Penn State Men's Basketball is going to look very different next season.
Besides graduates and transfers on the roster, Penn State is losing Assistant Coach Jimmy Martelli and is adding its all-time leading scorer, Talor Battle, to the staff to fill his role per reports.
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Jimmy Martelli is headed back to VCU, where he will serve a role under his brother, Phil Martelli Jr., who was named head coach of the Rams last week. Jimmy Martelli spent the past two seasons with the Nittany Lions, where the Lions went 32-32, with a 15-25 conference record. Notably, Penn State has finished 34th and 28th in 2024 and 2025, respectively, in Rivals team recruiting rankings.
In his place will be former Nittany Lion Point Guard Talor Battle, who played from 2007-2011. Battle has the team record 2,213 career points and also ranks fourth in program history in assists. The 36-year-old has spent a lot of time coaching in the Big Ten.
Battle first coached with the Nittany Lions from 2020-2021 under Pat Chambers and Jim Ferry. After his first stint at Penn State, Battle went to Northwestern where he was an assistant coach for his half-brother Boo Buie. After Buie had declared for the draft, Battle left the Wildcats and went to the Ohio State Buckeyes. Battle spent one season with the Buckeyes under head coach Chris Holtmann, who just left for DePaul.
With his most recent head coach leaving Ohio State, Battle decided to go back to his alma mater and coach for Mike Rhoades and company. Battle brings a veteran coaching presence to the Nittany Lions, spending four years in the Big Ten as a player and five seasons as a coach. Battle joins Joe Crispin, as legendary Nittany Lions who are coaching their alma mater.
In addition, Penn State will have a new starting point guard next season with Ace Baldwin Jr. graduating. Having a former First-team All-Big Ten player at the position will help Kayden Mingo, a point guard and top 50 player in the class of 2025, develop into a weapon in State College.
Penn State fans should rejoice that they don’t have to jeer the opposing sidelines when Battle coached against them.
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