Penn State Basketball: 7-Foot Croatian Ivan Juric Commits to the Nittany Lions

Penn State men's basketball coach Mike Rhoades has said he's open to recruiting internationally.

The Nittany Lions have moved on that strategy, recruiting a 7-foot center/forward who plays in Kansas by way of Croatia.

Ivan Juric, who plays forward for Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas, has committed to Penn State's 2025 recruiting class.

Juric will join a group that features Kayden Mingo, a guard from Long Island who is the Nittany Lions' highest-ranked recruit in program history.

Sunrise Christian Academy posted Juric's commitment on social media.

Juric (7-0, 244 pounds) played last season for Sunrise Christian Academy, a program that has trained multiple Division I players , including Golden State Warriors guard Buddy Hield.

Juric plays for the high school elite team at Sunrise Christian, which also rosters a post-graduate team.

Juric is a 3-star prospect, according to On3 .

Juric played for the Croatian national team at the 2024 FIBA U18 EuroBasket Tournament, where he averaged 14.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

Following the tournament, Juric joined the roster at Sunrise Christian Academy for the 2024-25 season.

Juric brings size to a Penn State roster that needs it.

Penn State's top interior presence last season was 7-footer Yanic Konan Niederhauser , who could be off to play professional basketball this year.

If he returns, Penn State would roster two 7-footers.

After the season, Rhoades said he would look to add more size through high school recruiting and the transfer portal.

"We need size and girth, Rhoades said in March.

The one thing that I had to learn even more is the level of size, one through five.

Returning players got to put on a body of armor that could win games in the Big Ten, but we've also got to go out and recruit a body of armor.

Guys with size and girth [at] all positions, I think thats really important.

Rhoades also has said that he planned to take a broader geographic approach to recruiting, as more international players appear on collegiate recruiting lists.

Were recruiting all over the world," the Penn State coach said in March.

"I think [in] the landscape of college athletics and college athletic recruiting, you have to be open to everything: high school kids, the portal and, of course, international.

Weve recruited international before.

I have guys on our staff that have done it and have made those many trips all over the world to do that.

Thats very important to us..

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