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Penn State freshman guard elects to enter NCAA transfer portal

nate-mug-10.12.14by:Nate Bauer•about 9 hours•

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Penn State guard Jahvin Carter will enter the NCAA transfer portal. (Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images)

Penn State men’s basketball has its first roster movement of the 2025 offseason cycle. Jahvin Carter, the Nittany Lions’ true freshman point guard out of Alcoa, Tenn., will enter the NCAA transfer portal.

Asked about the move during a Wednesday zoom press conference to wrap up the 2024-25 season, head coach Mike Rhoades confirmed the decision.

“I had a great conversation with Jahvin this week, and I have nothing but great things to say about him,” Rhoades said. “He’s an awesome young man. A pleasure to coach this year. Awesome family. Love, love, love his family and the way they go about it. We had an open conversation. Really appreciate the honesty and the feedback from Jahvin. And Jahvin was looking for something that he felt was out there. And I’m okay with that.”

In his debut season with the program, Carter averaged 2.1 points and 0.7 assists over 8.2 minutes per game. He appeared in 26 of the Nittany Lions 31 games, including a season-high 23 minutes at Illinois on Jan. 8 upon a lower back injury suffered by starter Ace Baldwin.

For the season, he connected on 11-of-34 shots from beyond the arc (32.4 percent) while hitting 32.8 percent of his shots from the floor overall. He connected on 3-of-11 shots from the free throw line and had four steals to go along with 17 rebounds.

Moving on

According to Rhoades, part of his comfort with Carter’s decision to move on from the program is because of his own status as a parent of current college student-athletes. His son, Logan, plays football at Susquehanna while his daughter, Porter, is a lacrosse player at Penn State.

“There are conversations you have with your coach that even if you agree or don’t agree on, you have a conversation,” said Rhoades. “Kids got to do what they feel is best for them and their future and their opportunity, because they only get to do this one time, and there’s only one window that they can do this.

“I got nothing but glowing respect for Jahvin, and I appreciate everything he did for this year. So, yeah, it’s going to happen. This is the landscape that we’re in.”

What’s next for Penn State

With Carter’s exit, Penn State now has at least three scholarship positions to fill on its roster for the 2025-26 season. With a three-man Class of 2025 arriving in Justin Houser, Mason Blackwood, and Kayden Mingo, along with a five-man exit for the Nittany Lions’ senior class including Ace Baldwin, D’Marco Dunn, Zach Hicks, Nick Kern, and Puff Johnson, Rhoades said there are holes to now fill.

“That’s something we got to go recruit this spring and go make sure we have enough handlers in our program and guards and all that. So we’ll do that,” he said. “When you lose a player, you want to make sure they land on their feet and go from there, because it is about them having an awesome experience and getting a great education. Jahvin knows I’m here for him. I have great respect for the young man.”

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