A-10 Player of the Year Ace Baldwin Jr. commits to Penn State basketball

Penn State landed Mike Rhoades as its new head coach just more than a week ago, and now it has one of the best players to suit up for him at his last job, too.

Reigning A-10 player of the year and former VCU guard Ace Baldwin Jr. announced Sunday that he has committed to play for the Nittany Lions.

The 6-foot-1 point guard averaged 12.7 points, 5.8 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game last season. He was also named the A-10 Defensive Player of the Year. Rhoades spoke glowingly about Baldwin heading into VCU’s NCAA tourney game against Saint Mary’s last month.

“He’s the head of the snake,” the coach reportedly said. “He’s the competitive leader in our program. He’s that type of point guard that he makes an impact. I’ve always said that, from a long time ago, the best players, not because of their stat line, are the ones that impact winning in so many ways. The greatest compliment you can get in a team sport is you make those around you better. That’s Ace on a daily basis.”

Baldwin, who was a four-star prospect coming out of St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, has two years of eligibility left. The three-year starter at VCU reportedly chose to reunite with Rhodes over offers from Villanova, Maryland, Kansas State and Virginia.

“He won’t let guys quit,” Rhodes said previously. “That’s just who he is. He was always like that. St. Frances Academy is a great high school program. He’s a point guard from Baltimore. We’ve seen a lot of those guys do well in college basketball and beyond that.

“Ace is one of those guys.”