Penn State senior guard Ace Baldwin has been named the Big Ten Men's Basketball Defensive Player of the Year for a second-straight season. In 30 games played for the Nittany Lions this season, Baldwin averaged 14.0 points, 7.1 assists, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.4 steals per game.
His 2.4 steals per game led the Big Ten this season, the second-straight season he has done so after averaging 2.7 steals per game in 2023-24.
While this is the fourth time that a Nittany Lion has brought home the Defensive Player of the Year award, Baldwin is only the third Nittany Lion to do so, joining Josh Reaves (2019) and Calvin Botoh (1998).
He is the first player to win the award in back-to-back seasons in over 20 years, as Purdue's Kenny Lowe was the last to do so in the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons. He joins Ohio State's Ken Johnson (1999-00, 2000-01) and Michigan's Gary Grant (1986-87, 1987-88) as the only players in conference history to win the award in back-to-back seasons.
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