Mariana Forteza Site

Thousands of people flocked to downtown State College on a sunny Saturday afternoon to celebrate Pride and the LGBTQ community.



Presented by Centre LGBTQA Support Network, Downtown State College Improvement District and State College Borough, the third annual State College Pride <a href="https://stcodev.wpengine.com/articles/community/parade-festival-among-state-college-pride-events/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">included</a> a parade of colorful floats and marchers through town and a festival in Sidney Friedman Park, among other events throughout the weekend.



State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, D-Philadelphia, served as grand marshal of the parade and festival. A frequent visitor to Centre County, Kenyatta is the first openly LGBTQ person of color elected to the Pennsylvania General Assembly.



He called 2023 &#8220;probably the most important year for Pride in a really long time,&#8221; noting a vocal anti-LGBTQ contingent and legislation in a number of states, particularly related to transgender individuals. 



&#8220;In this moment, in this Pride year, what we are doing right now, showing up with joy in our hearts, showing up for and with each other in real community, that is critical right now,&#8221; Kenyatta said. &#8220;Because this is actually what our communities look like. This is actually where most people are&#8230; Do not believe the noise and the nonsense that most people are as hateful and vitriolic as some of the politicians who unfortunately get elected&#8230;. For Pride, it’s really critical for us as a community that we recognize our joy does not exist in contrast to their hatred.&#8221;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://henr18y71trtnloh5jkqnqjqt.js.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/pride-2023-kenyatta-lane-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424953"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, State College Pride grand marshal, and Judge Timika Lane lead the 2023 Pride parade. Photo by Geoff Rushton | StateCollege.com</figcaption></figure>



Pennsylvania, Kenyatta said, should aspire to be the best place to live, raise a family and retire for everyone, including LGBTQ people.



&#8220;We deserve to be happy, to be joyous, to be just who you are every single day, no matter what they’re talking about, no matter what they’re doing,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You just be who the hell you are.&#8221;



State College Mayor Ezra Nanes acknowledged that some in attendance may be feeling scared, worried or uncertain because of events nationally. 



&#8220;It’s OK to feel that,&#8221; Nanes said. &#8220;I want you to know that me, Ezra Nanes, my family, the Borough of State College, we are here for you. We will always be here for you. We’re going to keep building on the amazing work that you’ve already done, that we’ve already done together.&#8221;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://henr18y71trtnloh5jkqnqjqt.js.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/pride-2023-3-1024x751.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424937"/></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://henr18y71trtnloh5jkqnqjqt.js.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/pride-2023-8-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424942"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photos by Geoff Rushton | StateCollege.com</figcaption></figure>



Nanes issued a proclamation last week declaring June as Pride Month in the borough, and as the parent of an LGBTQ child, he called Pride &#8220;not just principle,&#8221; but also personal.



&#8220;One of the greatest joys in life, whether you’re a parent or a sibling or just an adult with a child in your life that matters, is supporting that child in discovering who they are,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I think that’s a really important principle of what Pride is, that we all believe in helping people discover themselves, not telling them who they should be.&#8221;



State Rep. Paul Takac, D-Lemont, said Pride is also personal for him and his family and called it a &#8220;joyful occasion.



&#8220;This represents the absolute best of what State College is and can be,&#8221; he said. &#8220;This sets the standard for what every day should be like. You are not only seen, you are not only accepted, but you should be celebrated and you should be loved. If we could bottle today and make every day like that, wouldn’t this be a better world, a better place to be?&#8221;



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<figcaption class="blocks-gallery-caption wp-element-caption">Scenes from the 2023 Pride parade in downtown State College. Photos by Geoff Rushton | StateCollege.com</figcaption></figure>



Timika Lane, a Philadelphia judge who is running for Pennsylvania Superior Court in November, emphasized the importance of individuals making their voices heard to ensure all are treated with dignity and respect.



&#8220;We have to decide in Pennsylvania, what is it going to be? Are we going to be a place of love or are we going to be a place of hate?&#8230; Your voice matters,&#8221; Lane said.



