Black Shoe Diaries
DOMINATE THE STATE
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Charlie Cerrato Signs PTO With Chicago Wolves
Penn State forward Charlie Cerrato signed a professional tryout (PTO) with the Chicago Wolves on Tuesday: Cerrato spent half of the regular season sidelined with an injury, but he was one of Penn State’s most impactful players in his two years in State College. He finishes his Penn State career with 69 points (22 goals, […]
Aiden Fink Signs ATO With Milwaukee Admirals
Penn State hockey forward Aiden Fink signed an amateur tryout contract (ATO) with the Milwaukee Admirals on Tuesday: Fink scored 125 points in 104 career games at Penn State and became the 9th player in program history to reach the 100-point milestone earlier this season. He was drafted in the 7th round of the 2023 […]
Oh, Hello: PA Three-Star CB Zachary Gleason Commits To Penn State
THE SKINNY Height/Weight: 6-foot-0, 170 poundsHometown/High School: Pittsburgh, PA (Central Catholic)Ranking: ★★★ (87 Rivals — No. 86 cornerback overall)Notable Offers: Ole Miss, Indiana, Pitt, Stanford, West Virginia, Virginia Tech, Wisconsin HIGHLIGHTS OUTLOOK Penn State gets a second commitment in its 2027 recruiting class as Zachary Gleason joins four-star fellow cornerback Semajay Robinson to make the […]
VOTING: Best Player Of The JF Era (Abdul & Micah Regions, Round 2)
The votes are in the first half of the second round: #1 Saquon Barkley (98.8%) over #9 Sean Clifford (1.2%)#4 KJ Hamler (64%) over #5 Mike Hull (36%)#14 Zakee Wheatley (64.1%) over #6 Arnold Ebiketie (35.9%)#2 Olu Fashanu (75.6%) over #7 Dani Dennis-Sutton (24.4%)#1 Tyler Warren (99%) over #9 Miles Sanders (1%)#5 Kaytron Allen (81.2%) […]
The 4 Changes for Penn State to Hope for Under Matt Campbell
Spring practice is underway, so it’s a time for optimism! Things are quite different this time around, as Matt Campbell takes over a new era of Penn State, with James Franklin now at Virginia Tech after 12 seasons in Happy Valley. Let’s take a look of a few changes we can hope for under the […]
Mitchell Mesenbrink Wins 2026 Hodge Trophy
The “Heisman Trophy” of college wrestling is back in Happy Valley was Penn State’s 165er Mitchell Mesenbrink was announced as the winner of the 2026 Hodge Trophy. Mesenbrink just finished up a dominant junior season, going 27-0 on the year and winning his second individual NCAA title at 165 pounds. What’s crazy is he’ll be […]
Matt DiMarsico Signs Contract With Colorado Avalanche
On the one-year anniversary of his iconic overtime goal against UConn, Penn State forward Matt DiMarsico signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Colorado Avalanche on Monday: DiMarsico scored a team-high 18 goals this season and finished his career as the 10th player in program history to reach 100 career points (42 goals, 58 assists). […]
Kevin Reidler Signs Contract With Ottawa Senators
After one season at Penn State, goaltender Kevin Reidler signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators on Monday: The Senators drafted Reidler in the fifth round of the 2022 NHL Draft. He posted a .901 save percentage and 3.31 GAS in 18 starts with Penn State in 2025-26. Reidler will play for the […]
VOTING: Best Player Of The JF Era (Barkley & Warren Region, 2nd Round)
After a long first week, we are out of the first round and onto the second round. Here’s where we stand with our final 32 players. We’ll be breaking the second round up into two days because I think this post would crash with all the screenshots if we did all 16 matchups at once. […]
MMQB – Now We Wait
The basketball season is (mercifully) over, the men’s and women’s hockey teams played valiantly into the playoffs but ultimately came up short, and of course wrestling did its thing in record-breaking fashion. The lacrosse teams are playing rather well, and any win over Maryland is a good one. But for the big one, here we […]
Oh, Hello: 2027 Four-Star CB Semajay Robinson Commits To Penn State
THE SKINNY Height/Weight: 6-foot-3, 180 poundsHometown/High School: Fort Lauderdale, FL (Dillard H.S.)Ranking: ★★★★ (90 Rivals — No. 253 overall)Notable Offers: Auburn, Florida State, Louisville, Mississippi St, Missouri, Texas Tech, UVA HIGHLIGHTS OUTLOOK It’s been a long couple of months, but Penn State finally got its first 2027 commitment in four-star Florida cornerback Semajay Robinson. The […]
Happy Valley Rewind: Penn State-Iowa 2017
We continue our “Happy Valley Rewind” series by looking back at a spectacular Saquon Barkley game that ended with the heroics of Trace McSorley and Juwan Johnson. The full game can be viewed here:
Happy Valley Rewind: Penn State-Iowa 2017
We continue our “Happy Valley Rewind” series by looking back at a spectacular Saquon Barkley game that ended with the heroics of Trace McSorley and Juwan Johnson. The full game can be viewed here:
