Former San Diego State center Magoon Gwath commits to DePaul

Another former player from the San Diego State Aztecs has found a new home via the transfer portal.

Magoon Gwath, the 7-footer who had a sensational freshman season before falling off during his sophomore season, has committed to DePaul.

There had been reports that Gwath planned to visit Kentucky this week, the same school that was interested in him before he withdrew from both the portal and the NBA Draft last spring to return to SDSU.

What this means in the big picture

Gwath was one of six Aztecs to enter the portal after the most disappointing season in program history, and the fourth one to find a new home. Wing Miles Byrd committed to Providence, forward Pharoh Compton signed with Oregon and guard BJ Davis is headed to Creighton.

That leaves forward Miles Heide and guard Taj DeGourville looking for new homes via the portal.

In an interesting twist, Gwath, Byrd and Davis will play against each other in the Big East.

Only Creighton finished in the top half of the Big East last season, and at 8-11 in conference and 16-18 overall. DePaul was 8-12 and 16-16, while Providence finished 7-13 and 15-18.

Gwath is headed to a DePaul program whose glory days are well in the past. The Blue Demons haven’t played in the NCAA Tournament since 2004 and have only had three winning seasons since then.

The Aztecs, meanwhile, have landed Rice guard Nick Anderson and Sacramento State forward Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry.

Who is Magoon Gwath?

SDSU’s high expectations for the 2025-26 season were based on Byrd and Gwath withdrawing from the NBA Draft for a shot at a deep NCAA run after the Aztecs were routed by North Carolina in the First Four the previous season.

Gwath withdrew from the transfer portal, as well, and had surgery on his right knee in April, which delayed his 2025-26 season debut until the third game.

Even with rehab from surgery, there were high hopes for Gwath based on his breakout 2024-25 season, when he was named the Mountain West Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

But he never reached those expectations, although he did come on strong during the conference tournament. The Aztecs made it to the championship game but then lost to Utah State to miss out on the MW’s automatic NCAA berth. The next day, Selection Sunday, they were denied an at-large berth based on their weak resume and declined invitations to the NIT and The Crown.

Gwath missed six starts in the middle of the MW schedule due to a hip flexor injury.

He remains an intriguing player, assuming he can stay healthy.

“You're encouraged to think, if he can stay on this path and stay healthy, he's going to have an opportunity to be special,” coach Brian Dutcher said in his wrap-up news conference. “It appears that Magoon is getting into good health, and we'll see where that leads in his future, either here at San Diego State or somewhere else.”

Gwath started just 16 of 25 games played. He averaged 8.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots in 19 minutes.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reported that he was SDSU’s highest-paid player.

Gwath’s big season

During his breakout freshman season, he appeared in 26 games, all starts, and averaged 8.5 points. 5.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 24.9 minutes. His 68 blocked shots set the program’s freshman record, ranked seventh on the single-season list and were tied for 14th on the Aztecs’ career list.

He injured his right knee early in the fifth-to-last regular-season game. He missed the next four games plus SDSU’s loss to Boise State in the MW tourney quarterfinals before returning for the loss to UNC in the First Four.

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