San Diego State big man Magoon Gwath expected to enter transfer portal
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Big man Magoon Gwath of San Diego State Aztecs reportedly is heading to the transfer portal for the second straight year.
The 7-foot Gwath can’t make it official until Tuesday, but reports began circulating Monday evening that Gwath will enter the portal.
The move is hardly unexpected, as Gwath is coming off a disappointing season personally and the Aztecs are coming off perhaps the most disappointing season in program history.
It’s expected to be an offseason of wholesale change for the Aztecs, who entered the season with sky-high expectations of a deep NCAA Tournament run only to miss March Madness entirely.
Guards Miles Byrd and BJ Davis have already announced their intention to enter the portal, and there were reports Monday evening that forwards Miles Heide and Pharoh Compton will also enter the portal.
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.
-bd678ba4dbad4f453246f539ee56a3b4.jpg "Bernie Wilson")
Bernie Wilson recently retired from The Associated Press after nearly 41 years, including stops in Spokane, Los Angeles and, for the final 33 years, San Diego. He grew up in Coeur d'Alene and graduated from the University of Idaho.