No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth 3, No. 10 Penn State 1: Goalied
After a heroic goaltending performance lifted Penn State to the Frozen Four last year, the Nittany Lions were on the receiving end of a strong goaltending night in Friday’s 3-1 NCAA Tournament loss to Minnesota-Duluth. Adam Gajan made 29 saves, many of them high-danger, to lift the Bulldogs past Penn State. Shea Van Olm scored […]
Penn State Hockey NCAA Tournament Preview: No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth
No. 10 Penn State is set for another NCAA Tournament run after last year’s trip to the Frozen Four. The Nittany Lions will take on No. 6 Minnesota-Duluth in the Albany Regional Semifinal tonight. Penn State has made the regional final in three of its four previous trips to the NCAA Tournament. The winner of […]
Spring Sports Update: Men’s Lacrosse Takes Down Maryland
Men’s Lacrosse (5-3) The men’s lacrosse team beat Maryland 10-6, the program’s fifth win ever against the Terrapins, in front of a record crowd at Panzer Stadium. Penn State shut down Maryland’s offense and never trailed in the game. Mac Hobbs and Chase Robertson each scored twice, and Luke Walstrum had a goal and three […]
VOTING: Best Player Of The Franklin Era (Micah Parsons Region, R1)
Another day and another region’s first round voting is completed. Here’s how the Abdul Region worked out. Every winner but Parker Washington advanced by receiving at least 80% of the vote. Washington beat out McGovern 58% to 42%. The next closes matchup was actually the 2/15 seed, with Carl Nassib beating Kevin Givens 82% to […]
Penn State Basketball Guard Melih Tunca Enters Transfer Portal
After a disappointing basketball season that saw Penn State finish dead last in the Big Ten at 3-17 and 12-20 overall, it was expected that a few players would end up entering the transfer portal. Earlier this week, Melih Tunca became the first one to officially enter his name in the portal. The 6’5” Turkish […]
VOTING: Best Player Of James Franklin Era (Abdul Region, R1)
We’re halfway through out first round of voting, and here’s what we had for our Tyler Warren Region yesterday: #1 Tyler Warren (99%) over #16 Blake Gillikin (1%)#9 Miles Sanders (71%) over #8 Adisa Isaac (29%)#4 Pat Freiermuth (82%) over #13 Brandon Bell (18%)#5 Kaytron Allen (96%) over #12 Garrett Sickels (4%)#6 Chop Robinson (80%) […]
VOTING: Best Penn State Players Of The James Franklin Era (Warren Region, R1)
Folks, the most important ability is accountability and I made a mistake with this region of the bracket. When I posted the article this morning, I accidentally used the bracket before the final update, which had some players moved around and seeds changed. The previous version of this post had: I updated the below to […]
Penn State Wrestling Wins Its 14th National Championship & Crowns 4 National Champions
Wrestling is so hard. Wrestling in the NCAA Division I Men’s Tournament is one of the hardest things a wrestler can do in this sport. This tournament is so hard, it’s hard on the fans who don’t even travel to the arena to sit on plastic seats for 3.5 hours at a time—for six sessions […]
Penn State Player To Be Excited About In 2026: Marcus Neal Jr.
The next player in our series is Marcus Neal Jr., who had a breakout season in 2025 as a member of Iowa State’s secondary. Marcus Neal Jr. was a four-star recruit and the No. 33 overall safety in the 2024 class when he originally committed to Iowa State. He played in seven games as a […]
VOTING: Best Penn State Players Of The James Franklin Era (Warren Region, R1)
Our first round of voting has come to a close and we had ourselves an UPSET BABY!!! The results from the Barkley region… #1 Saquon Barkley (97%) over #16 Sam Ficken (3%)#9 Sean Clifford (83%) over #8 Shareef Miller (17%)#4 KJ Hamler (89%) over #13 John Reid (11%)#5 Mike Hull (55%) over #12 Zane Durant […]
This Week In Happy Valley: Albany Bound
Penn State hockey got a tough draw, but it’s nothing the team has not seen before. Highlights from Tanisha Wright’s opening press conference as Penn State’s women’s basketball coach. Penn State fans set a new attendance record at Panzer Stadium on Saturday. The men’s lacrosse team beat Maryland for just the fifth time ever in […]
VOTING: Best Penn State Player Of The James Franklin Era (Barkley Region, R1)
We released our bracket of best Penn State players from the James Franklin era yesterday, and today we’ll start the voting with the Saquon Barkley region. You can vote on a Google Form at the bottom of this page. 1/16: SAQUON BARKLEY VS. SAM FICKEN 1. Saquon Barkley What can be said or argued about […]
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