Photo courtesy of YSU Athletic Communications. Youngstown State sixth-year guard Cam Polak dribbles the ball up the court during a recent summer practice on July 14 at Zidian Family Arena at Beeghly Center.

YOUNGSTOWN — Given his family history, it’s no surprise that sixth-year transfer guard Cam Polak eventually found his way to Youngstown State.

His father, Jamie, was born in Youngstown before he found his way to western Pennsylvania and eventually became a high school basketball standout and an all-conference caliber player at Clarion (Pa.).

Then Polak’s late grandfather, Ed, was a star linebacker for the Penguins from 1971-75. He played alongside the likes of Ron Jaworski and former Steelers quarterback Cliff Stoudt during his time in Youngstown and led YSU in tackles and interceptions during his college career.

After four years at the Division II level, Polak followed in his father and grandfather’s footsteps this offseason and joined the Penguins as one of YSU’s 11 transfer newcomers for the upcoming 2025-26 season.

“I’ve always been around Youngstown, and I’ve always had a tie here,” Polak said. “I’ve always wanted to be here, to be honest, my whole basketball career. But things don’t pan out that way. God had a different plan.”

Like his father, Polak played high school basketball at Steel Valley High School in Munhall, Pa, just under 10 miles southeast of downtown Pittsburgh.

He set a Western Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic League (WPIAL) record for most 3-pointers in a game with 11 and was a three-time First-Team All-Section pick. He also set the school scoring record with 1,718 career points.

After high school, Polak began his college career at Division II West Chester, before he transferred to Division II California (Pa.).

Then this past spring, Polak entered the transfer portal in search of a new home for his final season of eligibility, and when YSU head coach Ethan Faulkner reached out to him, it made perfect sense where he should finish his college career.

“Whenever I first got the call from Coach Faulk, I was ecstatic,” Polak said. “I had (another) visit lined up and I canceled that and said, ‘Let’s go here, let’s get this moving and let’s narrow this down so I could start making decisions.’ It was super exciting. My family was super excited. My grandma — my granddad’s not here no more, he passed away — but my grandma, she was in tears. So it was cool to see that.”

Since his high school playing days, Polak has always been known as a dynamic scorer with a sizzling 3-point shot.

At Steel Valley, he averaged almost 30 points per game during his senior season. Then he averaged 18.1 points per game during his final year at Cal. U., making a three in all 30 games he started and played, while making multiple threes in 22 of those games.

After some scoring woes at times last year, particularly at the start of the season, YSU will need Polak’s scoring ability.

“Cam is another guy that we need to be able to shoot and score the basketball at a high level. That’s what his M.O. is,” Faulkner said. “We’ve been pleasantly surprised with what Cam can do off the bounce, and I think he’s going to give us a lot of that in terms of (being) in the ball screens and really attacking close outs.”

Throughout his career, Polak has “bet on himself,” and that dedication has allowed him to climb the college ranks from Division II to Division I as he looks to end his collegiate career on a high note.

“My family, (especially) my Dad, has been a huge part of what I’ve been doing my whole life,” Polak said. “So seeing the smile on his face with me making the jump, betting on myself, it was really cool. I’m going to keep working myself and try to get to the pro level, as well. So hopefully he’ll continue to be happy and the rest of my family will too.”

Described as a “gym rat” by current and past coaches, the Penguins are hoping the work Polak continues to put in can play a key role in helping the program continue to maintain its recent run of success this season.

“Cam’s excited to be here, and we want people that want to be here,” Faulkner said. “He is an extremely hard worker. He lives in the gym. He’s going to continue to get better and better because of his daily approach to the game.”