Penn State Sports Watch: This Week's Top Nittany Lions Stories

It's vacation time for most of the Penn State football staff, which gets a few weeks off in July before training camp begins later this month.

Players still are on campus, finishing summer workouts, before they get a break before camp.

Meanwhile, the Penn State news doesn't holiday.

In fact, this week brought one of the Nittany Lions' biggest stories of the year.

Miss anything? We've got you linked with the week in Penn State sports.

You know a team made a huge recruiting move when the athletic director comments on it.

That happened this week, when the Penn State men's hockey team received a commitment from Gavin McKenna , a 17-year-old rising star who is the projected top pick of the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.

McKenna announced his commitment to Penn State on ESPN.

He did so in the most no-frills way possible, via Zoom from his bedroom, but the reaction was far from quiet .

Four months removed from its first Frozen Four appearance, Penn State turned Hockey Valley loose on the country.

McKenna is getting stamped with the "generational" tag, which can be a burden, especially for a 17-year-old.

He was the third-youngest (behind Sydney Crosby and John Tavares) CHL player of the year and is points machine, producing 129 for the Medicine Hat Tigers last season.

Penn State leaned into the announcement, posting a welcome video on social media and releasing a statement from Athletic Director Pat Kraft that read like a recruiting pitch.

We are so thrilled to have Gavin join our Hockey Valley family and become part of a special group of young men who represent everything great about Penn State," Kraft's statement said in part.

"This team is built on character, work ethic and pride in wearing the Blue & White, and Gavin is a perfect fit.

Hes one of the most exciting young talents in the game and reflects the level of student-athletes were bringing to Penn State across all sports." Both FanDuel and DraftKings installed Penn State as the early favorite to win the 2026 NCAA hockey title, quite the endorsement for a 13-year-old varsity program with one Frozen Four appearance.

This could be a generational move for Penn State hockey.

In addition to McKenna, Penn State will have three more of the most interesting freshmen in the country this year.

In wrestling, the Nittany Lions have FloWrestling's top 2 recruits of the 2025 class: Marcus Blaze (No.

1) and PJ Duke (No.

2).

Duke has been the most compelling story of the freestyle season, qualifying for three U.S.

world teams, including the Senior team that will compete at the World Championships in September.

Meanwhile, Penn State men's basketball welcomed its highest-ranked recruit ever in Kayden Mingo, the No.

34 player nationally according to the 247Sports Composite .

Penn State has some cross-sport talent to watch this season.

Invest about an hour with Adam Breneman, the former Penn State tight end who has started a media company and conducts some of college football's best interviews.

Breneman recently sat down with former Penn State quarterback Beau Pribula for a conversation about leaving Penn State , transferring to Missouri and the challenges he confronted.

As Pribula tells the story of watching Penn State's home playoff game vs.

SMU while on a visit to Ole Miss, you can't help but wonder how college football can be so beautiful and ugly at the same time.

This is Penn State's most anticipated football season since 1999.

We'll repeat that until Penn State proves us wrong.

And to prime the anticipation, we're breaking down the Nittany Lions by position in July.

First up: a look at Penn State's quarterback room, defined by Drew Allar , and an overview of what might be the nation's top running backs room .

Johnny McGonigal of PennLive caught up with Allar for a revealing look back at the Orange Bowl and ahead to his final college season (subscription required).

Roseby Lubintus, a three-star offensive lineman who committed to Penn State before the Blue-White Game, flipped to Syracuse .

Mike Poorman of Statecollege.com checks in with two good stories.

The first covers how James Franklin became one of the longest-tenured coaches at one school in college football.

In the second, Poorman checks on Beaver Stadium , which has less than two months to be ready for the Aug.

30 opener vs.

Nevada.

For a history lesson, or to provoke an argument, check out the Centre Daily Times' look at the top Penn State players of the century by position.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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