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Brant Byers grew up as a fan of Penn State mens basketball just south of State College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
One of his favorite Nittany Lions was Tony Carr, who hit the game-winning buzzer-beater against Ohio State in 2018.
Now, Byers will be suiting up for the team he rooted for as a kid after transferring from Miami (Ohio) to Penn State this offseason.
Hes set to have a significant role for the Nittany Lions as a wing this upcoming season and has enjoyed settling into State College.
It's been great so far, Byers said during a recent Penn State mens basketball media availability.
I got no complaints.
A big part of why I came here is obviously I'm from Pennsylvania, so Penn State basketball has always been kind of personal to me growing up.
I've always been a fan, and then coach [Mike] Rhoades and the staff also just made a pitch that I couldn't turn down.
Byers said that pitch was based on the coaching staffs vision of building a basketball program in Happy Valley.
He saw the opportunity to play a big role into that, so he committed just days after visiting the Nittany Lions during his portal recruitment.
In fact, the redshirt junior was an uncommitted prospect in the transfer portal for only one week.
The portal officially opened April 7, and Byers committed on April 14.
He said he knew that he wanted to visit Penn State, and Rhoades noticed that.
He and his family and his agent did their homework on Penn State and how I do things and how we play and all that stuff, Rhoades said.
I think he saw the fit, which I think is huge, understanding the fit, so from Day 1, he works really hard.
'He's not afraid' Byers comes to the Nittany Lions after a productive career at Miami (Ohio).
He averaged 14.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while shooting 39.2 percent from 3-point range last season.
But Rhoades wants him to become more than just a sharpshooter.
Byers, whos listed at 6-8 and 200 pounds, said hes working on getting stronger in the weight room.
On the court, hes practicing coming off ball screens, passing and ballhandling, which are traits he didnt always need to use at his position.
He's super competitive, Rhoades said.
He's not afraid.
You can coach Brant hard, and he has an edge to him.
He's got a little swag to him when it comes to competition.
He's not afraid, and I've been really challenging him to do more on the court, not just be an elite shooter, which he is, but to do other things as well.
And he has absolutely tried to take off with that.
This all has led Rhoades to say hes super excited for Brant and that hes been a lot of fun to coach.
Byers is a projected starter and matched Penn States desire to add experienced players and better 3-point shooters to the roster despite having limited NIL resources this offseason.
Additionally, Byers highlighted two lessons he learned during Miamis memorable season.
The RedHawks went undefeated in the regular season and made an NCAA Tournament appearance by being consistent every day and ignoring outside noise, Byers said.
Byers also followed former Penn State guard Andrew Funk, who used his sharpshooting skill to help the 2022-23 Nittany Lions to the NCAA Tournament.
Byers will apply his experiences and talents while wearing the blue and white he grew up admiring.
I don't know if it's sunk in completely yet, but I mean just driving around campus, even driving by Beaver [Stadium], Bryce Jordan Center, I mean it's been pretty crazy and awesome to get to experience that, Byers said.
But I think as we keep moving along, it'll keep sinking in a little bit more how awesome and special this opportunity really is.
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Will Horstman is a journalism student at Penn State University who has covered football, mens basketball, womens volleyball and mens volleyball for The Daily Collegian.
Hes covering Penn State sports for Penn State on SI.
Follow him on X @WillHorstman_.
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