Kenyatta urged those in attendance to be true to themselves, knowing that it will inspire someone else to do the same.



&#8220;If we lift each other up, if we encourage each other to be brave, if we remind ourselves that we are the majority of this commonwealth, that we are the majority of this nation, when we do that then we will continue to pull this nation closer to making the ideals of freedom, justice and fairness real for everybody,&#8221; he said. &#8220;No matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter who you love, no matter how you worship or choose not to, here in Pennsylvania it’s about you getting a fair shot and a fair shake. We’re going to keep doing that together.&#8221;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://henr18y71trtnloh5jkqnqjqt.js.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/pride-2023-9-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424943"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Photo by Geoff Rushton | StateCollege.com</figcaption></figure>



State College Pride has grown substantially since it was first held in 2021. Last year it drew an estimated 4,000 people and organizers expected that number would increase again for the third edition.



The <a href="https://www.centrelgbtqa.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Centre LGBTQA Support Network</a> (CLSN), which was founded in 2014, has been instrumental in that, as well as in providing resources year round. Sue Marshall, a founding member and current board secretary, said planning for next year&#8217;s Pride will start next week.



In the shorter term, however, CLSN will be celebrating another advancement. A long-planned LGBTQ center for downtown State College will open sometime in August at the corner of Calder Way and South Pugh Street, Marshall said.



&#8220;We can’t wait,&#8221; she said. &#8220;We will have a big opening celebration.&#8221;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://henr18y71trtnloh5jkqnqjqt.js.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/pride-2023-anchor-arrow-2-scaled.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-424949"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Community members danced while Anchor &amp; Arrow played at the 2023 State College Pride festival on Saturday, June 10, in Sidney Friedman Park. Photo by Geoff Rushton | StateCollege.com</figcaption></figure>

‘Showing Up with Joy in Our Hearts.’ State College Celebrates Pride

There may be just one person who claims not to know who will start at quarterback for Penn State football when the team begins its season against West Virginia on Sept. 2.



While Drew Allar has been set as the presumed successor to longtime starting quarterback Sean Clifford since the day that he stepped onto Penn State’s campus in January 2022, James Franklin didn’t declare a winner to the Nittany Lions’ quarterback competition with 86 days until the season opener.



“We have competition at every single position, every single year, returning starter or not,” Franklin told the media on Thursday. “I think that’s the right thing to do.”



Allar’s competition at the position is Beau Pribula, who, like Allar, was a member of the Nittany Lions’ recruiting Class of 2022. The difference between the two was that Allar was a five-star recruit by the time he arrived on campus. Pribula was a three-star.



More recently, Allar took snaps behind Clifford in the 2022 season. The youngster played in enough games that he was unable to take a redshirt season. By contrast, Pribula didn’t take a snap in a Penn State game until the Blue-White Game in April, when he attempted 22 of his 27 passes with second-string players.



Franklin’s hesitation to name a starter isn’t surprising. Entering his 10th year with Penn State, Franklin wants competition at the position. It’s likely that Allar will only stick around Penn State for two more years. Franklin will need someone to step up when the Ohio native is gone.



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It’s a situation that Franklin has had before. From 2016-17, he had running backs Saquon Barkley and Miles Sanders on the same roster. Barkley was a shout for a Heisman candidate in college, and when Sanders turned pro, he reached last season’s Super Bowl as the starting running back for the Philadelphia Eagles.



At Penn State, Barkley was the evident starter. But Franklin said that competition between the two made them both better. If Franklin has his way, the same will happen to Allar and Pribula.



“I think at times there may have been some frustration with that, but I truly believe that type of competition in college really set them up to be successful in the NFL,” Franklin said. “[Barkley] always had somebody behind him trying to take reps away from him. And [Sanders], as a young player, was trying to overtake [Barkley]. So I think that is a healthy position to be in.”



