Tennessee Guard Freddie Dilione Announces Transfer to Penn State
Dilione was North Carolina's top-ranked high school recruit in 2023. He joins the Nittany Lions after two seasons with the Volunteers.
Freddie Dilione V, a 6-5 guard from Tennessee and former ESPN 100 prospect, has committed to Penn State, becoming the highest-ranked player to join the Nittany Lions roster from the NCAA Transfer Portal. Dilione announced his decision on Instagram. After entering the portal in early April, Dilione was ranked as a 4-star transfer prospect, according to 247Sports, and the No. 9 combo guard in the portal.
Dilione spent two years at Tennessee, playing in 18 games and averaging 1.7 points per game. Dilione scored a season-high 7 points in a season-high 16 minutes against Tennessee Tech. He shot 52.2 percent from the field (12 for 23) and had 14 assists. Dilione averaged 5.2 minutes per game with the Volunteers last season.
Dilione, a 4-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, was rated 38th in the ESPN Top 100. The Fayetteville, N.C., native committed to Tennessee in August 2022 from an offer list that included Connecticut, Alabama, Louisville and Indiana, among many others. Dilione had a relationship with Penn State coach Mike Rhoades, with whom he had an official visit in June 2022.
“Our relationship with Freddie and his family goes back several years and we’re beyond excited to have him join us at Penn State," Rhoades said in a statement. "Freddie is a very talented and versatile guard who will thrive in our up-tempo style of play. He will be a great addition to our Penn State basketball family both on and off the court.”
Dilione played his final high school season at Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, N.C., where he was the state's top-rated prospect, according to the 247Sports Composite. Dilione averaged 25.4, 7.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists in a breakthrough senior season. Prior to attending World of God Christian Academy, Dilione spent three seasons at Fayetteville Trinity Christian, averaging 18.1 and 7.1 rebounds in his final season.
Dilione is the fourth player to transfer to Penn State this offseason. He joins Nebraska's Eli Rice, Xavier's Kachi Nzeh and Northern Illinois' Yanic Konan Niederhauser. Penn State is reshaping a roster that lost four players to the NCAA Transfer Portal, including former top scorer Kanye Clary. Rhoades was forced to build his first roster from the portal, signing nine transfers, including two from VCU. The leader of that group, guard Ace Baldwin Jr., was named the Big Ten's defensive player of the year.
“We're going to try to get specific needs, and because of the experience we've had really the last two years with this, we could maybe pinpoint some things to our needs a little bit better, a little bit more,” Rhoades said after the season.
Rhoades also discussed the state of Penn State basketball's NIL program, an essential component in signing players from the portal. Rhoades prioritized NIL opportunities but said he didn't want them to be the first line of a recruiting discussion.
“It is important. I think it's awesome how we can support our student-athletes, and I've seen first-hand how it's helped kids and their families. I am all for it. I love it,” Rhoades said. “But if that's the No. 1 season you want to come and play basketball at Penn State, it's not gonna work. You gotta want to come here and be the best player and the best version of you because we're gonna get after it.
“In that arena of NIL, we're going to be competitive. But there's gonna be a lot of awesome reasons besides that and next to that to come be a part of our program.”
AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich.
