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San Diego State enters the 2024-25 college basketball season looking to extend their Mountain West Conference domination under veteran coach Brian Dutcher. The Aztecs have been successful under Dutcher, making five NCAA Tournaments in seven seasons, including a 2022-23 run that catapulted them to the national championship final against UConn.
They made the NCAA Tournament again, winning the first two rounds against UAB and Yale, but were stopped anew by UConn in the Sweet 16. A new season awaits San Diego State, with eight holdovers, four transfers and three high school recruits, seeking to continue the Aztecs' winning tradition.
San Diego State men's basketball 2024-25 season preview: Biggest games, key players to watch and more
San Diego State's biggest games in the 2024-25 season
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The Mountain West Conference has yet to release its 2024-25 regular season schedule, but San Diego State may face perennial rival UNLV and MWC Tournament champions New Mexico at least twice. The conference's composition would mean that each team needs to face eight of its groupmates twice and the other two squads once.
Last season, the Aztecs and the Runnin' Rebels met three times, including the MWC Tournament. San Diego won the series 2-1. The opposite can be said against the Lobos, with San Diego State losing twice in three games, including the MWC Tournament final.
Another series San Diego State fans should keep an eye on is its clash against Utah State. The Aztecs and the Aggies met thrice during the year, and the Brian Dutcher-coached squad won the series 2-1.
Key San Diego State players to watch out for in the 2024-25 season
San Diego State will parade a solid lineup of eight holdovers, four transfers and three freshmen recruits.
Senior guard Reese Waters will be back for another season with the Aztecs. The fifth-year player out of USC played 37 games and averaged 9.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He shot 40.1% from the field and 90.3% from the free-throw line.
Brian Dutcher and his coaching staff were active recruiters during the offseason, securing the services of Nick Boyd, Jared Coleman-Jones, Wayne McKinney III and Kimo Ferrari from the transfer portal and highly rated prospects Pharaoh Compton and Taj DeGourville from the high school ranks.
Boyd tallied 9.3 ppg this past season for Florida Atlantic. He shot 40% from the field, including 34.1% from the free-throw line. Six-foot-10 Middle Tennessee State transfer Coleman-Jones had a breakout season last year, averaging 11.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per contest.
McKinney is coming off a great season with San Diego, tallying 13.0 points and 3.6 rebounds in 32 games. Ferrari, a six-foot-seven transfer out of Brown, averaged 6.7 ppg on 46.5% shooting in 26 games last season.
San Diego State also picked up highly rated prep prospects led by Pharaoh Compton. The 6-8 Las Vegas native Compton is the 19th-ranked power forward prospect in the nation and had 10 schools expressing interest in gaining his services.
DeGourville, meanwhile, chose San Diego State over a group of schools that included Oklahoma, Harvard, USC and Utah State. He's a three-star recruit who will play shooting guard this season.
Rookie Thokbor Majak is a seven-foot forward who could provide length to the San Diego State frontline in the coming season.
San Diego State predictions for the 2024-25 season
San Diego State would still figure prominently in the Mountain West Conference in the coming season.
They're expected to contend for the MWC regular season and tournament titles with a loaded lineup that could secure at least 24 victories. A fifth-straight NCAA Tournament stint is within reach for the Aztecs, as they will have a strong team this coming season.
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