Offseason Review: Youngstown State Poised to Grow in 2025
Youngstown State reloads its roster after a 21-win season. Can they improve offensively and return to March Madness?
The Youngstown State Penguins have been rolling for the last three seasons. The Penguins have finished with 21+ wins each season and 13+ wins in the Horizon League.
Following Jerrod Calhoun’s departure to Utah State, Ethan Faulkner took over the reigns. He didn’t miss a beat in year one, finishing 21-13 overall and 13-7 in the Horizon League. Now, he’s one of the first coaches to announce their official roster for the 2025-2026 season.
Looking back at last season, the Penguins defense was solid. They finished 137th in defensive efficiency per KenPom, 78th in opponent effective field goal percentage, 67th in opponent two point percentage, and 28th in block percentage. Offensively, it was quite the opposite. They finished just 249th in offensive efficiency, 302nd in three point percentage, and 210th in turnover percentage.
The statistics were quite the opposite comparatively to how Jerrod Calhoun coached the team previously. Faulkner worked under Calhoun from 2019 until he took over in 2024. It was evident in year one that the team focus was more on the defensive end where the Penguins finished just 310th, 310th, and 264th in the prior three years to the Faulkner campaign.
Can Youngstown State pick up on the offensive end to get them back to the NCAA Tournament? Let’s dive into their roster for next season.
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Roster Turnover
Ty Harper (Transferred)
10.2 points, 3 rebounds, 1.9 assists
Juwan Maxey (Transferred)
11.4 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists
David Wilkerson (Transferred)
3 points, 1.3 rebounds
Gabe Dynes (Transferred)
6.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.1 blocks
Christian Kirkland (Transferred)
1.8 points, 1.9 rebounds
Dante Depante (Transferred)
1.1 points, 1.2 rebounds
Elijah Guillory (Transferred)
DNP
Kevin Hamilton (Transferred)
DNP
EJ Farmer (Ineligible)
15.1 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists
Siem Uijtendaal (Ineligible)
3.5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
Nico Galette (Ineligible)
12.8 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1.4 steals
The Youngstown State Penguins are undergoing a nearly complete roster overhaul. They’ve lost four of their top five scorers from last season and lost the majority of the back end of their bench.
EJ Farmer and Nico Galette ran out of eligibility, but Ty Harper is headed to Oral Roberts and Juwan Maxey is headed to Ball State. Personally, I was a bit shocked at both of these moves as I view them as lateral moves at best. Harper shot 41.6% overall and 34.4% from deep which would’ve been great to retain for next season. Similarly, Juwan Maxey shot 37.1% overall and 33.8% from three point. This would’ve given the Penguins some much needed experience in Faulkner’s system.
As for the remaining players, the largest loss is Gabe Dynes. Dynes was one of the best shot blockers last season that no one has heard of. The 7’3 incoming junior averaged 2.3 blocks in 13.6 minutes as a freshman, then 3.1 blocks in 21.8 minutes last season. Against Toledo, he teased with a near triple-double finishing with 12 points, nine blocks, and six rebounds. Dynes is now headed out to USC where I’ve be curious to see what his playing time looks like. I'm sure that he secured a nice NIL package due to his prolific defending abilities, but we’ve seen a lot of non-power conferences transfer up and see minimal playing time. He has the ability to become a legitimate professional prospect, so next season will be a huge indicator of that opportunity.
Roster Additions
Rontavious Blackshear (McLennan Community College)
12.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists
Bryson Dawkins (Houston Christian)
14.7 points, 4.8 rebounds
Andrew King (Elon)
4.7 points, 3.4 assists
Cam Polak (California - Pennsylvania)
18.1 points, 5.1 rebounds
Tyler Robinett (College of Idaho)
9.7 points, 5 rebounds
Rich Rolf (Charlotte)
3.8 points, 2.8 rebounds
Vlad Salaridze (UT-Martin)
10.8 points, 7.8 rebounds
Connor Swider (Freshman)
Jaiden Haynes (Freshman)
Phew, alright we’ve got a lot of players to get through here.
