Penn State men’s basketball lands four-star Tennessee transfer Freddie Dilione

Penn State men’s basketball has made another splash in the transfer portal this offseason and has landed Tennessee transfer Freddie Dilione, as first reported by Joe Tipton of On3 Sports.

Dilione becomes the fourth commitment for Penn State head coach Mike Rhoades out of the transfer portal and adds to the bulk of talent arriving in Happy Valley.

After redshirting his first season with the Volunteers, Dilione will join the Nittany Lions with three years of eligibility remaining.

A 6-foot-5 guard, Dilione played sparingly for Tennessee this season, appearing in just 18 games this year and averaging just over five minutes per game.

Prior to his tenure at Tennessee, Dilione was a highly-touted recruit out of high school and chose the Volunteers over Alabama, VCU, Virginia and Wake Forest.

Rhoades had recruited Dilione heavily at VCU and now adds the Fayetteville, North Carolina native to his Penn State squad.

Dilione was rated as a four-star recruit in high school and the top-ranked prospect in the state of North Carolina by 247Sports.

He was ranked as the No. 24 player overall by 247Sports and the No. 38 player overall by ESPN in the Class of 2023.

During the 2023 season, he was named to the Jersey Mike’s Naismith Boys High School Player of the Year watch list and was one of 50 players named to the 2022-23 USA Today Boys Basketball Player of the Year award.

His breakout season came in the 2021-22 season at Word of God Christian Academy as he averaged 25.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists per game.

He continued to build up his resume, averaging 17.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists in five games for Team Loaded on the Adidas 3SSB Circuit during the summer of 2022.

Dilione locks up the 12th scholarship spot for Penn State as Rhoades continues to bolster his squad with young talent for the future.

With the decision pending for Ace Baldwin Jr. to accept his fifth year of eligibility, Dilione will provide the combo guard skill needed to fulfill Rhoades’ on both ends of the court.

His defensive ability will shine with Rhoades and Penn State’s defense as he holds the ability to guard all three perimeter positions.

Offensively, he has the ability to create his own shot off the bounce or with a ball screen and can spread the ball around with his impressive passing ability.

Rhoades has done a terrific job this offseason, adding talent with multiple years of eligibility remaining and Dilione is no different.

Dilione joins Yanic Konan Niederhauser, Eli Rice and Kachi Nzeh as incoming transfers and with a Top-25 recruiting class, Rhoades has built a solid foundation for the future of Penn State basketball.

Thomas English is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email tfe5082@psu.edu.