Penn State’s frontcourt is mostly freshmen, but it had an intriguing international addition this past offseason.
Forward Tibor Mirtič has spent the past few seasons playing professionally in Slovenia. Now, he’s about to start his first season in the Big Ten with the Nittany Lions, and assistant coach Brent Scott highlighted how he can contribute to the team.
“I think he’s a guy that fits our style of play and is going to really help us,” Scott said at local media day last week. “I think he can play multiple positions. We can play through him. He has a high level of I.Q., but I think one of his biggest things is his level of maturity and his toughness, and that’s something we needed for our team.”
The Ljubljana, Slovenia, native has played for his home country in a bunch of events overseas. He was with Slovenia’s national team in the 2025 FIBA EuroBasket qualifiers, and he had six points and five rebounds in a game against Portugal.
Mirtič was a part of numerous youth competitions with Slovenia, including the 2022 and 2023 U20 European Championships.
This past season, Mirtič played for Krka Novo Mesto, which competes in Liga OTP banka and the Adriatic Basketball Association — Slovenia’s best professional leagues. Across games in both leagues, Mirtič had 21 double-digit scoring performances.
Mirtič made 26 appearances in Liga OTP banka, averaging 7.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. He went for 11.5 points and 4.1 rebounds per game in 20 contests in the ABA League.
He picked the NCAA route to continue his career, and he explained why he chose Penn State.
“I spoke with (the coaching staff) a couple of times before coming here,” Mirtič said at local media day last week. “It felt like a family right from the start. So it was this decision for me and my family to grab this opportunity. And yeah, I think it’s a great place. Everybody’s amazing.”
Mirtič comes to Happy Valley as a 2003-born forward. While he’s listed as a freshman on the official roster, he has two years of collegiate eligibility.
The 6-foot-9, 255-pounder said Scott was the main person on staff who recruited him to Penn State.
“The thing about Tibor, just love who he is as a young man, phenomenal young man,” Scott said. “I loved his talent. I loved his toughness. And then I think for our team, since we have such a young team, even though he’s a freshman, he brings a level of maturity, and I think that’s been helpful to our younger guys.”
Mirtič was appreciative of Scott throughout this process as well.
“He’s been amazing all the time, and I’m looking forward to work with him, to work with everybody else,” Mirtič said. “But he was like the guy who took care of me, like transition from Europe to here. So he’s just amazing.”
Mirtič primarily plays in the interior. During his time in the ABA League last season, he attempted nine shots from beyond the arc. In his first appearance with Penn State, Mirtič tallied four rebounds and a steal in 14 minutes.
With the opener against Fairfield approaching on Nov. 3, Mirtič spoke on the in-game differences he sees since arriving in State College.
“I gotta say basketball is faster,” Mirtič said. “I think I’ll get used to it. It’s physical, for sure, but I think I can handle that, too.”
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