Penn State's Kayden Mingo Talks Year 2 Plans After Big Ten Tournament Loss

The biggest personnel question of the Penn State basketball offseason is this: Will freshman Kayden Mingo return for Year 2? The Nittany Lions guard said Tuesday that he's "really looking forward" to his second year with the program.

Mingo capped his first season at Penn State with 13 points, five rebounds and five assists in the Nittany Lions' 76-66 loss to Northwestern in the Big Ten Basketball Tournament. Mingo was among the few highlights for Penn State, which went 3-17 in conference play to finish last for its worst season 2013.

After the game, which ended Penn State's season, Mingo told reporters at the United Center in Chicago that he's looking forward to "fixing things."

"I'm very grateful and very blessed for the whole season," Mingo said. "I feel like God put me in a very good position with a lot of good people around me. Going into next season, I'm really looking forward to fixing things that I could do better to help the team win. Be back here and win more games. That's the most important thing. Winning more games."

Mingo, who averaged 13.7 points during the regular season, became an immediate contributor for the Nittany Lions. The highest-ranked recruit in program history, Mingo earned a starting job and a team captaincy before the season. Rhoades said he planned to give Mingo the keys to the program, putting the guard in charge of a team that featured eight freshman.

Mingo, the 2025 New York Gatorade Player of the Year, started 28 games and led the Nittany Lions in average minutes. Retaining Mingo is a huge step for a team that seeks to turn a corner in head coach Mike Rhoades' fourth season. It's even more important after Mingo's brother Dylan committed to North Carolina.

"Experience is your greatest teacher in life," Rhoades said. "When you're a freshman, a real freshman at 18 years old, and you get thrown in the fire of playing at this level and in the Big Ten when everybody's bigger, older, stronger, you learn a lot. Unfortunately, you learn a lot through failure.

"Kayden is an example, and some other guys on the team too, that their spirit of coming back every day to work and stuff like that, we can build on that without a doubt, led by him. It's the approach you've got to have. I mean, it's hard. It's really hard when you have a really tough.

"January and February in the Big Ten because it's unforgiving. It could wreck you. You try your hardest to stack days, and you have tough results. You've got to use all that as great fuel for the offseason and to live in the weight room, live in the gym, and take the next step as a college basketball player."

Penn State Nittany Lions guard Kayden Mingo defends Northwestern Wildcats forward Nick Martinelli. — Penn State Nittany Lions guard Kayden Mingo (4) defends Northwestern Wildcats forward Nick Martinelli (2) during the first half at United Center. | David Banks-Imagn Images

Mingo scored in double figures in 20 of 28 games this season, including three games with 20+ points. He ranked second in the Big Ten and 21st nationally in steals per game (2.11) and tied a school single-game record with eight against Sacred Heart in November. Mingo made a buzzer-beating game-winner to lift Penn State to its first Big Ten win over the season againts Minnesota in February.

Mingo, who played at Long Island Lutheran, arrived at Penn State as ESPN's 39th-ranked prospect of the 2026 class and a top-50 impact newcomer.

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