Bryson Dawkins is a huge pickup for Youngstown State. Last year at Houston Christian, he shot 43.5% overall and 32.1% from deep. The 6’2 guard is a versatile player that plays beyond his size, collecting 4.8 rebounds per game. He heard from some top non-power conference programs including: North Texas, Chattanooga, App State, Jacksonville State, and more. Dawkins is an incredible athlete, I encourage you to watch the highlights linked below for some incredible dunks. Dawkins will be a go-to player for the Penguins next season.
Andrew King started his career at Houston Christian where he averaged 8.9 points, 4.6 assists, and 3.6 rebounds as a freshman. He took a step back scoring last season for Elon, but he started in 33 games while stuffing the box scores with 4.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. He’ll be a key point guard for the Penguins this season. However, I’d love to see him take a step forward on offense. This would help open up opportunities for others on the team as he could force defenders to be worried about his ability to score.
Rich Rolf spent his first two seasons with Charlotte. The 6’7 sophomore started in seven games last season while shooting 33.3% overall and 22.4% from deep. Rolf is an intriguing prospect that could benefit from transferring out of the AAC into the Horizon. He provides the Penguins with some nice height and ability to stretch the floor with the threat of his shooting. If he can jump with his offensive game, Rolf will become a regular starter for the Penguins.
Vlad Salaridze is another 6’7 forward transferring in. He took a huge step forward last season with UT Martin where he started in 24 of 32 games. Notably, he became a threat on offense. He shot 41.5% overall and 36.1% on a career high 97 three point attempts. He’s not just an offensive weapon as he racked up 7.8 rebounds on average in which 2.8 were offensive. He’ll most likely slide into the starting rotation for the Penguins.
Rontavious Blackshear is coming out of McLeenan Community College as a 6’6 guard. He shot 45.2% overall and 44.1% from deep. He had some monster games, finishing with 20+ points in seven games.
Tyler Robinett is a 6’8 5th year forward out of the College of Idaho. On the season, he shot 54.5% overall and 39.1% from three point. He’s also a prolific blocker as he averaged 1.7 per game last year. He provides the Penguins with a player that can protect the paint and knock down some difficult shots from beyond the arc.
Cam Polak is a 6’2 offensive monster. Last season, he averaged 18.1 points with 5.1 rebounds and 2.4 assist per game. He shot 40.5% overall and 35.2% from three point. Notably, he drained 91.2% from his shots from the line as well. Youngstown State has picked up one of the most prolific scorers at the Division II level who will immediately spark a team that is in dire need of offense.
Lastly, the Penguins have a couple of incoming freshman. Jaiden Haynes is a 6’3 guard that held another offer from Morehead State out of Moravian Prep. Haynes also played on the YNG Dreamerz in Overtime Elite. He averaged 8.4 points, 1.9 assists, and 2.3 rebounds. Over his final three games, he averaged 29.3 points, 4.6 assists, six rebounds, and two steals. In his last game, he knocked down eight triples. If there is an underrated freshman that could have an immediate impact on their team, it could be Haynes. He’s a high level talent that was flying under the radar and will be hungry to break the rotation.
Connor Swider is a 6’8 power forward out of Worcester Academy. Coming out of high school, he held offers from Le Moyne, Fairfield, and Bryant. His brother, Cole Swider, has bounced around the NBA the last few seasons after finishing his career at Syracuse. He most recently played in eight games with the Raptors this season, averaging 7.4 points and 3.1 rebounds. For Connor, the talent is there, but he’ll need some more development before he carves out a meaningful role on the team.
Roster Continuity
The only players returning to the Penguins are:
Jason Nelson
8 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists
Cris Carroll
9.2 points, 5 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 1.1 steals
Imanuel Zorgvol
DNP
Shaheed Solebo
DNP
Just two players that contributed to the team last season will be returning to Youngstown, Ohio. Cris Carroll spent his first season with the Penguins last season after transferring in from Coffeyville Community College. In his first division I season, Carroll finished shooting 45.5% overall and 35.8% from deep. After starting off the season a little inconsistent, the 6’6 wing averaged nearly 11 points with five rebounds per game starting on January 1st. He averaged nearly 3.2 fouls per game, so if he can reign in his fouling trouble, his production will shoot up next season.
