Brian Dutcher and the San Diego State Aztecs embark on their final season in the Mountain West conference in 2025-26, starting with a home game against Long Beach State on Tuesday.
San Diego State is getting plenty of preseason buzz as the heavy favorite to win the MWC one final time before joining the new-look Pac-12 in 2026-27. With a trio of elite returners in Magoon Gwath, Miles Byrd, and Reese Waters, as well as newcomers Sean Newman and Jeremiah Oden, this team will flirt with a top 25 ranking all year long and could be primed for another deep run in March.
It all gets underway against a team that has just one returner for coach Chris Acker, who went 7-25 last year in his first season at the helm. Acker’s lone returner is 6’10 big man Derrick Michael Xzavierro, who started 21 out of 29 games last year and averaged 5.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game.
Xzavierro will be joined by four incoming freshmen, seven D1 transfers, and three other non-D1 transfers as Long Beach State looks to get back into contention in a Big West that features strong programs in UC Irvine, UC San Diego, and UC Santa Barbara.
Headlining that transfer portal class for the Beach is former San Diego State forward Demarshay (Shay) Johnson Jr., who spent three seasons with the Aztecs, appearing in 40 games and averaging 0.8 points and 0.8 rebounds in 4.3 minutes per game.
Mar 27, 2024; Boston, MA, USA; San Diego State Aztecs forward Demarshay Johnson Jr. (11). / Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
Other prominent newcomers for LBSU include Shaquil Bender, a 6’2 guard transfer from Manhattan who averaged 11.2 points and 2.0 assists last year for the Jaspers, and 6’3 guard Isaiah Lewis from Little Rock, who averaged 9.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 3.0 assists.
Those two should be LBSU’s starters in the backcourt, with Xzavierro and Johnson starting up front. The final spot will be between Cole Farrell — a 6’5 transfer from Portland State — and 6’0 guard Grant Gondrezick II, who averaged 8.4 points while shooting 41.5% from three last year for Detroit Mercy.
There is not a ton of optimism around Acker’s team in Year 2, with Bart Torvik’s T-Rank projecting Long Beach State 327th out of 365 D1 teams, although KenPom is far higher on the Beach, with them coming in at No. 210.
Either way, this will serve as a quality tune-up game for coach Dutcher and the Aztecs, who go on to host Idaho State on Nov. 9 and Troy on Nov. 18 before really getting into it at the Player’s Era Festival in Las Vegas, with matchups set against Michigan and Oregon on Nov. 24 and Nov. 25, respectively.
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