Huge haul for Aztecs in Mountain West preseason men’s basketball honors

by Mark Zeigler

The Mountain West men’s basketball schedule doesn’t begin until Dec. 17, but the conference’s media has already decided San Diego State has won the offseason.

By a lot.

The Aztecs and their eight returnees are the unanimous pick for the regular-season title in their final year in the conference, receiving all 26 first-place votes in balloting that was announced at media day Thursday morning in Las Vegas. They also have five of a possible 13 individual honors.

Junior wing Miles Byrd is preseason player of the year. Elzie Harrington is preseason freshman of the year. Byrd, sophomore forward Magoon Gwath and senior guard Reese Dixon-Waters were all selected to the 10-player preseason all-conference team.

“It’s surprising,” coach Brian Dutcher said of the unanimous selection, “because there’s always a hater in some crowds. Usually, it’s something-something to one. We return the most players, so usually that comes with being picked (high).

“But we’re used to it. We have the most conference titles of anybody in the league. You should be picked No. 1.”

Utah State is projected to finish second, followed by Boise State, Mountain West newcomer Grand Canyon, New Mexico with former UC San Diego coach Eric Olen, and UNLV.

The bottom six, in order: Colorado State, Nevada, Wyoming, San Jose State, Fresno State and Air Force.

Byrd and Gwath – the Mountain West freshman and defensive player of the year – were considered locks for preseason all-conference, but voters also did not forget about Dixon-Waters, who received the honor a year ago before being sidelined the entire season with a broken foot.

“It’s cool,” said Dixon-Waters, who had a game-high 19 points in the 67-60 exhibition loss against preseason No. 12 UCLA last Friday, his first college game in 568 days. “I like the award, but I still have to prove I’m worthy of it.”

The only other team that has more than one all-conference player is Grand Canyon, with UNLV transfer Jaden Henley and Norfolk State transfer Brian Moore Jr. (who also was preseason newcomer of the year).

The others: Utah State guard Mason Falslev, Boise State forward Andrew Meadow, UNLV forward Kimani Hamilton, Nevada forward Elijah Price (who transferred from Fresno State) and New Mexico guard Deyton Albury (who transferred from Utah State).

Five of the 10 are transfers, three from other Mountain West teams. Byrd and Falslev are the only returning members of the 15-player all-conference team from the 2024-25 season.

This is the 11th time in the 27-year history of the Mountain West that the Aztecs have been picked first. History says that could be a good or a bad thing.

Seven times, they reached the NCAA Tournament. Six times, they won at least a share of the regular-season title. The other four times, they were a combined 39-29 and finished third, fourth, fifth and sixth.

In 2022, they were picked first and finished first (and reached the national championship game). The following year, they were picked first and finished fifth at 11-7.

“I mean, they got picked first for a reason,” said New Mexico coach Eric Olen, who knows the Aztecs well, having faced them the past three years at UC San Diego. “They’re super talented, they’re obviously really well coached, they have an established history of success and a great home environment. They have all the pieces to be a great basketball team.

“When I think about San Diego State, the defense is sort of a given there. To me, each year when they have explosive offensive groups, that’s when they have the highest ceilings. It’s, do they have the offensive firepower? Outside looking it, on paper it looks like a resounding yes from that standpoint. That’s when it’s like, ‘Oh, man, they’re scary.’”

Added Colorado State coach Ali Farokhmanesh: “I wouldn’t bet against Dutch when you have that many guys returning. The continuity piece, that’s massive.”

As regularly as SDSU has been picked first in the media poll, this is only the second time it has had the preseason player of the year. The other was Jamaal Franklin, who also wore No. 21, in 2012-13.

The 6-6 Byrd was second on the team in scoring last season (12.3 points) while ranking in the top 10 of the Mountain West in steals and blocks, a rare double that caught the attention of pro scouts. He provisionally entered the NBA Draft last spring, played well in the combine scrimmages and projected as an early second-round pick before returning to college for his redshirt junior season.

“I knew it was a possibility, with what the signs showed somewhat last season and some of the pre-draft stuff I did,” Byrd said. “I know there would be some respect. … For me, mentally, I think it will help me out because I’ll have to hold myself to that standard.”

USD picked to finish ninth in WCC

A revamped USD roster was picked to finish ninth in the West Coast Conference, which will have 12 teams this season and also held media day down the hall at the same Las Vegas resort.

Gonzaga was picked first again in what in the WCC is a coaches (and not media) poll, followed by St. Mary’s, USF and Santa Clara. Oregon State and Washington State are in their final season in the WCC before joining the Pac-12, and Seattle University joins the conference. UCSD comes next year.

“The most recent results kind of drive the voting,” said Lavin, whose team finished lastd last season at 2-16. “But we’re a different team with a dramatic roster reconstruction, so naturally our goals and aspirations have been adjusted accordingly. We know we have work ahead of us, so it’s not like we’ve arrived. We’re a work in progress with some terrific promise.

“We’re encouraged.”