Youngstown – Youngstown State University second-year men's basketball head coach Ethan Faulkner has announced that nine players will join the Penguins for the 2025-26 season.

Joining the Penguins are junior Rontavious (Tae) Blackshear, senior Bryson Dawkins, freshman Jaiden Haynes, junior Andrew King, sixth-year Cam Polak, sixth-year Tyler Robinett, junior Rich Rolf, sixth-year Vlad Salaridze, and freshman Connor Swider.

"I'm really excited about our recruiting class," Faulkner said. "Our staff has worked relentlessly to identify players that can continue the momentum we have as a program.

"We have again attacked recruiting from every angle, adding players from high school, junior college, NAIA, Division II, and Division I. All are proven, productive players whose resumes range from first-team all-conference to national champion.

"Like every recruiting class there were specific needs that were addressed, and we are fully confident we have put a roster together that can compete at the top of our league.

"Additionally, we have added the right kind of people to our locker room that will mesh well with our returning players to continue to drive our culture forward. I cannot wait to get our team to campus and get to work!"

Blackshear, a 6-foot-6 guard, spent last season at McLennan Community College where he scored 402 points. He averaged 12.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game while shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 44.1 percent from 3-point range.

Dawkins, a 6-foot-2 transfer guard from Houston Christian, averaged 14.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in 2024-25. He scored 469 points, and he reached double figures 23 times. Dawkins, who made 59 3-pointers last season, also scored a career-high 41 points against Stephen F. Austin on Feb. 24, 2025.

Haynes, a 6-foot-3 guard from Atlanta, Ga., averaged 20 points, six rebounds, three assists and 1.8 steals per game and shot 55% from the field and 42% from 3-point range as a junior.

King, a 6-foot-3 guard from Phoenix, Ariz., started 33 games last season at Elon and averaged 4.7 points and 3.4 assists per game. He scored in double figures four times, including a season-high 18 points against Army West Point, tallied at least four assists 14 times, and posted a 1.88 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Polak, a 6-foot-2 guard from West Homestead, Pa., spent the last three years at California (Pa.), where he scored 954 points and made 154 3-pointers. Polak, who missed the 2023-24 campaign, averaged 18.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game, and he made 81 3-pointers. He scored in double figures 26 times, made at least one 3-pointer in all 30 games, and made multiple 3s 22 times.

Rolf, a 6-foot-8 forward from Centerville, Ohio, spent three seasons at Charlotte and appeared in 30 games with seven starts and averaged 17.2 minutes per game. At Circleville High School, he averaged 17.5 points per game as a senior to help the Elks to two consecutive Ohio state championship games, winning the title in 2022.

Robinett, a 6-foot-8 forward, spent the last five seasons at the College of Idaho and helped the Yotes to the 2025 NAIA National Championship. Last season, he averaged 9.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game with 52 made 3-pointers. For his career, Robinett scored 1,380 points with 662 rebounds and 186 made 3-pointers.

Salaridze, a 6-foot-7 forward from Tbilisi, Georgia, spent last season at UT-Martin and averaged 10.8 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. He scored in double figures 15 times and posted eight double-doubles.

Swider, 6-foot-9 wing from Portsmouth, R.I., averaged 16 points per game and shot 40 percent from 3-point range as a junior. He was ranked as a top five shooter in New England and ranked in the top 25 players in Massachusetts.