Franklin also has to answer the question of how he’ll use each quarterback. As Mike Yurcich, Penn State’s offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach said at the same press conference, each quarterback has different styles. Gameplans have to be tailored to those styles.



Allar’s been described as a quarterback who’s steady in the pocket. Teammates have raved about his ability to place passes in locations where only a receiver can catch them. Allar can be mobile but his arm is what really sets him apart from the pack.



Pribula, however, is described as athletic. He’s the quarterback that Franklin and Yurcich could turn to when they need to push a pile or in a situation that calls for a mobile quarterback. He’s the Nittany Lions’ alternate.



However Franklin plays the two quarterbacks, it will likely be some time before Penn State fans have an answer to the question that’s hung over the program for more than a year. Franklin noted that he wanted Clifford to compete for a starting role for the six years that the recent&nbsp;<a href="https://onwardstate.com/2023/04/29/sean-clifford-drafted-no-149-overall-by-green-bay-packers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NFL draftee</a>&nbsp;spent in Happy Valley. The same will apply to Allar.



If Franklin has 86 days to name a starter against the Mountaineers, he may just use all 86.

‘We Have Competition at Every Single Position’: Penn State Quarterback Question Still Unanswered

Penn State men&#8217;s basketball could be hitting the court in Atlanta this year, according to multiple reports by national outlets. According to <a href="https://bracketeer.org/nonconference/big10">The Bracketeer</a>, the Nittany Lions are set to face Georgia Tech in the Holiday Hoopsgiving doubleheader at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. South Florida is reportedly the second team in the event set to take place on Dec. 17.



&#8220;Nothing is contractually finalized or announced at this point,&#8221; a Penn State spokesperson said. 



While Penn State has not yet announced its entire non-conference schedule, various non-conference games are already known. Among them, the Nittany Lions will play in Orlando in an early season tournament field featuring Boise State, Butler, Florida Atlantic, Iowa State, Texas A&amp;M, VCU and Virginia Tech as part of the ESPN Events Invitational.



Penn State does know the rough outline of its Big Ten slate <a href="https://stcodev.wpengine.com/articles/penn-state-basketball/penn-state-mens-basketball-big-ten-releases-single-play-and-double-play-opponents/">following an announcement in April</a> of single-play and double-play opponents for the 2023-24 Big Ten slate.



The Nittany Lions are under new head coach Mike Rhoades, who left VCU for Penn State this offseason. Rhoades&#8217; buyout included a clause that requires Penn State to play VCU on the road. It&#8217;s unclear if that matchup will take place this season or during a future season. Penn State also owns a home game against UMass after traveling on the road to face the Minutemen. The Nittany Lions are not part of this year&#8217;s Gavitt Games, which pits Big Ten and Big East schools against one another.

Penn State Men’s Basketball: Nittany Lions Set for Game in Atlanta, Per Report

STATE COLLEGE — The countdown is on.



The <a href="https://www.ironman.com/im703-pennsylvania" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ironman 70.3 Pennsylvania Happy Valley</a> is right around the corner. The triathlon will take place on July 2 in locations throughout Centre and Clinton counties. Director Josh Cone said that things are coming together nicely in preparation for the first-ever Ironman event in Centre County.



“The event is really coming together well and we are excited to see athletes from all over the country here in central Pennsylvania,” he said.



Cone said the response has been overwhelmingly positive.



“The response has been fantastic. There’s been a lot of questions as to what the Ironman triathlon is. Also, the look of disbelief that people would swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 over Centre Hall Mountain and then run 13.1 miles,” Cone said.



There is, however, still a need for volunteers. Cone is hoping that community members will step up and volunteer.



“(We’re) just getting the word out for volunteers to jump in and get involved. It’s a fun way that non-profits can be involved as a team and raise money for their group through the Ironman foundation grant,” Cone said.



According to Cone, volunteers are still needed for morning clothes bag drop at Bald Eagle State Park as well as bag pick-up at Beaver Stadium.



