Ajdin Penava

Ajdin Penava (born 11 March 1997) is a Bosnian professional basketball player for Śląsk Wrocław of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). He played college basketball for Marshall University in the Conference USA (C-USA). He led NCAA Division I in blocks per game (3.94) in 2017–18.

Ajdin Penava

Penava with Marshall in 2015
No. 11 – Śląsk Wrocław
Position	Power forward
League	PLK
Personal information
Born	(1997-03-11) 11 March 1997 (age 28) Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Listed height	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight	220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
College	Marshall (2015–2018)
NBA draft	2018: undrafted
Playing career	2018–present
Career history
2018–2020	Baskonia
2019–2020	→ Baskonia B
2020–2022	Belfius Mons-Hainaut
2022–2023	Spójnia Stargard
2023–2024	Juventus Utena
2024–present	Śląsk Wrocław
Career highlights
NCAA blocks leader (2018) Third-team All-C-USA (2018) C-USA Defensive Player of the Year (2018) First-team All-C-USA Defensive Team (2018)

Early life

Penava attended Peta Gimnazija in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

College career

Penava was a reserve player during his first two seasons with the Herd. He had his breakout season as a junior when he became a full-time starter. One of his best games came against the Ohio Bobcats where he had 33 points, 15 rebounds, and 9 blocks in a 99–96 win.^[1] He would later help lead Marshall to an upset win against Wichita State in the 2018 NCAA tournament scoring 16 points, grabbing 8 rebounds, and blocking 3 shots.^[2] Penava led the nation in blocks during 2017–18 season and decided to declare for the 2018 NBA draft at season's end. He initially did not sign with an agent, but decided to do so on April 19. He did not return to Marshall for his senior season.^[3]

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2015–16	Marshall	18	1	6.1	.387	.143	.692	1.0	0.2	0.1	0.4	1.9
2016–17	Marshall	35	14	15.5	.517	.225	.781	3.9	0.5	0.4	1.0	6.1
2017–18	Marshall	34	34	29.4	.562	.340	.753	8.5	1.9	0.9	3.9	15.6
Career		87	49	19.0	.538	.291	.758	5.1	1.0	0.6	2.1	9.0

^[4]

Professional career

On 2 September 2018, Penava signed a four-year deal with Kirolbet Baskonia of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague.^[5] On 26 February 2019, Penava joined to the Baskonia reserve team.^[6] On 6 July 2020, Penava signed with Belfius Mons-Hainaut of the Pro Basketball League.^[7] In July 2021, Penava extended his contract with two more years until 2023.^[8]

On 27 December 2022, he signed with Spójnia Stargard of the Polish Basketball League (PLK).^[9]

On 27 September 2023, Penava signed a one-year deal with Juventus Utena of the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL).^[10]

On July 18, 2024, he signed with Śląsk Wrocław of the Polish Basketball League.^[11]

National team career

Penava played for the Bosnian national team during the 2015 FIBA Europe Under-18 Championship. Penava averaged 5.6 ppg and 4.8 rpg during the tournament.