Penn State men’s basketball senior point guard Ace Baldwin Jr. has been named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.
The award highlights a postseason awards haul for the Nittany Lions. Baldwin Jr. also earned third-team All-Big Ten honors (coaches & media), while Qudus Wahab, Nick Kern Jr. and Zach Hicks earned honorable mention All-Big Ten accolades from the conference coaches. Puff Johnson was named Penn State’s recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Ace Baldwin Jr. – Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, Third Team All-Big Ten (coaches & media), All-Defensive Team
Baldwin Jr. becomes the third Penn State player to win Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, following Josh Reaves in 2019 and Calvin Booth in 1998. The point guard was also a third team All-Big Ten selection (coaches & media) and earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Defensive Team.
Baldwin Jr. wrapped up the regular season leading the Big Ten and ranking fourth in the country in steals (84) and fifth in the country in steals per game (2.71). His 2.71 steals per game rank second amongst Power Six conference players.
His 2.71 steals per game overall tracks to be the most by a Big Ten player in a single season in the last 31 years (since 1993 - Pat Baldwin (Northwestern) 2.96 steals per game). His 2.70 steals per Big Ten game are the most by a Big Ten player in a single season in the last 10 years (since 2014 - Aaron Craft (Ohio State) 2.72 steals per Big Ten game).
The Baltimore, Md. native is the leader of a Penn State defense that leads the Big Ten in steals and ranks second in turnovers forced per game and turnover margin. He was one of 15 players in the country named to the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year Watchlist in February.
Baldwin Jr. is averaging 14.3 points per game, a team-best 6.0 assists per contest and 2.71 steals per game overall, with marks of 14.5 points, 7.0 assists and 2.7 steals per Big Ten game. Should he finish the season averaging 14.0+ points per game, 6+ assists per game and 2+ steals per game, Baldwin Jr. would be one of just four Big Ten players to do so since 1992-93 (31 years) and the first since former Nittany Lion standout Tim Frazier did so in 2011-12.
Baldwin Jr. is the only active Division I player with 1,000+ career points (1,271), 600+ career assists (606) and 250+ career steals (267). His 267 career steals rank second amongst active Division I players, while his 606 assists rank 17th. He earned Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year honors a season ago while playing at VCU and is now the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in his first season at Penn State.
Qudus Wahab – Honorable Mention All-Big Ten (coaches)
Wahab picks up honorable mention All-Big Ten honors from the conference coaches after putting together a strong season as Penn State’s go-to big man. He finished the regular season averaging 9.8 points and 7.7 rebounds per game while shooting a career-best 62.8 percent (120-191) from the field.
Wahab finished the season as Penn State’s leader in rebounds (240), blocks (46) and field goal percentage (62.8%). He has tallied five double-doubles, 14 double-digit scoring efforts and nine double-digit rebounding games this season. He led Penn State in rebounding in 23 contests. He is coming off a monster double-double in his most recent game as his 19 points and 15 rebounds led the Nittany Lions to a dominant Senior Night win over Maryland.
Wahab owns career marks of 1,335 points and 977 rebounds. His 977 rebounds rank 17th amongst active Division I players and he is one of just 31 active Division I players with upwards of 1,000 career points and 900 career rebounds.
Nick Kern Jr. – Honorable Mention All-Big Ten (coaches)
Kern Jr. earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors from the Big Ten coaches after putting together a highly efficient and productive conference season.
The St. Louis native averaged 10.3 points and 4.0 rebounds while shooting 58.0 percent (80-138) from the field in Big Ten games, and is averaging 8.8 points, 4.0 rebounds and 55.5 FG% overall this season.
Kern Jr. tallied 12 double-digit scoring efforts in his first season at Penn State, including a career-best 22 points in Penn State’s Feb. 21 upset of #12 Illinois inside Rec Hall. Eleven of his 12 double figure scoring performances came in Big Ten play. Other noticeable performances include 18 points behind 7-for-9 shooting in a road game at then-No. 1 Purdue on Jan. 13, and an 18-point, seven-rebound performance on the road at Northwestern on Feb. 11.
Zach Hicks – Honorable Mention All-Big Ten (coaches)
Hicks collects honorable mention All-Big Ten honors from the conference coaches following a strong Big Ten season in which he averaged 9.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while leading the Nittany Lions with 41 3-pointers in conference play.
Hicks saved his best for last and has averaged 11.5 points per game while shooting 38.7 percent from 3-point range over the final 10 games of the season.
The Camden, N.J. native started all 31 games for the Nittany Lions in his first season in the Blue & White and finished the regular-season with 12 double-digit scoring performances. Notable games include his 19-point, five-rebound effort in Penn State’s Feb. 3 win road win at Indiana, the Nittany Lions’ first win in Assembly Hall in 10 years, and 17 points and seven rebounds in Penn State’s home win over the Hoosiers on Feb. 24.
Puff Johnson – Big Ten Sportsmanship Award
Johnson was named Penn State’s recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. The sportsmanship award is given to student-athletes from each Big Ten school who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. All recipients must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.
A team co-captain in his first season in the Blue & White, Johnson has been a key culture driver and consummate teammate for the Nittany Lions. He finished the regular season averaging 7.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. The Moon Township, Pa. native has tallied six double-digit scoring games this season, including each of the last two games of the season with 19 points at Minnesota and 13 in Penn State’s Senior Night win over Maryland.
The Nittany Lions open up postseason play Wednesday when Penn State takes on Michigan in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Tipoff from the Target Center in Minneapolis is set for approximately 9 p.m. ET on Peacock.
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