‘He's had a great year battling and getting better’ | Penn State men’s basketball’s Josh Reed has breakout senior season

For Penn State, Josh Reed stands alone, not just on his team but in the current program’s landscape.

As the lone senior on his squad, he stands as the only player on both the men’s and women’s teams to have over 100 career appearances.

Reed surely has stories to tell about his lengthy hoops journey, but all of those pale in comparison to the peak narrative of his career: his one season of Penn State basketball excellence.

For a Nittany Lions unit led by Mike Rhoades entering 2026, this seniority was of utmost importance for a team still molding and figuring itself out with the most freshmen in the Big Ten. Throughout the season, this has been exactly Reed’s role.

“Everybody's paying to get older and more mature,” Rhoades said at local Big Ten media day. “We did it a different route. But what I love is they're very hungry. They're living in the gym. There's a high level of basketball character. And you could build on that without a doubt.”

Although the Atlanta native doesn’t exhibit the youth the boss references, on the court in 2026, Reed has displayed every other trait Rhoades mentioned, creating a career year in Happy Valley in his first and what’ll be his only year with the squad.

The blue and white saw a revolving door of personnel last season, with five outgoing transfers and Puff Johnson’s departure, who eventually made an appearance in 2026 due to a legal injunction.

The Nittany Lions had little idea who would step up as a vocal leader in this predicament. Still, Rhoades called on a Cincinnati fan favorite, Reed, as one of two additions via the portal, alongside forward Sasǎ Ciani. At times during his final season, fans chanted his name along with "MVP," but after earning his degree, to the surprise of some, Reed opted to depart.

The 6-foot-8 wing was a three-year bench piece, but averaged career highs in minutes, 17.6, and points, 4.8, in his final season there before entering the portal.

“Yeah, I mean, it can be really hard at first, just coming into somewhere new, adjusting to new teammates, new coaches,” Reed said on Feb. 2. “But once you get used to it, you settle in a little bit and feel a little bit better. Confidence gets higher, and then it just grows from there.”

Only two real rotational players returned for Penn State from last season, and while both guard Freddie Dilione V and Dominick Stewart endured their own jumps in usage, none has been quite as unprecedented as Reed’s.

Entering the season, the writing was on the wall for Reed’s emergence as the voice of Penn State on the floor; he represented the team at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago alongside other blue and white returnee Eli Rice and was named one of four captains.

Reed has been the third primary contributor for Penn State behind guards Dilione and the program’s all-time highest-ranked recruit, Kayden Mingo, who excelled in the system thrust into with Reed as his partner.

“Just kind of helping these guys along with whatever they need,” Reed said on Nov. 11. “But at the same time also being able to learn from them too, coming from a new place to here, just learn from guys like Dom and Fred, who were here last year, and just kind of helping those other freshmen along too.”

The senior, who made only nine starts before his Penn State career, has appeared in the first unit for every game but one so far this season and has been one of four to miss no game action.

Over those increased duties, Reed averages 27.5 minutes per game with efficient double-digit scoring, where he makes, on average, half of his shots. Where the senior really shines is his versatility. Since he’s so dependable, Reed has been used all over the floor for a Penn State unit that’s been extremely thin at times.

“Just coming into practice every day with an open mind, wanting to learn, and watching a lot of film, trying to learn from that as well,” Reed said on Nov. 10. “Then just trusting our coaches, trusting the game plan, knowing that they know best and they want what's best for us, but also just trusting in each other, and we know we'll be able to get it.”

Trusting the game plan is a big part of Reed’s emergence; he’s been thrust into the spotlight with the Nittany Lions. Recently, he replaced 7-footer Ivan Jurić in the starting unit after Jurić came down with the flu.

“It was actually pretty fun getting to play at a center spot. I feel like the way we played, it was a little bit different. I feel like that helped us,” Reed said on Feb. 3. “It was definitely fun doing that, something I've never done before, so maybe we could do it again sometime.”

Lucky for Reed, he’s been called to do this more than once this season, and there’s no reason to suggest the senior can’t handle the physicality, nearly doubling his rebounding average from last season to a figure that only trails Jurić on the season at four per game.

“I commend Josh Reed for playing multiple positions all year long at 30-40 lbs out of position, Rhoades said. “ And giving up that weight, and then playing 30, sometimes 35 minutes plus. And he's had a great year battling and getting better as the year went on.”

Reed’s been able to do whatever is asked, and he is in the midst of that hot streak of form. In his last 12 games, Reed scored double-digit points, the longest streak of his collegiate career, and flirted with his career-high of 19 points scored in the first round of the Big-12 tournament last season against Oklahoma State.

Eventually, in a disappointing home loss to Rutgers, Reed finally hit his mark, tying for a game-high 22 points on 70% shooting, including some big three-pointers, setting a new personal best.

For a unit competing in the new Big Ten Tournament format with all 18 teams participating, Reed leads Penn State with the most postseason experience, and his leadership and experience will definitely be cherished for a Penn State unit that has a chance to make a wave with nothing to lose.

Nothing better represents that sentiment than Reed, who will be moving on to the next chapter of his basketball story after this season. While brief, he left his mark in program history with a year to remember in his career and an influence on a group that needed it more than ever.

“Josh and Kayden. They have stepped up throughout the year as being, being the best on the court, leaders and communicators and connectors, those two,” Rhoades said. “Those two guys, they're guys we need to play at high levels, but they also have to help them take care of their teammates as well, and throughout the years, they've done it. They've done it the right way.”

Fans in the Bryce Jordan Center may not have much to root for amid a disappointing season, and haven’t echoed those MVP chants as Cincinnati did for Reed, despite him actually deserving those praises for the blue and white.

While just a blip, Reed has left his mark on Penn State basketball history, and his effect on the sprawling, youthful Nittany Lions cannot be understated.

For a school that consistently struggles with identity and narratives surrounding the hardwood, the senior stands in the face of that, with full confidence that the past doesn’t define the future.

With Penn State’s Senior Night upcoming against Ohio State, Reed will soon see his praises sung as the lone player on the Nittany Lions to be honored for the occasion.