Correspondent file photo / Robert Hayes Youngstown State men’s basketball coach Ethan Faulkner calls out a play during the Penguins’ Horizon League championship game against Robert Morris on March 11 at Corteva Coliseum in Indianapolis.

YOUNGSTOWN — In recent years, Youngstown State has undergone significant roster turnover each offseason, and this year is no different.

Since the opening and closing of the transfer portal after the end of the 2024-25 season, the Penguins added 10 new players to complete their roster.

“We certainly had to add at every position,” second-year head coach Ethan Faulkner said. “We wanted to add guys that really fit who we are as a program and our culture. We feel like we’ve added some really, really good players. But additionally, we feel like we’ve got the right people on board with our recruiting class, who are going to bring tremendous value in terms of the character they bring to the table, as well.”

The process is nothing new to YSU, which has successfully reloaded its roster each offseason and still maintained its high level of success over the past few years.

Even with the roster attrition and a coaching change, the Penguins still won at least 21 games each of the last three seasons.

“You see it all across college basketball,” Faulkner said. “You’re looking at a lot of roster turnover across all of college basketball, not just in our program. But this has been a beneficial thing to our program in terms of the transfer portal and how we’re able to re-assemble teams quickly through the portal (each year).”

It’s a recipe that started under former coach Jerrod Calhoun and has carried on under Faulkner. YSU won the Horizon League regular season championship in 2023 with a roster of transfers, contended for the title again in 2024 with a completely new group and then made it to the Horizon League tournament championship for the first time in program history in March with another rebuilt roster.

“Going back to when Jerrod was here, I feel like we’ve found our niche in recruiting,” Faulkner said. “We’ve talked that multiple times over the last couple years — really trying to attack recruiting from every angle, and we’ve done that again this year. Division I, Division II, NAIA, junior college — all levels of basketball, we’re getting these guys here and putting them in an environment where they can build great relationships with one another, where they can build trust with their teammates and with their coaching staff, all those things.

YSU brought in eight transfers and two high school signings, each of whom fills positional needs, while also addressing some of the shortcomings that the team had last season.

The Penguins built their identity around their defense in 2024-25, but defensive rebounding proved to be an Achilles heel at times against certain teams. That’s why size and rebounding proficiency were a key part of YSU’s additions, which included junior forward Rich Rolf (Charlotte) and sixth-year forwards Tyler Robinett (College of Idaho) and Vladimer Salaridze (UT-Martin). They will complement returning forward Cris Carroll and center Imanuel Zorgvol in the front court.

“Vlad, one of the best defensive rebounders in the entire country in terms of defensive rebounding percentage, plus (Zorgvol) being back from injury will certainly help that,” Faulkner said. “Guys like Rich Rolf, Tyler Robinett … those guys are going to certainly be beneficial in helping us become a better defensive rebounding team.”

Faulkner added that the versatility the forwards provide will allow YSU to get back to the similar style of play that it utilized with former forwards like Malek Green, Ziggy Reid, Adrian Nelson and DJ Burns.

“The versatility that those guys have is very similar to the versatility that our forwards are bringing in,” Faulkner said.

The Penguins’ coaching staff also worked to address size in the backcourt to surround returning point guard Jason Nelson.

With guard additions like 6-foot-6 junior Rontavious Blackshear (McLennan CC), 6-foot-2 senior Bryson Dawkins (Houston Christian), 6-foot-3 junior Andrew King (Elon) and 6-foot-2 sixth-year Cam Polak (California, Pa.), YSU filled that need, while also bringing in players that are high-caliber scorers on the offensive end of the floor.

Shaheed Solebo, a 6-foot-4 guard who redshirted last season, is a returning player who also adds to the Penguins’ size at guard, in addition to transfer walk-on Derrick Anderson, a Boardman alum that played at Lake Erie College last season.

“I thought (size) was something that hurt us at times last year,” Faulkner said. “Putting size around Jason at the point guard position was something that we really wanted to do, and I think it’s going to help us on both ends of the floor.”

Rounding out the roster are two high school signees, 6-foot-3 guard Jaiden Haynes and 6-foot-9 wing Connor Swider.

After a short break since the end of the spring semester, all 15 of the Penguins’ returners and newcomers will all arrive on campus this week for summer practices and workouts, which begin on Monday.

YSU will work for three weeks in June, take a couple weeks off, return in July for three weeks and then return once the fall semester starts in August.

“We get eight hours a week — four hours on the floor and four hours in the weight room, and we’ll utilize those to the maximum capabilities,” Faulkner said. “We’re allowed to do eight weeks in the summer. We choose to do six. That’ll give some guys the option to stick around and do voluntary workouts. The season’s long and we try to be strategic in how we go about our summer, while also trying to get a lot accomplished.”