Penn State basketball adds 6-foot-9 transfer forward Saša Ciani

The Penn State men’s basketball program continued its progress building out its roster ahead of the 2025-26 season. Announced on Saturday morning, the Nittany Lions added 6-foot-9 transfer power forward Saša Cianifrom University of Illinois Chicago.

“We’re excited to get Saša on campus and welcome him to our Penn State basketball family,” said Penn State head coach Mike Rhoades via press release. “He is a veteran that will give us front court experience, size and versatility. We’re looking forward to the leadership, intense play and toughness that he will bring to our program.”

Originally from Nova Gorica, Slovenia, Ciani spent his first season of college basketball at Xavier before his transfer to UIC last year. Listed at 240 pounds, Ciani (pronounced SAH-shuh CHAH-nee) played in 31 games with the Musketeers in 2023-24, starting five times while posting 2.5 points and 2.9 rebounds.

Upon transferring to UIC last offseason, he played in 27 games, starting 21 times. He averaged 9.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game while knocking down 53.3 percent of his shots from the floor.

“Sasa is a skilled big with great versatility,” UIC head coach Rob Ehsan said upon Ciani’s transfer in. “He’s got a diverse offensive toolkit and is a defensive presence, particularly as a great rebounder. Add to that the extensive international experience he’s gained, as well as the meaningful minutes he played in the BIG EAST last year, and it’s clear he can be a valuable contributor for us next season and beyond.”

From the onset of the transfer portal cycle, Rhoades acknowledged the necessity of a bigger, stronger team for Penn State moving forward.

“You always want to get a level of talent. You got to get players that could help us win Big Ten games from the get-go. So that part. We all know talent,” said Rhoades. “We need size and girth. The one thing that I had to learn even more is the level of size, one through five. Returning players got to put on a body of armor that could win games in the Big Ten. But we also got to go out and recruit a body of armor. Guys with size and girth at all positions. I think that’s really important. We could still play the style that I want to play being bigger and stronger and taller and more girth.”

With Ciani’s addition, the Nittany Lions have built their roster to 13 players ahead of the 2025-26 season.

Where things stand

Guards Freddie Dilione, Dominick Stewart, Kayden Mingo, Reggie Grodin, Melih Tunca
Wings Eli Rice, Mason Blackwood, Josh Reed, Chris Lotito
Bigs Justin Hauser, Ivan Juric, Tibor Mirtic, Saša Ciani

Penn State scholarship breakdown by class

Fifth year (0): 
Fourth year (1): Josh Reed
Third year (3): Freddie Dilione, Eli Rice, Saša Ciani
Second year (1): Dominick Stewart
First year (8): Justin Hauser, Mason Blackwood, Kayden Mingo, Ivan Juric, Reggie Grodin, Melih Tunca, Chris Lotito, Tibor Mirtic