Josh Reed will take 5th year of eligibility, return to Penn State basketball

Josh Reed is back for another year with Penn State basketball.

Reed was granted an extra year of college eligibility after U.S. District Judge Charlotte Sweeney in Denver ruled that all athletes from the high school class of 2022 who exhausted their four years of eligibility will now be eligibile for a fifth season.

Sweeney’s ruling was in response to the NCAA approving a “five-for-five” model, where Division I and II athletes can compete over a five-year period that begins with full-time enrollment or the academic year following their 19th birthday, whichever comes first. In that model, Reed’s final year of eligibility will be the 2026-27 season.

Penn State officially announced Reed’s return to the program on social media on Aug. 6, and although Mike Rhoades never spoke about the ruling, he always spoke highly of Reed’s impact on and off the court.

HE’S BACKKKKKKKKK 🗣️#WeArepic.twitter.com/2vL1NZorMm

— Penn State Men’s Basketball (@PennStateMBB) August 6, 2026

Reed, a 6-foot-8 forward from Atlanta, just finished his best collegiate season in Happy Valley, recording 11.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game in 32 appearances (31 starts). He also shot 36.8% on 3-pointers, the second-best mark behind Eli Rice.

With Reed’s return, Rhoades received a much-needed boost to the frontcourt rotation. Ivan Jurić was the only returning big man from the 2025-26 roster when the summer started.

With the transfer portal additions of Tim Oboh and Brant Byers, along with incoming freshman Aleksandar Zečević, Penn State hopes for better frontcourt play this season. Adding Reed raises the floor of that group significantly, as he is a valuable option as a small-ball center in some lineups, while playing next to either Jurić or Oboh in others.

There’s also the option of a 4-5 combination of Reed and Byers, which would be small, but keep five real shooters on the floor at all times without giving up too much size.

This article originally appeared on York Daily Record: Josh Reed will take 5th year of eligibility, return to Penn State basketball