Jason Nelson is a 5’10 incoming senior. He’s bounced around as he spent his freshman year at Richmond, then VCU, and now Youngstown State. Last season, he shot 39.3% overall, but he was a bit disappointing from deep as he averaged just 28.7% which was a career low. His outside shooting was drug down by a rough stretch between January 4th and January 18th where he shot just 18%. If you exclude their non-division I game on January 24th where he went 3-4 from beyond the arc, he actually shot 15% from January 4th to February 6th. He started to turn it around in the last full month as he finished the season strong, shooting 35%. If he can start off the new season stronger from beyond the arc and finish around the 35% mark for the Penguins, he’ll help elevate their offensive game.
Imanuel Zorgvol missed last year due to injury, but he has meaningful experience. The 7’0 junior played his freshman season at Northern Kentucky, before transferring into Youngstown State. He averaged 2.6 points and 2.8 rebounds his sophomore season. He averaged just 8.3 minutes, but he provides some nice depth on the bench as he shot 72.2% from the floor. He needs to limit the fouls though as he averaged 1.9 fouls in minimal playing time.
Shaheed Solebo redshirt his freshman year, but he was a strong player in high school. He averaged 15.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, two assists, and 1.3 steals at Lane Tech. He held offers from Eastern Illinois, Illinois State, and UIC before heading to the Penguins. The 6’4 redshirt freshman will have to crack the rotation this season before we get a taste of what he can provide.
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Season Expectations
I highlighted that the Penguins needed to improve their offense to take the next step forward and they did just that. Adding Bryson Dawkins, Cam Polak, Rontavious Blackshear, and Vlad Salaridze provides offense weapons across the floor. Keep in mind, they have Cris Carroll and Jason Nelson both returning as well. Polak and Blackshear are both prolific three point shooters, and don’t forget that freshman Jaiden Haynes has strong offensive skills as well. Down low, Salaridze and Tyler Robinett will hold down the fort.
Where the Penguins dominated on defense last season, but struggled on offense, the script could flip. Losing Gabe Dynes to USC is a huge blow on the defensive end. While he isn’t Dynes, Robinett was at least a strong defender in the paint averaging a shade below two blocks per game last season. For the guards, Cris Carroll is a strong on-ball defender and there’s some incoming pieces to help him out. Salaridze averaged two steals per game for UT Martin and Bryson Dawkins averaged one assist per game. The athleticism of the guards is going to help maintain that defensive pressure.
One thing that didn’t help the Penguins out last season was their lack of a true point guard. Nico Galette averaged a team high three assists as a 6’6 guard. As a team, they averaged just 13.8 assists per game. Now, with the addition of Andrew King, Bryson Dawkins, and Cam Polak, Faulkner will have a plethora of options. I believe that King is going to be the starting point guard. While he has some questions around his scoring capabilities, he is a prolific ball handler and initiates the team’s offense. However, Polak averaged 5.1 assists, so don’t rule him out as a the potential starter as well. We could see a little trial period for both players over the summer and heading into the regular season.
Without any practices under their belts, I would predict a starting lineup of:
PG: Andrew King or Cam Polak
SG: Bryson Dawkins
SF: Cris Caroll
PF: Vlad Salaridze
C: Tyler Robinett
Cam Polak is such a prolific scorer that I think it makes a lot of sense having him come in as a microwave scorer and sixth man, especially since King isn’t nearly as skilled offensively. Thinking about the rotations, you could even run small and have Dawkins, Polak, and Nelson or King on the floor at the same time. It’ll be interesting to see how Faulkner structures the guard rotation.
It’s too early to make any predictions around their record as just a couple of games have been confirmed. They’ll host USC Upstate on December 20th, and they’ll travel to Toledo on November 19th. It’s exciting to see them schedule a MAC game with Toledo, so hopefully it’s a sign that the Penguins can bring in a strong schedule.
How do you think Youngstown State is shaping up for next season?