Early weather forecasts show a high of 82 on July 2. The triathlon will stretch across Centre County and beyond.



For those on the fence about volunteering, Cone is hopeful that people will try their hand at it.



“Come join an event that’s high energy, full of passion, watching people chase dreams. … (It’s) a great way to jump in and be involved in something really special that’s happening in our backyard. I’m excited to show the world how awesome central Pennsylvania is,” Cone said.



To volunteer for Ironman, visit <a href="https://ironman.volunteerlocal.com/volunteer/?id=69790" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ironman.volunteerlocal.com/volunteer/?id=69790</a>.

The Countdown Is On for Happy Valley Ironman

Penn State football picked up another four-star prospect on Friday afternoon as safety Vaboue Toure verbally committed to the Nittany Lions. Toure announced his decision on his Twitter account, choosing Penn State over the likes of Oklahoma, Kentucky and others.



Hitting the scales at 6-foot-1, 185-pounds out of Irvington, New Jersey, Toure is the 17th player to join the Nittany Lions’ recruiting Class of 2024. According to the <a href="https://247sports.com/player/vaboue-toure-46122973/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">247 Network</a>, Toure is rated the No. 23 safety in 2024 class and the No. 4 player in the Garden State. He is the second safety to verbally commit to Penn State this cycle, joining <a href="https://stcodev.wpengine.com/articles/penn-state-football/penn-state-lands-commitment-from-4-star-safety/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dejuan Lane</a>, who verbally committed on June 4.



Penn State&#8217;s 2024 class is currently <a href="https://247sports.com/college/penn-state/Season/2024-Football/Commits/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ranked the seventh-best in the nation</a> according to the 247 Network. So far this cycle, Penn State has landed 10 verbal commitments from four-star prospects with the remaining seven currently at the three-star level. The class is headlined by four-star athlete <a href="https://stcodev.wpengine.com/articles/penn-state-football/penn-state-recruiting/top-ranked-pa-prospect-commits-to-penn-state-footballs-2024-recruiting-class/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Quinton Martin</a>, who is ranked No. 49 prospect in the country and No. 1 in Pennsylvania, according to the 247 Network. Martin, a Belle Vernon product, verbally committed to Penn State in April.

Penn State Football: Nittany Lions Add Four-Star Safety to 2024 Class

Penn State is set to make the most of an NCAA rule change adopted in January that will allow for expanded staff sizes for a number of athletic programs on campus. Over the course of Wednesday and Thursday, Penn State listed over a dozen new assistant coaching positions on its job board spanning various sports from wrestling to men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s hockey.



The listings come months after the Division I Council opted for a rule change that eliminated the voluntary coach designation. Instead, programs will be able to hire an additional countable coach for a full-time staff position. Previously volunteer coaches had limited roles which largely kept them from certain roles on both the recruiting and coaching fronts. Those limitations are now no longer in place.



&#8220;The Council&#8217;s actions today for coaching limits reflect the ongoing efforts within Division I to modernize NCAA rules,&#8221; Lynda Tealer, executive associate athletics director at Florida and chair of the Division I Council, said at the time. &#8220;These changes will ease the burden on campus compliance staffs and increase the number of coaches who can assist with recruiting activities.&#8221;



It remains to be seen how many programs will take part in actual searches for these new roles rather than simply opting to promote internally many of the current volunteer assistant coaches to a newly available full-time role. In either case, assistant coaching jobs were listed for softball, men&#8217;s volleyball, women&#8217;s volleyball, men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s gymnastics, men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s swimming and diving, women&#8217;s hockey, men&#8217;s hockey, wrestling, men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s soccer as well as men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s lacrosse.



Football and men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s basketball were not impacted by the rule change, although the council did vote to approve the expansion of both men&#8217;s and women&#8217;s basketball staffs by two coaches, neither of which are permitted to recruit.

