The Penguins, led by first-year head coach Jerrod Calhoun, played their home games at the Beeghly Center as members of the Horizon League.

They lost in the first round of the Horizon League tournament to Cleveland State.

9 seed in the Horizon League tournament, they defeated Cleveland State and Oakland before losing to Northern Kentucky in the semifinals.

On March 7, 2017, Jerry Slocum announced he was retiring as head coach at Youngstown State.

On March 27, the school hired Jerrod Calhoun from Division II Fairmont State as the new head coach.