Penn State Basketball Might Have Found a Hidden Portal Gem in Dasonte Bowen

Once college basketball's transfer portal moves began to slow in May, Penn State still had a clear problem with depth. Even head coach Mike Rhoades addressed that, saying his team has less depth than he’d like.

As a result, Rhoades left the door open to add more players for the 2026-27 season, mentioning he would recruit until being told he can’t. Rhoades was in fact still recruiting, as the Nittany Lions landed a commitment from St. Bonaventure transfer Dasonte Bowen on Wednesday.

Bowen is Penn State’s 11th addition of an offseason that saw plenty of roster turnover. Here’s what he’ll bring to the Nittany Lions.

Bowen slots in as the backup point guard

Dasonte Bowen is still available in the portal.

Has one year of eligibility left after only playing nine games in 2024-25.

Played 35 mpg + averaged 11.1 ppg and 4.9 apg this year.

Elite at getting downhill and was in the 88th %ile in AST rate. pic.twitter.com/XzJGGWl2Hk
— JPR (@Scouting_Col) May 28, 2026

Bowen should be the backup point guard to Central Connecticut State transfer Jay Rodgers. This will take pressure off Rodgers, who likely would have had to play a large number of minutes if Penn State didn’t get a commitment from another point guard.

Bowen (6-2) has produced at the position before, starting all 33 games as point guard for the Bonnies last season. He logged a career-high 4.8 assists per game while averaging 10.9 points and 3 rebounds.

Prior to Bowen’s commitment, Penn State expected international commit François Wibaut to serve in the backup point-guard role. Now, Rodgers and Bowen should be able to handle the majority of all 40 minutes of a game at point guard, so Wibaut could become more of a backup small forward instead.

This also means graduate student Thomas Allard and freshman Andy Gemao could see less minutes than previously expected and be depth pieces at shooting guard. However, Wibaut or Allard could still see some minutes at point guard due to their 6-7 frames, bringing size to the position.

Regardless of what the lineup becomes, Bowen’s commitment gives Penn State a true point guard along with Rodgers and more flexibility with other players.

Another experienced player for Penn State

St. Bonaventure Bonnies guard Dasonte Bowen (5) shoots the ball against the North Carolina Tar Heels. — St. Bonaventure Bonnies guard Dasonte Bowen (5) shoots the ball against the North Carolina Tar Heels in the second half at Suncoast Credit Union Arena. | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Rhoades made one point abundantly clear this offseason: He wants to build a roster that’s older than last year’s, which was one of the youngest in the country.

"You've got to be old," Rhoades said after Penn State lost to Northwestern in the Big Ten Tournament. "You've got to be old, because everybody else is. The best teams in our league and the best teams in the country are old and experienced. We've got to address some of that."

That theme was apparent with the other additions Penn State made and continued with Bowen’s commitment. He will be a fifth-year senior after his junior season in 2024 was cut short to 10 games due to injury.

Bowen played 43 games across two seasons with St. Bonaventure. He also has Big Ten experience, beginning his career at Iowa before transferring to the Bonnies ahead of his junior year.

Bowen was a rotational player with the Hawkeyes, appearing in 51 games and playing 11.3 minutes per game. He is the only Penn State transfer this offseason who has prior Big Ten experience.

Bowen is another veteran for Rhoades, who will now have six players with at least three seasons of collegiate experience on the roster.

What’s next for the Nittany Lions?

Work Mode: Activated 🔒#WeAre pic.twitter.com/gJxLKBu2Is
— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) June 15, 2026

The Nittany Lions haven’t announced that they’ve signed Bowen yet, so he isn’t currently with the team for summer practices, which started Monday. Once he does sign, Bowen will be able to join the squad for workouts ahead of his last season of eligibility.

Meanwhile, Penn State’s roster has one more spot open once Bowen, Wibaut and international commit Roko Prkačin all sign. It’s possible Rhoades could be looking for another player, but it’s also possible that spot could be left open.

When the new 15-player roster limit was implemented last season, Penn State carried only 13 players. The season before, the Nittany Lions had 14 players on their roster. The only time Rhoades had 15 players on a roster at Penn State was during his first season in 2023-24.

If the Nittany Lions were to add one last player, they would be best served finding someone who can play in the frontcourt. Bowen addresses the depth issue in the backcourt, so adding another frontcourt player into the rotation would further help the overall depth concern.

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