5 things to know about Mike Rhoades, Penn State’s next men’s basketball coach

A new era of Penn State basketball is about to begin.

Following final approval from university trustees on Wednesday, Penn State has hired Mike Rhoades as its next men’s basketball head coach, the program said in a press release. Penn State will formally introduce Rhoades with a press conference at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 30.

Now, the former Virginia Commonwealth University coach and Pennsylvania native is slated to head to Happy Valley with a wealth of experience under his belt as the Nittany Lions attempt to become mainstays in the NCAA Tournament. He will succeed Micah Shrewsberry, who left the program after two years to fill Notre Dame’s vacancy.

With the Rhoades era now underway, here are five things to know about Penn State’s next coach.

1. NCAA Tournament experience

Penn State’s brief but significant trip to the 2023 NCAA Tournament renewed a sense of urgency for the program to qualify for the annual postseason bracket. Rhoades’ impressive resume should help ease those concerns.

As VCU’s head coach, Rhoades guided the Rams to three NCAA Tournament berths in his six-season run in Richmond, though the 2020 NCAA Tournament was canceled entirely due to the coronavirus pandemic. He also brought the program to a National Invitation Tournament (NIT) berth in 2022.

When Rhoades’ teams did qualify for the NCAA Tournament, they failed to advance past the opening round, most recently falling as a No. 12 seed to No. 5 Saint Mary’s, 63-51, March 17. VCU could not participate in its first-round game against Oregon in the 2021 NCAA Tournament after multiple players tested positive for COVID-19.

Even without a March Madness win, Rhoades is expected to arrive at Penn State with more NCAA Tournament experience than nearly any incoming coach in program history. Shrewsberry, who took the Nittany Lions to the 2023 tournament, coached as an assistant when Butler and Purdue earned berths over the last decade. But over the past 50 years, only Pat Chambers and Ed DeChellis arrived at Penn State with a previous NCAA Tournament berth as a head coach. Chambers and DeChellis guided Boston University and East Tennessee State to the tournament in 2011 and 2003, respectively.

2. Pennsylvania prowess

The Nittany Lions’ new head coach grew up in Mahanoy City in Schuylkill County, just about two hours east of Penn State’s University Park campus. His father, James J. Rhoades, was a seven-term Pennsylvania state senator.

Rhoades played at Lebanon Valley College and helped lead the Flying Dutchmen to the 1994 Division III tournament championship game. A two-time All-American, Rhoades graduated in 1995 and left the program as its all-time scoring leader.

Today, Rhoades still holds Lebanon Valley College’s program records in assists, steals and free-throw percentage. The program has retired his No. 5 jersey.

3. Consistent winning seasons

Rhoades set the tone early in his VCU career by improving from a 17-14 overall record in his first season to a 25-8 record in his sophomore venture. That year, Rhoades guided his team to the Atlantic 10’s regular-season championship and earned himself the Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honor.

He is coming off of arguably his best year with VCU after guiding the Rams to a 27-8 season that included the conference’s regular-season and tournament championships before losing in the NCAA Tournament.