Mason Mellott joined the Penn State coaching staff in 2023 after completing a standout career as a Nittany Lion.
In 2024, Penn State went 29-24 overall and 12-12 in Big Ten play. Penn State notched its first winning record in the regular season since 2016 (28-27) and maintained a .500 or better mark from the entire season for the first time since 2011 (32-22). The Blue and White notched its best record in Big Ten play since going 12-12 in 2016. The Nittany Lions finished with a Top-100 RPI for the first time since 2007.
Penn State reached the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game for the first time since 2000 and won three-straight games to open the Big Ten Tournament for the first time in program history.
In the regular season, Penn State earned Big Ten sweeps over Maryland and Northwestern, a series win over Rutgers and victories against Michigan, Indiana, Michigan State and Minnesota. PSU was 6-2 in Big Ten series openers.
Non-conference play included series wins over Stanford, Davidson, Harvard and UMass Lowell, while also earning two wins over Army and one over Monmouth on opening weekend and a win over Georgetown. Midweek wins included Pitt and FDU.
The Penn State pitching staff featured 12 pitchers making at least 12 appearances. The group tallied 357 strikeouts with seven Nittany Lions recording 25+ strikeouts.
Travis Luensmann was named second team ABCA All-Region East Team, while Mason Horwat was on the All-Big Ten Freshman Team. Luensmann was tabbed All-Big Ten Tournament Team.
As a senior, Luensmann went 7-2 with a 4.44 ERA in 16 appearances (15 starts). In 81 innings, he recorded 74 strikeouts. He ranked fifth in the Big Ten in hits allowed per nine innings (6.67; 34th nationally) and sixth in wins (7).
Luensmann went six or more innings in six of his 15 starts and five or more innings in 12 starts. He allowed two or less earned runs in nine of his 15 starts and has six or more strikeouts in six of his starts.
In two Big Ten Tournament starts, Luensmann allowed two runs over 12 innings and struck out 13 batters.
Jaden Henline registered three wins, while recording 41 strikeouts and 15 walks in 68 innings. He sat second in the Big Ten in walks per nine innings (1.99).
In his freshman season, Horwat was 4-1 with two saves in 21 appearances.
Anthony Steele was third in the Big Ten in appearances (26) and posted a 4-1 record with one save.
In 2023, Penn State earned 25 wins, including victories against No. 22 Miami, No. 20 Maryland, West Virginia, Indiana and Iowa. The Nittany Lions swept Ohio State in a Big Ten series.
Penn State pitchers had 14 games with 10+ strikeouts, including 16 vs. Brown and 15 vs. Northern Illinois. Penn State pitchers allowed three or less earned runs in 21 games.
Utilizing a balanced pitching approach, six Nittany Lions made a start and collected a save in 2023. Ten different Nittany Lions made at least one start. As a staff, Penn State struck out 411 batters.
Six Nittany Lions collected at least 35 strikeouts. Travis Luensmann led Penn State with 59 strikeouts and six wins, while posting a 4.35 ERA. He tied eighth in the Big Ten with six wins.
Daniel Ouderkirk recorded 57 strikeouts in 39.2 innings. He recorded at least 10 strikeouts in three-straight starts: 11 vs. Northern Illinois, 11 vs. Dartmouth and 10 vs. Brown, becoming the first Nittany Lions with three-straight starts of 10+ strikeouts since at least 2004.
Jaden Henline paced PSU in innings (61.1) while registering five wins and 35 strikeouts. Steven Miller led PSU with 21 appearances, notching 54 strikeouts in 48.1 innings, while Jordan Morales made 19 appearances and struck out 53 batters.
As a member of the Penn State pitching staff from 2018-2022, Mellott made 89 appearances, ranking second at Penn State, and earned 15 saves, good for third all-time. Mellott posted a 3.94 ERA in 89 appearances (four starts) with 153 strikeouts in 178 innings.
A three-time Academic All-Big Ten selection, Mellott graduated in December 2021 with his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology.
Mellott is a State College, Pa. native.