UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State men’s basketball coach Patrick Chambers has announced the addition of former Nittany Lion Talor Battle to his staff as an assistant coach. Battle, a 2011 Penn State graduate and three-year captain, joins the program after playing professionally overseas and spending the last two years as a financial adviser in his hometown of Albany, New York.
“Talor embodies everything it means to be a Nittany Lion and his work ethic, winning mentality and attitude align with our vision for success,” said Chambers. “His experiences at Penn State as a leader, as a competitor in the Big Ten and as part of this community will be invaluable for our current and future student-athletes.”
Battle, a 2011 Associated Press honorable-mention All-American, ranks as Penn State’s all-time leading scorer with 2,213 career points during his four-year career. He helped lead the Nittany Lions to the 2009 National Invitation Tournament championship, the program’s first national title, and a program-record 27 wins that season. He earned All-Big Ten Tournament Team honors in 2011 as Penn State advanced to its first Big Ten Tournament championship game and first NCAA Tournament appearance in a decade.
A clutch performer who recorded three game-winning or tying shots at the buzzer and led numerous late-game scoring runs for Nittany Lion victories, Battle is one of only two players to lead Penn State in scoring in four-straight seasons. He was the first Nittany Lion to twice earn All-Big Ten first team, first-team NABC All-District and first-team USBWA honors, and four-time team MVP accolades.
Battle finished his career in the top five of Penn State’s career lists for assists (fourth, 517), 3-point field goals (third, 317), field goals (second, 722) and free throws (fourth, 452), as well as setting the career record for starts (131) and Big Ten record for career minutes played (4,799). He still holds several positions on single-season top-10 stat lists.
Following his sophomore year, Battle led the U.S. World University Games team in scoring and earned a bronze medal during the 2009 international competition.
Battle graduated from Penn State in 2011 with a degree in recreation, park, and tourism management. He retired from playing professionally in 2018 after a seven-year global career.
He and his wife, Gretchen, are the parents of two daughters, Layna and Stella.