ivan Juric at the position, but neither is likely to be ready for major minutes this season. While there is still a good chance Penn State adds multiple other European players like Juric to the roster — with center being an obvious target — the current situation is a bleak one. The Nittany Lions are going to have to play small for long stretches unless they add multiple quality bigs, after expecting to have one of the best centers in the country this season before Konan Niederhauser’s departure.
Limited opportunity for replacements
This might be the biggest issue for Penn State — Konan Niederhauser is leaving after most portal players have already chosen their destination and are off to their new programs. The Nittany Lions will have the resources to financially compete for portal players, but the level of talent necessary to replace the big man isn’t available. The team will instead have to rely on internal development, and the hope that the team’s freshman class will be able to come in and have an out-sized impact. The Nittany Lions have now lost their five leading scorers from a team that struggled to compete in the Big Ten last season, and have done so without ample replacements at the ready.