With the move into the Big Ten, Washington Husky baseball fans are having to get to know a whole new cast of characters. There are new series to be played and new opponents to face off against. Like the Penn State Nittany Lions, for example.
Penn State has been playing baseball since 1893, which is a long time, but they don’t really have much postseason success in recent years.
With a second-year head coach at the helm, the Nittany Lions are hoping to change that sooner rather than later. So, let’s take a look at the Nittany Lions and get a better feel for the Penn State baseball program.
Penn State Nittany Lions overview
Again, 1893. That’s when Penn State baseball got started. The Nittany Lions were an independent program for a few years and then ultimately joined in with the Atlantic 10 and then later the Big Ten (back in 1992).
There’s a fair bit of history with the Nittany Lions, but Penn State baseball hasn’t been able to make it to the NCAA baseball tournament since 2000. That’s a long time.
- 17 NCAA Tournament appearances (1952, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 2000)
- 1 NCAA Regional Championship (2000)
- 5 College World Series appearances (1952, 1957, 1959, 1963, 1973)
- 1 Big Ten regular season championship (1996)
The Nittany Lions actually managed to make it to the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game in 2024 where Penn State ultimately lost to the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Who is the current head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions?
We’ve got Mike Gambino entering his second season with the Nittany Lions. In 2024, the Nittany Lions had that thrilling run to the Big Ten tourney championship game and that showed a bit of interesting potential for a team that went 29-24 overall and 12-12 in Big Ten play. Gambino has also coached at Boston College and throughout his career he has a head coaching record of 320-390.
Where do the Penn State Nittany Lions play?
Medlar Field at Lubrano Park happens to be one of the newer baseball venues in the Big Ten as it opened up back in 2006. The Penn State Nittany Lions are able to get a little under 5,600 fans in for their baseball games.
When will the Washington Huskies face Penn State baseball in 2025?
As of right now, it doesn’t look like Washington and Penn State will face off at any point this season. Theoretically speaking, I guess it’s plausible that they’ll meet in the Big Ten conference tournament, but we’ll see if that happens.