Penn State Set for Swath of Assistant Coach Hires Following NCAA Rule Change

With Penn State&#8217;s season slowly getting closer and training camp even closer still, there&#8217;s no time like the present to think about how the Nittany Lions&#8217; season &#8211; and who the big performers of the year &#8211; will end up being. On a team not short of talent, there are plenty of players to choose from for all of these awards, but here are a few preseason predictions of how it&#8217;s all going to play out when the 2023 campaign is all said and done.



MVP: Nick Singleton, running back



The popular option here is to pick Drew Allar to just do everything and be wonderful. While that might end up being true, it seems more likely that Allar is going to ease into his role in part on the back of Penn State&#8217;s running game. Even in a world where that isn&#8217;t the case, Singleton seems poised to have a Saquon Barkley-sophomore-year where he just does so much that you have to give him the award. A nod here as well for Kaytron Allen, who is every bit the threat to gash teams for big gains as Singleton is. Split the award if you want — Penn State&#8217;s best asset is going to be the fact Allar won&#8217;t have to force it.



Most Improved: KeAndre Lambert-Smith, receiver



If you&#8217;re a believer in KLS&#8217; ability to turn the corner and become the sort of player he has shown he can be in spurts, this is the award for you. There are a lot of guys you could pick for this honor because Penn State is going to need plenty of players to step up this season, but KLS gets tabbed here on &#8220;it has to happen finally?&#8221; merits. If he doesn&#8217;t, then Dani Dennis-Sutton will, and if he doesn&#8217;t you could maybe give it to a kicker — but that&#8217;s never a sexy option. In any case, here&#8217;s to KLS becoming the player some people think he can be.



Defensive Player of The Year: Abdul Carter, linebacker



Abdul Carter might not be Micah Parsons just yet but he does have the opportunity to have the season everyone was hoping to see from Parsons prior to COVID. Penn State&#8217;s defense is going to be very good &#8211; again &#8211; so Chop Robinson, Kalen King and others might be just as able to snag this away from Carter. That being said, Carter is gearing up for a legitimate All-American run. Kind of makes this award obvious if he checks off that box.



Offensive Player of The Year: Olu Fashanu, offensive tackle 



Yes this could go to Singleton, but if Penn State is going to bring back a probable top-10 pick and spend the better part of the last decade lamenting that the offensive line isn&#8217;t good enough, you have to get technical and give this award to the best player on that side of the ball. It isn&#8217;t sexy, but the moment you say &#8220;but give it to Singleton or Allar&#8221; well, just rewind the tape and ask yourself if you&#8217;d like to watch another iteration of &#8220;if only Penn State had a good offensive line.&#8221; Fashanu can&#8217;t do it on his own, but he sure as hell can do a lot.



Freshman of The Year: Tony Rojas, linebacker



Rojas is one of those kids who shows up on campus and everyone immediately starts talking about him. Rojas hasn&#8217;t played a snap yet for Penn State so time will tell if he can really live up to the hype, but man, oh man, is he building a hype train. This award might be partially a product of Penn State not having tons of freshmen set to take on as big of a role as Rojas, but he is going to earn it either way.



Household Name: Kalen King, cornerback



A somewhat vaguely defined award, this is the year that I can start to make good on an unpopular opinion that Kalen King might actually be better than Joey Porter Jr. I&#8217;m burying this claim at the bottom of the story to limit the number of people who see it. True or not, King is objectively set up to make a name for himself this year and has given plenty of indication that he capable of doing exactly that.

Preseason Award Predictions: Who Will Be Penn State Football’s MVP This Year?

Penn State Uplifting Athletes chapter is set for its annual Lift for Life event on Thursday, June 22 at the Lasch Practice Fields starting at 4 p.m. This year marks the 20th iteration of the event which has steadily grown over the years. As per usual, Lift for Life will feature the Penn State&#8217;s offense going up against the defense in various shows of strength and agility.



