BROOKLYN – Penn State men’s basketball forward Yanic Konan Niederhauser was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the 30th overall pick in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft Wednesday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Konan Niederhauser is the first Nittany Lion to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft in Penn State history. He is the highest-drafted Nittany Lion in the modern era of the draft and the 16th overall NBA Draft pick from Penn State. Current Denver Nugget Jalen Pickett (2nd round, pick 32, Denver) was the previous highest pick from Penn State in modern Draft history.
Konan Niederhauser becomes the third Penn State player drafted in the last three years, joining Jalen Pickett (2023 to Denver) and Seth Lundy (2023 to Atlanta).
Konan Niederhauser wrapped up the 2024-25 season at Penn State averaging 12.9 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds per game, in addition to a Big Ten-best mark of 2.31 blocks per game that ranked 12th amongst Division I players tied for seventh in Penn State single-season history. He led the Nittany Lions with a 61.1 field goal percentage, a mark that ranks fifth all-time in Penn State single-season history.
The Switzerland native tallied 19 double-digit scoring efforts, four double-doubles and three 20-plus point games in his junior season in Happy Valley while earning All-Big Ten Honorable Mention honors as voted by the conference media.
Konan Niederhauser transferred to Penn State ahead of the 2024-25 season and enjoyed immediate development under head coach Mike Rhoades the Nittany Lion staff, seeing jumps of +7.8 points per game, +3.1 rebounds per game and +9.7 FG% in his first season in the Blue & White compared to his career average through his two years at Northern Illinois.
Konan Niederhauser declared for the NBA Draft in early April. He put together a standout pre-draft process during the spring and elected to forego his final year of collegiate eligibility and remain in the Draft in late May.
Penn State will enter its third season under Peter and Ann Tombros Endowed Head Coach Mike Rhoades in 2025-26. Rhoades has laid a strong foundation during his first two seasons, and welcomes back a core group of returnees and the highest-ranked recruiting class in program history for the 2025-26 season. Rhoades orchestrated the highest-scoring offense in Penn State history in 2024-25 as the Nittany Lions set a single-season program record with 79.1 points per game during his second season at the helm.