Penn State basketball captains set, led by freshman Kayden Mingo

Penn State men’s basketball head coach Mike Rhoades set the intention from the outset of his program’s summer workouts. With only three players returning from last year’s roster, Penn State’s summer workouts needed to be maximized not just physically, but interpersonally.

“The whole theme of our summer is build and bond. Let’s build our team together, and we gotta bond,” Rhoades told reporters in July. “We’ve spent a lot of time together in the gym, in the weight room, on the track early in the mornings. And when we do have free time and we have time to sit around and communicate with each other and interact with each other, that’s how you build a bond that goes beyond the sport we’re playing. 

“It’s always been really important to me. Some years it’s easier because people have been around each other when, like right now for us, we have a lot of new faces. So we’re building relationships.”

Two months later, that emphasis on relationships took another step in the foundation of the 2025-26 team. Announced via social media channels on Tuesday afternoon, the Nittany Lions have named four captains for the upcoming season.

They are: Transfer forward Josh Read, transfer big man Sasa Ciani, wing Eli Rice, and true freshman point guard Kayden Mingo. For Reed, Ciani, and Mingo, the campaign will be their first in the program, while Rice transferred from Nebraska last offseason but spent the 2024-25 campaign rehabilitating from surgery.

Mingo makes immediate Penn State impression

A true freshman being named captain marks a first for Rhoades’ tenure at Penn State, now entering his third season with the program. But, in Mingo, the Nittany Lions have identified a player capable of rallying teammates in a way that was evident from the earliest weeks of his arrival to campus.

“I just think he’s an awesome teammate, and he’s the point guard. He gets it. He’s an extension of the coaches that he played for. And he needs to do that with me,” Rhoades said. “He already has done a great job of being open to that. Kayden cares so much about doing things the right way, but also being a really good player and being very competitive. They’re characteristics of a good leader.”

Even so, Rhoades continued, the highest-ranked recruit in program history would face obstacles – and need help – through his first season in the program.

“Being a freshman, no matter how good of a player you are in the Big Ten at this level, is really, really hard. And it doesn’t mean just because you have these characteristics, that you’re going to have immediate success,” said Rhoades. “You’re going to go through some growing pains, but we got to do that together. I want him to be super aggressive. I want his natural leadership skills to take over. 

“He’s a great teammate, he cares about his teammates, he plays that way, he acts that way, and we’re going to continue to build on that. But not everything is on him. It’s got to be by committee for everybody.”

Getting help

By Mingo’s side among the team’s captains will be three of the most veteran players on the roster. 

The most experienced among them, Reed arrived to Penn State this offseason after three seasons spent at Cincinnati. With the Bearcats, he played in 97 career games after arriving as a Rivals150 recruit.

Less acclaimed through the recruiting process, native Slovenian Ciani first notched 31 games as a freshman at Xavier in 2023-24 before transferring to UIC last year, adding another 27 games of experience to his resume.

Meanwhile, Rice is at full go after a missed season in which he was expected to be a big part of the Nittany Lions’ plans, having come over from Nebraska following his first season of college ball. Describing himself as 100 percent and practicing every day through the summer months, Rice made strides that Penn State is counting on producing dividends both on and off the court.

“He had a great spring. He was live this spring. I thought he did a great job this year of absolutely changing his body,” Rhoades said. “He looks completely different. He’s moving well. I thought he had a great spring. He’s been working really hard. And we’re gonna ask a lot of him – from leadership to his play on the court – but he’s really excited for that as well.”

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