Following a disappointing season in its history, change is coming to the San Diego State men’s basketball team. Numerous changes. Big changes. In fact, many are already in progress.
Unlike last year, when SDSU managed a high retention rate, so far since the end of theAztecs’ season, after they failed to make the NCAA tournament, nine players have eitherentered the transfer portal or are expected to leave, including last season’s four highest points-per-game contributors and the team’s three leaders in minutes played.
So when the team begins its 2026-27 campaign this fall, it might be with a completely newstarting lineup.
Departures
The team’s biggest departure, in the literal sense, is that of seven-foot, 210-lb. forwardMagoon Gwath, who committed to DePaul on Tuesday. Gwath, who’ll be entering his junior season, played two seasons for the Aztecs, averaging 8.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and two blocks over 51 games.
He also entered the transfer portal last offseason, but pulled out as he was recovering from aknee injury. He then missed the early portion of this past season while recovering from kneesurgery, then dealt with a hip injury midway through the campaign.
Other players who entered the portal include Miles Byrd, a six-foot-six guard entering hisjunior season. Byrd, a Stockton native who’s transferring to Providence, averaged 10.4 pointsand 4.7 rebounds last season. He also led the team in steals with 1.9 per game.
Pharoah Compton, a six-seven forward from Chicago who scored 7.5 points in less than 14minutes per game is transferring to Oregon. And BJ Davis, a six-foot-two junior guard fromModesto who scored 10.8 points a game in 22 minutes per contest is moving over to Creighton.
Also transferring are junior guard Taj DeGourville; Reese Dixon-Waters, a six-five senior fromLong Beach who led the team with 13.1 points per game; Miles Heide, a six-foot-nine junior who was second on the team behind Byrd with 4.5 rebounds per game, and Sean Newman, a senior guard who played 15.4 minutes per contest last season and averaged about 3.3 points.
So, with so many players on their way out, who’ll replace them?
Arrivals
During the season, the Aztecs weaknesses included rebounding, three-point shooting anddefense, so the team plans to bring in players who can improve those statistics. So far this offseason, two players have announced their intentions to transfer to San Diego State.
On April 11, Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry, a six-foot-eleven, 250-pound forward senior, announcedthat he was leaving Sacramento State and heading to SDSU, his third team in as many years.
Cherry is a San Diego native who averaged 15.2 points and 8.2 rebounds for the Hornets insix games as a starter during the 2025-26 season before missing the rest of the year due to aleg injury.
The season before, he played for UNLV and averaged about 10 points and five rebounds in33 games (32 starts). If he can stay healthy, the sturdily built Cherry would be an upgrade inphysicality from the reedy Gwath.
Also incoming is six-foot-three senior guard Nick Anderson. He played in all 31 games forRice last season, with 29 starts, averaging 15.5 points on nearly 44% shooting in 29 minutesper contest. The year before, he was with Prairie View A&M in his native state of Texas andaveraged just under 19 points in 31.5 minutes.
He led his team last year in three-point percentage (40%) as well as number of three-pointers taken (84).
Another commitment to SDSU was made months ago from the high school level: Zach White, a six-foot-six wing player from Notre Dame High School in the Los Angeles area, committed to the Aztecs last November.
White, a 6-6, 165-pound forward, is the son of Russell White, a former All-American runningback with UC Berkeley who played in the NFL with the Los Angeles Rams for a year.
Potential signings
Regarding student athletes from other college programs, one player to keep an eye on isKjay Bradley Jr., a six-foot-one guard at the University of San Diego. Bradley, who’s from theLos Angeles area, is a little undersized but still averaged 14.5 points, 3.5 assists and 1.7 stealsper contest last season with the Toreros. He could look to level up to a higher profile school.
San Diego State is likely to try luring a forward or center who get boards, such as MouhamedSylla, a six-foot-ten, 240-lb Senegal native who entered the portal after playing for Georgia Tech in his freshman season last year. Sylla average 7.2 rebounds and 9.6 points in just 21 minutes.
Another option would be Samet Yigitoglu, a seven-foot-two center from Turkey who put 10.7points and almost eight rebounds up in 29 minutes per game during his second season withSouthern Methodist last year.
With so many holes to fill and so many weaknesses to shore up, the Aztecs will be busy inthe coming days and weeks transforming the team and hoping that their new-look roster cangive the team a boost – and a return in the NCAA Tournament.
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