Northern Illinois transfer Yanic Konan Niederhauser commits to Penn State

Another college basketball player has exited the NCAA transfer portal and found a new home for next season. According to Jeff Goodman, the Penn State Nittany Lions have landed a significant commitment from an individual known to cause havoc on the defensive side of the ball. Former Northern Illinois big man Yanic Konan Niederhauser has committed to playing for the Nittany Lions and head coach Mike Rhoades for the 2024-25 campaign.

The six-foot-11 big man just completed his sophomore season at Northern Illinois. As a freshman, he played in 20 games and had two starts well, averaging just 7.6 minutes per contest. However, in his sophomore season, Niederhauser saw significantly more playing time, playing in 27 games and earning 26 starts. His average minutes per contest also rose dramatically, elevating to 19.6 minutes a contest. During last season, Niederhauser was able to put up 7.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, and an impressive 2.1 blocks while averaging just under 20 minutes per contest.

Niederhauser joined college basketball ranks with prior professional experience. Before heading to Northern Illinois in 2022, he played with the German pro league club team Ehingen Urspring the season before. He also spent time with their youth team combos able to play in six games at the pro level. Niederhauser also played with the Swiss under-18 national team at the 2021 U18 European challengers, averaging just shy of a double-double for the event with 10.3 points and 7.7 rebounds per match.

One of the things that is likely to have intrigued the Penn State coaching staff, driving them to acquire the services of the wiry framed forward, is his ability to make shots from beyond the arc. Granted, Niederhauser isn’t a marksman from three-point land, but he still showed an ability to connect from long range a few times last season. During the Huskies 2023-24 campaign, Niederhauser knocked down seven of his 24 three-point attempts for a 29.2 three-point shooting percentage on the year.

Niederhauser is the second big-man transfer to commit to Penn State recently. Along with him, former Xavier center Kachi Nzeh also committed to playing for Rhoades next season.