Is Penn State's Yanic Konan Niederhauser a Potential First-Round Pick in the NBA Draft?

Niederhauser averaged 12.9 points and 6.3 rebounds in his first season at Penn State after transferring from Northern Illinois. Niederhauser grew into Penn State's offense as the season progressed, scoring 19 points against Nebraska and 24 vs. Minnesota in late-season Big Ten wins. Niederhauser had 15 points and 11 rebounds in the Nittany Lions' season-finale upset at Wisconsin.

Niederhauser begain generating buzz at the G League Elite Camp, where he averaged 15.5 points and six rebounds in two games. That earned Niederhauser an invitation to the combine, where he emerged to land on NBA radars. According to an ESPN survey of draft prospects, Niederhauser was among the most underrated.

"Yanic for sure," Gonzaga's Ryan Nebbhard told ESPN. "He showed it the past two days [at the combine], he's a hell of a prospect — an athlete, 7 feet tall, dunks everything, has the ability to block shots and he's still pretty young."

Further, Bleacher Report called Niederhauser one of the "biggest winners" of the NBA Draft Combine. In breaking down the combine, Bleacher Report's Jonathan Wasserman wrote that Niederhauser was the "talk of the Elite Camp" before recording a vertical jump of 37 inches at the combine.

"Some scouts have admitted to missing or overlooking Yanic Konan Niederhauser at Penn State," Wasserman wrote. "One said he'd never seen a player go from mostly unknown to generating this much interest in a span of a few days this late in the process."

Niederhauser's decision leaves Penn State without an established interior presence on a roster that will need one. The Nittany Lions added 7-foot Croatian forward Ivan Juric to its 2025 recruiting class, but experience will be in short supply.

Penn State lost five seniors and three freshmen, who entered the portal, before Niederhauser made his decision. After the season Penn State coach Mike Rhoades sounded hopeful about the forward's return to lead a team that went 16-15 last season.

"He’s a guy who took great advantage of that throughout [last] summer and preseason," Rhoades said after the regular season. "He had ability; we all saw that from day one. But I just think he picked the right place [in Penn State] that could utilize his skillset, the style of play and being a versatile big guy. He made a great decision."

Penn State has never had a first-round pick in the NBA Draft. In 2023, Jalen Pickett became the program's highest draft pick (at No. 32 overall) in the modern two-round era. In 1955, Jesse Arnelle went No. 13 overall to the Fort Wayne Pistons, though that was in the second round.

The 2025 NBA Draft will be held June 25.