by TYLER HATHAWAY
Mason Blackwood has announced his commitment to play college basketball, and the former Aquinas star will be attending Penn State University in 2025. Blackwood, the 102nd ranked recruit in the country according to 247Sports, made his decision on Wednesday and chose between the Nittany Lions and Rutgers University.
“I chose Penn State because all the love the coaches have shown me,” Blackwood told 247Sports. “The respect that they have for me and my family was big. The opportunity that they put out for me and I just thought it was a really good fit for me and everything. I loved the campus, and love the environment.”
The six-foot-seven inch forward is about to begin his senior year playing for New Hampton High School, in New Hampshire. Blackwood played his first two seasons with Aquinas, before transferring to New Hampton prior to his junior year. As a sophomore with Aquinas, Blackwood scored 17.7 points per game, brought down 7.4 rebounds per game. and shot 49 percent from behind the three-point line. He was named the Private-Parochial Division I Player of the Year and led Li’l Irish to a Class AA Section V championship and a Far West Regional appearance.
“As a player and individual I’m very competitive and want to win,” said Blackwood. “I want to turn the program into a winning school and make it to March Madness and go far. I want to keep winning, keep getting better, be a better player everyday and see where that gets me. Just keep being a better version of myself.”
Blackwood is not the only former Aquinas basketball player to lace up for Penn State. Jalen Pickett, a 2023 NBA Draft second round selection currently with the Denver Nuggets, played two seasons in Happy Valley. He helped the Nittany Lions reach the Sweet 16 in the 2023 NCAA Tournament in a year that saw Pickett be named as a second-team All-American and first-team All-Big Ten selection. In his junior season with the Li’l Irish, Pickett led Aquinas to a Class AA state championship and was named tournament MVP.
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