For those interested in attending doors will open at 3:30 p.m. and fans can enter from the Holuba Hall/East Area Locker Room parking lot. Fans are asked to park in Jordan East (formerly Lot 44). While the event is free to attend there is a suggested donation of $10 for adults and $5 for kids to support the Penn State Chapter of Uplifting Athletes. All proceeds from the Penn State Lift for Life will benefit the rare disease community.



In addition to the general event, there will also be a kids clinic, which will run 4:30-5:30 p.m. Children interested in participating in the clinic must have a <a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgopsusports.com%2Fdocuments%2F2023%2F6%2F12%2FLift_for_Life_Clinic_June_22__2023_Medical_Form.pdf&amp;data=05%7C01%7CFB-MEDIA-L%40LISTS.PSU.EDU%7C443f43d0e1ba40e4e19908db6b9682ab%7C7cf48d453ddb4389a9c1c115526eb52e%7C0%7C0%7C638222066394699194%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=FDftuvtjkL7%2FKUr7FhT%2FN499loXvRbTtILdeimVO21A%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">waiver form</a> filled out and presented at the door. More than 80 football players from Penn State&#8217;s current roster are expected to participate in Lift for Life events this year. 



Penn State Uplifting Athletes Chapter also announced earlier this week that offensive lineman Landon Tengwall will serve as president for the 2023 season. Offensive Lineman Nick Dawkins is the vice president.



Uplifting Athletes inspires the rare disease community &#8211; a rare disease is one that affects fewer than 200,000 Americans and typically lacks financial incentive to make and market new treatments. Uplifting Athletes has established 28 chapters with Division I football programs across the country. Since it was founded, Uplifting Athletes has raised more than $4.5 million in support of the Rare Disease Community, and a third of that, $1.5 million, has been given to fund rare disease research. The mission of Uplifting Athletes is accomplished through four charitable programs: Rare Disease Awareness, Rare Disease Research, Uplifting Experiences and Uplifting Leaders. For more information about Uplifting Athletes, <a href="http://visitwww.upliftingathletes.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">visitwww.upliftingathletes.org</a>.

Penn State Football: Lift for Life Details Announced

It’s baseball’s time of year.



The NFL is well into its offseason. The draft is long since passed and offseason workouts and minicamps will conclude this week. College football is done as well and spring practices are over. Camps for both the NFL and college teams won’t start until late July and early August.&nbsp;



The NHL season will be completed soon. The Stanley Cup finals may be over tonight. If not, the last possible game – if the Florida Panthers somehow win two in a row – will be next Monday.&nbsp;&nbsp;



By the time you read this the NBA Finals may already be over (If the Denver Nuggets won last night). As with the NHL finals, if the Miami Heat are somehow able to win two in a row, the last possible game will be this Sunday.



Granted, the MLS season is in full swing but most people don’t yet consider Major League Soccer the equal of the Big Four pro leagues in this country:&nbsp; football, basketball, baseball and hockey. Although, average attendance at MLS games is pretty similar to MLB games. But there are many more baseball games played, so overall attendance in MLB is much higher.



Meaning it’s baseball’s time to shine and reign supreme over the professional sporting world. Locally, both the State College Spikes and the Altoona Curve have started to play, and ballpark promotions are in full swing (pun intended). But one local baseball team has a question mark surrounding it.&nbsp;



Penn State’s baseball team is without a head coach. Rob Cooper, who was hired in August 2013 as the 14th head coach in Penn State baseball history, resigned a little less than a month ago at the end of this past season.



During the 10 years that Cooper was head coach, Penn State baseball posted a 198-270-0 record for a .423 winning percentage. The Nittany Lions reached the Big Ten Tournament once during his tenure, in 2022, and never made it to the NCAA tournament. He did, however, have the highest position player draft selection in PSU baseball history when catcher Matt Wood was picked in the fourth round last year by the Milwaukee Brewers.



