The 6-foot-6 lefty explored turning pro last spring<\/a> but was clear beforehand that if he returned to college, it would be with the Aztecs. He\u2019s been more vague when queried this year, and the feeling around the program was that he\u2019d follow former teammates Lamont Butler and Keshad Johnson, who spent four years at SDSU and graduated before closing their college careers at Kentucky and Arizona, respectively.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Miles will have an interesting decision to make,\u201d coach Brian Dutcher said recently, in some ways telegraphing the move. \u201cIt\u2019s no different than Lamont or Keshad. He\u2019s going to graduate from San Diego State. \u2026 He\u2019ll have an interesting decision financially, whether it\u2019s at another college or whether he thinks he has a chance to get into the NBA this year.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019ll be an interesting choice. I will be supportive over whatever one he decides to make.\u201d<\/p>\n Another clue: Participating in Senior Night with his family.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you (Miles) for an amazing four years,\u201d a social media post by the SDSU men\u2019s basketball account said. \u201cYour impact on this program will last forever. A soon to be college graduate and forever an #AztecForLife!\u201d<\/p>\n Byrd did not indicate whether he\u2019d also provisionally enter the NBA Draft again, although more players seem to be staying in college given that the upcoming draft is expected to be the deepest in years. And a guy picked in the second round can make more money \u2013 sometimes significantly more \u2013 in college.<\/p>\n Either way, he\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter four unforgettable years,\u201d Byrd\u2019s social media post said, \u201cI want to thank San Diego State for everything it\u2019s given me \u2013 on and off the court. The memories, the battles, the brotherhood and the growth will always mean more than words can fully capture. Wearing that No. 21 jersey and representing not only the school but the whole city of San Diego has been a true blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n He played in four games as a true freshman, then shut it down for the remainder of the season with a variety of maladies and successfully petitioned for a medical redshirt. He averaged 14.1 minutes in 34 games in his second year, all of it off the bench, on a team that reached the Sweet 16.<\/p>\n He became a starter as a junior, averaging 12.3 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists. He played well enough at the NBA Draft combine in Chicago last May to project as an early- to mid-second round pick, then returned to SDSU after not receiving assurances he would get a guaranteed contract.<\/p>\n He was the Mountain West preseason player of the year but never quite lived up to that projection, with numbers that approximated the previous season and landed him on third team all-conference. He was, however, named Defensive Player of the Year after ranking in the top five in the conference in both steals and blocks.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s just expectations, especially when you\u2019re preseason player of the year,\u201d Byrd said earlier this month<\/a>. \u201cA lot of people expect you to go out there and average 18 points per game. It\u2019s never really been my type of game. I\u2019ve been more a guy who does little things and tries to make winning plays to help our team win.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a mixture. Obviously, I know as a player I could have been a lot better in a lot of different areas more consistently this year. As a person and as a confident player, I also see the impact that I made that maybe isn\u2019t noticed on every box score. You\u2019ve got to see it from both angles.\u201d<\/p>\n Byrd\u2019s departure was widely expected, and the Aztecs already have a plug-and-play replacement in redshirt junior Latrell Davis, who transferred from San Jose State last spring with the understanding he\u2019d sit out if Byrd withdrew from the draft.<\/p>\n Dutcher maintained that arrangement despite, he has since admitted, \u201cI think if we had him and played him this year, we\u2019d be in the NCAA Tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n The 6-foot-3 Davis does not offer the length and defensive disruption as Byrd, but he might be a more lethal offensive weapon with his dual ability to shoot 3s (38.3% in 2024-25) and get to the rim with his sturdy 212-pound frame. Those who saw him on the scout team in practice all season would attest to that.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s an everyday guy,\u201d Dutcher said of Davis\u2019 consistently high motor. \u201cHe\u2019s extremely talented, and he has a skill set that some of the players I had on the team didn\u2019t have this year. I\u2019m encouraged by adding Latrell next year. I think he\u2019ll have a chance to be a first-team all-conference type of player.\u201d<\/p>\n The Aztecs could lose another veteran guard in BJ Davis, whose agency announced Tuesday<\/a> he \u201cintends\u201d to enter the transfer portal when it opens April 7. Davis, who has one year of eligibility remaining, has since said he\u2019s \u201cstill considering staying,\u201d leaving the door ajar for a return.<\/p>\n Two other players who could be next are 6-5 rising junior Taj DeGourville, who lost his starting job five games into the season and averaged 5.5 points; and starting forward Miles Heide, who recently retained an agency that announced via social media<\/a> the 6-9 rising senior will explore \u201chis opportunities for the upcoming NCAA season.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Miles Byrd will get his bachelor\u2019s degree in business administration from San Diego State in May and then,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":197900,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[8749,74,76,75,300],"class_list":["post-240607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-miles-byrd","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news","tag-san-diego-state"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240607"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240607\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/197900"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Miles](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SUT-L-azhoopxol-0226-039.jpg\")
Miles Byrd #21 of San Diego State goes up for a shot against Adlan Elamin #35 of Utah State during their game at Viejas Arena on Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin \/ The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n![\"SAN](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SUT-L-azhoop-021818_259601334.jpg\")
SAN DIEGO \u2013 FEBRUARY 17, 2026: The Aztecs\u2019 Miles Byrd shoots over Grand Canyon\u2019s Dusty Stromer in the second half at the Viejas Arena in San Diego on Tuesday, February 17, 2026. (Hayne Palmour IV \/ For The San Diego Union-Tribune)<\/p>\n