San Diego State announces matchup with Big 12 opponent

The Aztecs and Wildcats last met during the 2022 Maui Invitational

San Diego State Aztecs forward Magoon Gwath. | Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

On Wednesday, San Diego State announced a key matchup for the 2025-26 men’s basketball season. The Aztecs will travel to Phoenix for a game against the Arizona Wildcats at PHX Arena, home of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. The game is part of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s Hall of Fame Series and features a doubleheader that will include Colorado and Stanford.

The Aztecs and Wildcats have played 32 times, dating back to a San Diego State win in December of 1945. Arizona then won each of the next seven games between the two teams and holds a 25-7 lead in the series. They played nine times from 2006-14 but have only played once since, an 87-70 win for Arizona during the 2022 Maui Invitational. Three of the past five matchups between the two teams have come during neutral-site meetings in Hawaii.

San Diego State’s roster is largely set ahead of the 2025-26 season following the closing of the college basketball transfer portal in late April. The Aztecs lost starting point guard Nick Boyd to the transfer portal but were able to reload following Boyd’s departure and several graduations. They brought in transfer guards Sean Newman Jr. (Louisiana Tech) and Latrell Davis (San Jose State) in addition to forward Jeremiah Oden (Charlotte). Davis and Oden have had previous success against the Aztecs during their time at their former schools, while Newman is a player the staff was familiar with after he spent his high school and junior college years in Southern California.

The Aztecs also got redshirt freshman forward Magoon Gwath to withdraw from both the transfer portal and the NBA draft, ensuring that he will spend next season with San Diego State. The Aztecs will bring in two freshmen from the high school level in forward Tae Simmons (Northridge-Heritage Christian) and guard Elzie Harrington (Bellflower-St. John Bosco).

San Diego State sits at 13 scholarship players for next season while they await a final decision from redshirt sophomore wing Miles Byrd. He’s gone through the NBA Draft process this offseason and was one of 75 players invited to the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago earlier this month and has seen his name appear in NBA mock drafts over the past couple of months. Byrd has until May 28 to make his final decision of whether he returns to San Diego State or enters the professional level.