I will admit to not being a big baseball fan in general, but I’ve been alive long enough to remember that Penn State’s baseball team did alright at one time. I attended Penn State from 1977 to 1982, which coincided with the last year of Chuck Medlar’s 19-year stint as head coach – 1981. Nineteen seasons when the team went 312-141-6 for a .686 winning percentage.&nbsp;



In fact, from the time in 1875 when Penn State played its first baseball game, through the last game of Chuck Medlar’s coaching in 1981, Penn State baseball’s record was 1,098-517-18 for a .672 win rate. That’s better than two wins for every loss! But since then, things have dropped off a bit. Shorty Stoner coached PSU for nine years at a .558 clip. Then Joe Hindelang for 14 years at a .523 clip. Next was Robbie Wine for nine seasons at a .466 rate. Lastly, Rob Cooper for 10 years and a .423 percentage.&nbsp;



I think we can see things have been going in a not-positive direction – at least as far as winning is concerned. So, what’s the issue?



Well, from a historical perspective Pennsylvania has a long and storied history with baseball. Pennsylvania ranks third in the country for states with the most members enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. The commonwealth has 25 natives in the Hall, behind New York at 34 and California at 26. According to Baseball Reference, for all the known birthplaces of major league players, Pennsylvania ranks second in the country behind California.&nbsp;



Specifically related to Penn State, again according to Baseball Reference, there have been 138 guys who attended Penn State who went on to play some pro ball – although most of that is minor league play.



In terms of World Series history, since the beginning of American League vs. National League play in 1903, Pennsylvania ranks fourth in the country in states with the most World Series titles. The Athletics, Phillies and Pirates have combined for 12. This is behind New York with 35 (Yankees, Dodgers, Giants and Mets), California with 14 (Angels, Dodgers, Athletics and Giants) and Missouri with 13 (Cardinals, Royals).



Not to mention, Little League baseball was founded in central Pennsylvania on fields near Lycoming Creek in Williamsport by the present day site of Bowman Field – the home of the Williamsport Crosscutters, current rival of the State College Spikes. And the Little League World Series is held every year in South Williamsport, on fields that are just 62 miles from Medlar Field.



Now, that’s all well and good from a historical perspective, and might justify those lofty Penn State winning records in season’s past, but what about now? How are Pennsylvania’s baseball chops these days?



At the high school level things seem to be good. According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, based on competition at the high school level in the 2021-22 school year, there were 20,704 boys playing high school baseball in Pennsylvania. That ranks fourth in the country behind Texas, California and Ohio. So there are plenty of young players coming up to the college ranks.



Right now, the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship is ongoing. Sixty-four teams made it to regional competition and played round-robin pools to cut the field to 16 teams. The Super Regional competition to cut it to the eight teams who will play in the College World Series finished yesterday. If we just randomly pick from some of the top teams that made it to the Super Regional field, we find that No. 1-ranked Wake Forest shows five players on its roster who are from Pennsylvania. No. 7-ranked Virginia has four players from the Keystone State. As does Duke. Even No. 16-ranked Alabama shows two Pa. players on its roster (one from Mill Hall!). So Pennsylvania players are populating some of the better teams at the collegiate level.&nbsp;



Hmmm….&nbsp; It appears Pennsylvania has a long baseball history, and it seems to be creating plenty of young prospects, so, what is Penn State to do to turn the ship around and get back to that historical .672 winning rate?



I think many of you would agree that it starts with the head coach. But since it doesn’t appear that a baseball version of Cael Sanderson exists, Pat Kraft has some work to do. In that case, is there a trait Kraft might look for in a coach that might help Penn State’s cause?



