Ace Baldwin Jr.

Adrian Tyrone "Ace" Baldwin Jr. (born June 7, 2001) is an American college basketball player for the Penn State Nittany Lions of the Big Ten Conference. He previously played for the VCU Rams.

Early life and high school career
Baldwin grew up in Baltimore, Maryland and attended Saint Frances Academy. He was named the Metro Player of the Year after averaging 14 points, six assists, four rebounds, and four steals per game during his junior season. Baldwin repeated as the co-Player of the Year as a senior. He was rated a four-star recruit and committed to playing college basketball for VCU over offers from Virginia, Villanova, Georgetown, Maryland, Kansas State, and Seton Hall.

College career
Baldwin started all 26 of the VCU Rams' games during his freshman season and averaged 6.7 points, 4.4 assists, and 3.2 rebounds per game. Following a 19-7 regular season, Baldwin's VCU team clinched an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament, but forfeited following a COVID-19 outbreak on the team.

The start to Baldwin's sophomore season was delayed due to a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered in the offseason. He returned in December and was named second-team All-Atlantic 10 Conference after averaging 11.4 points, 5.5 assists, and 2.5 steals per game.

As a junior, Baldwin averaged 12.7 points, 5.8 assists, and 2.2 steals per game. On February 3, 2023, Baldwin notched a career high 37 points in a 73-65 victory over Saint Louis. On March 12, 2023, Baldwin scored 16 points and notched 7 assists in the Atlantic 10 Championship game, in which VCU defeated Dayton 68-56. He scored 13 points in his first and only NCAA Tournament game, a 63-51 loss to Saint Mary's.

He was named the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, the Atlantic 10 Defensive Player of the Year, and first-team All-Atlantic 10. Baldwin entered the NCAA transfer portal after the season following the departure of VCU head coach Mike Rhoades.

On April 9, 2023, Baldwin announced that he would be transferring to Penn State for his senior season, joining his former coach Mike Rhoades. As a senior, Baldwin averaged 14.2 points, 6.0 assists, 2.1 rebounds, and 2.7 steals per game. On January 10, 2024, Baldwin set a career-high and tied a Penn State record with eight steals in a 76-72 loss to Northwestern. Following the regular season, Baldwin was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, and a semifinalist for the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year.