Posted June 27, 2024 | Article by Thomas English | Photo by Alisha Yi
Penn State men’s basketball has secured a commitment from class of 2025 center Justin Houser, he announced Wednesday night via X.
Houser becomes the first commitment for Penn State in the 2025 recruiting cycle after a four-player class in 2024 that was ranked Top-25 nationally.
Standing at 6-foot-11 and weighing 215 pounds, Houser attended The Phelps School in Malvern, Pennsylvania, after spending his freshman season at Cedar Cliff High School in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania.
The in-state big man chose the Nittany Lions over offers from Temple, Bryant, Saint Joseph’s, Delaware, Lafayette, Mount St. Mary’s and NJIT.
Penn State offered Houser last June and he took an unofficial visit to Happy Valley during the first week of July in 2023. Houser was scheduled to take a second unofficial visit today.
Houser made strides during the 2022-23 season with a team-best 2.6 blocks per game and a 45.5% clip on 3.3 attempts per game behind the arc.
He will continue to develop as a defensive force under Mike Rhoades and will look to improve his ability to stretch the floor offensively.
Houser joins a familiar face in the Big Ten as his teammate and top-ranked recruit Will Riley announced his commitment to Illinois recently.
Mike Rhoades has once again made a splash at the center position after landing Top-100 center Miles Goodman in the class of 2024.
The Nittany Lions join Illinois, Northwestern and Wisconsin as the only Big Ten schools to earn a commitment in the 2025 cycle.
Penn State will look to improve off their first season in the Mike Rhoades era as they continue to prepare for the upcoming 2024-25 season.
Thomas English is a third-year broadcast journalism major. To contact him, email tfe5082@psu.edu.
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