I think there is.&nbsp;



If we look back at the history of two of the best baseball coaches in Penn State history – according to their win-loss record – they were from non-Philadelphia areas of Pennsylvania. Joe Bendenk coached for 32 years from 1931-1962 and was born in Williamsport. His record? 380-159-3 for a .704 winning percentage. The aforementioned Chuck Medlar coached for 19 years from 1963-1981 and was born in Allentown. His record as noted above was 312-141-6 for a .686 winning percentage.&nbsp;



Now, both Joe Hindelang and Robbie Wine were born in Pennsylvania, but they were from the Philly area. Hindelang was born in Philadelphia and Wine in Norristown. After extensive searching, I haven’t been able to find where Rob Cooper was born – but he played his college baseball in Sacramento, California and Miami, Florida.&nbsp;



The point is, Pennsylvania seems to have plenty of young baseball talent. It certainly seems to have a positive history with the game. Penn State just needs the right head coach. And to quote from the character Tia Dalma at the end of the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man&#8217;s Chest,” “…then you will need a captain who knows those waters.” Perhaps a Pennsylvania born-and-bred coach who knows the leagues, coaches and talent throughout the less-densely-populated parts of the state, might be just the key.&nbsp;



Here’s to hoping Pat Kraft finds him!

Hook: A Look Back at Past Success Might Show the Way in Finding Penn State Baseball’s Next Coach

The State College Spikes are set to celebrate the 25th anniversary of an iconic moment in Penn State football history with a LaVar Leap Bobblehead giveaway to the first 1,000 fans who attend the game on Saturday, Aug. 19.



The leap, which has become synonymous with Arrington&#8217;s career at Penn State and one of the most recognizable college football plays of the late 1990s, came in 1998 as Arrington leapt across the line of scrimmage for a stop against Illinois. The Nittany Lions would win that game 27-0 en route to an eventual 9-3 season, going 10-3 in the following year in 1999 before a downturn in play in the early 2000s.



As for Arrington, he would go on to play in the NFL from 2000 to 2006 after being drafted No. 2 overall in the 2000 NFL Draft behind fellow teammate and defensive end Courtney Brown.



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State College Spikes Set For ‘LaVar Leap’ Bobblehead Giveaway

Former Penn State wrestlers Nick Lee, Zain Retherford, and David Taylor took home Final X wins to earn spots on the <a href="https://www.flowrestling.org/articles/11048269-results-for-usa-wrestlings-2023-final-x-presented-by-tezos" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">World Championship team</a> roster on Saturday in Newark, New Jersey. 



Nittany Lion Wrestling Club (NLWC) members Kyle Dake and Kyle Snyder also made the team, meaning half of the U.S. Men&#8217;s Freestyle World Team trains at Penn State. NLWC&#8217;s Jennifer Page also earned a spot on the women’s team.



Each wrestler competed in a best-of-three series to try and earn a spot on the team to compete in Serbia this fall.



Lee, a two-time national champion at Penn State, defeated former Cornell four-time NCAA national champion Yianni Diakomihalis at 65 kg 7-6 and 8-8. The match started off with a 7-6 win for Lee before the second bout of the series had a late two-point takedown to end it all and grant the former Nittany Lion the victory.



Retherford, a world runner-up last year did the same at 70 kg against Tyler Berge, winning 2-0, 11-2, and 4-3.



Penn State legend Taylor, a reigning Olympic champion and two-time world champion, defeated current Nittany Lion Aaron Brooks at 86 kg 6-0 and 5-4 to make the team. Brooks received a team alternate designation following his loss to Taylor.



NLWC member Kyle Dake, a four-time world champion defeated former Penn State wrestler Jason Nolf 2-0 in the 74kg championship. Dake dominated and didn’t allow Nolf to score a point with 6-0 and 3-0 wins. Nolf is now also an alternate for Team USA alongside Brooks.



Rounding it out for the NLWC, three-time world champion Kyle Snyder advanced to the World Team after J’Den Cox forfeited their 97 kg matchup.



NLWC member Thomas Gilman suffered a 2-0 series loss and Penn State wrestling alum Vincenzo Joseph forfeited early, losing their potential spots on the roster.



The World Championships will take place starting Sept. 10, in Belgrade, Serbia. See the full rosters on the <a href="https://www.teamusa.org/USA-Wrestling/Features/2023/June/10/Final-X-results" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Team USA website</a>.

Three Former Penn State Wrestlers Earn Spots on U.S. World Team

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