Mike Rhoades has a new-look Penn State basketball team in 2025-26 after the roster was overhauled during the offseason, but the third-year coach now knows who his Nittany Lions leaders are going to be this winter.

Penn State announced junior forward Saša Ciani, freshman guard Kayden Mingo, senior forward Josh Reed and redshirt sophomore guard Eli Rice as team captains for 2025-26 in a social media post Tuesday.

Ciani, Mingo and Reed are all newcomers to the roster, while Rice is one of three returnees to the program.

Ciani — whose name is pronounced SAH-shuh CHAH-nee — transferred to Penn State in June after spending the 2024-25 season at UIC. The 6-foot-10, 240-pound Ciani averaged 9.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 20.2 minutes per game over 27 appearances (21 starts) for the Flames. He shot 53.3% from the floor.

Ciani, who hails from Nova Gorica, Slovenia, began his career at Xavier in 2023-24. He appeared in 31 games (five starts) while averaging 2.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 13.2 minutes per appearance. He has experience with the senior Slovenian National Team.

Mingo enters his time at Penn State as one of the most heralded prospects in program history. The Farmingdale, N.Y., native ended the 2025 recruiting cycle rated as a four-star prospect by 247Sports, and he was ranked as the No. 2 player in New York, the No. 4 combo guard and the No. 34 overall prospect. He’s the highest-rated recruit to ever sign with Penn State.

Mingo was named the 2025 New York Gatorade Player of the Year after his senior season at Glen Head (N.Y.) Long Island Lutheran. He posted 13.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.9 steals per game while playing a national schedule that featured games against some of the nation’s top high school programs. Penn State lists him at 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds.

Read more: Penn State basketball’s 2025-26 Big Ten schedule announced

Reed was one of two additions from the NCAA Transfer Portal along with Ciani this offseason. Reed spent the past three seasons at Cincinnati where he was well-regarded for his defense and willingness to do dirty work. Penn State is listing Reed at 6-foot-8 and 230 pounds.

Reed averaged 4.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in 17.7 minutes per game across 33 appearances as a junior. He entered the starting lineup late in the season and started nine of the final 10 games of the year for Bearcats. He shot 41% from the field and 31.3% from three-point range.

Rice was sidelined for all but one game in 2024-25, which was his first year with Penn State after transferring in from Nebraska through the portal. In his last significant action, the 6-foot-8, 230-pound Rice averaged 4.2 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.4 assists in 17 games for the Cornhuskers as a true freshman.

During the offseason, Rhoades lauded Rice for the work that he’s done transforming his body and working his way back from injury.

Penn State opens the 2025-26 season against Fairfield at the Bryce Jordan Center on Nov. 3. Prior to the regular season, Penn State will play two exhibition matchups at Dayton on Oct. 19 and at home against Shippensburg on Oct. 26.

Penn State went 16-15 overall and 6-14 in Big Ten play in 2024-25.

Daniel Gallen covers Penn State for Lions247 and 247Sports. He can be reached at daniel.gallen@cbsinteractive.com. Follow Daniel on X at @danieljtgallen, Instagram at @bydanieljtgallen and Bluesky at @danieljtgallen.bsky.social.