DiRienzo Signs With Professional Basketball Team in Ireland

ERIE, Pa. – Former Penn State Behrend men's basketball standout Tommy DiRienzo (Pittsburgh, PA/Bethel Park) will continue his basketball career with Team North West, a professional men's basketball team in Letterkenny, Ireland.

DiRienzo will compete in the Basketball Ireland Domino's Men's Division One League, made up of 16 teams divided into two conferences. The league plays 22 games with additional preseason and midseason tournaments, along with an eight-team playoff to end the season.

DiRienzo is the third Behrend basketball player to take his talent overseas and play professionally. Mike Powell '81 was the first Lion to play internationally with a team in Peru and Russ Conley '14 was a member of the Povaska Bystrica team in Slovakia.

DiRienzo was a two-time All-Region selection and a three-time All-Conference selection, while being named Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Player of the Year in 2023-24. He was also named to the All-ECAC Second Team and AMCC All-Tournament Team this season.

Last season, DiRienzo led Behrend in scoring (20.1 ppg), rebounds (5.5 rpg), total points (503) and free-throws made (114). He also ranked second in the conference in scoring and three-point percentage (43.4). DiRienzo became the program's all-time leading scorer with 1,836 points to break Conley's scoring record on February 12, 2025.