San Diego State claims two of three top individual preseason basketball honors
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Miles Byrd withdrew from the NBA Draft process to return to San Diego State for another crack at a Mountain West championship and a deep run in March Madness.
On Thursday, he was named the Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year in a vote of media members who regularly cover the league.
Fellow Aztecs guard Elzie Harrington was named the MW Preseason Freshman of the Year, giving the Aztecs two of the three major awards. Grand Canyon’s Brian Moore Jr. was named the MW Preseason Newcomer of the Year
Byrd is the second Aztec to be named Preseason Player of the Year in the Mountain West, joining Jamaal Franklin for the 2012-13 season.
Harrington is the fourth SDSU player to be named Preseason Freshman of the Year and the second straight after Pharoah Compton won the award last year. Kawhi Leonard was honored in 2009-10 and Jalen McDaniels in 2016-17.
Additionally, Byrd, forward Magoon Gwath and guard Reese Dixon-Waters were named to the All-MW Team that was announced at MW Media Day in Las Vegas.
Who is Miles Byrd?
Byrd helped raise expectations for this season when he announced in late May that he was withdrawing from the NBA Draft process to return for another season at Montezuma Mesa.
He had a breakout 2024-25 season that saw him being named second-team All-Mountain West as well as to the MW All-Defensive Team. He was also named second-team National Association of Basketball Coaches All-Pacific Division.
Byrd helped lead the Aztecs to a 21-10 record last year, which ended with a loss to North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament’s First Four. The return of Byrd and Gwath has the Aztecs expecting a much deeper run in March Madness.
Byrd made 30 starts and averaged 12.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game. He shot 38.1 percent from the field, 30.1 percent from beyond the arc, and 83.2 percent from the line with 82 assists, 32 blocks and 64 steals and was the only player in the nation to compile those stats.
The well-rounded Byrd had two notable games.
In his first career start, in the season opener against UC San Diego, he became just the second player in NCAA Division I in the last 10 seasons and the first Aztecs player since 1996-97 to record at least 20 points, eight rebounds, five steals and four blocks in the same game
Our second @MountainWest Preseason Player of the Year in program history is… @_mbyrd21!! #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/bK86ZRZ1xr
— San Diego State Men's Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) October 23, 2025
Against Colorado State, he became the first player in Mountain West history, and one of three players in the nation in the last 16 seasons, to have a game of at least 25 points, including five 3-pointers, seven steals and six rebounds.
Byrd ranked No. 2 in the MW in steals, No. 4 in free throw percentage, No. 8 in blocked shots, No. 9 in 3-point field goals and No. 18 in scoring. Nationally, among the top 100, he was No. 27 in steals per game and No. 44 in total steals.
Who is Elzie Harrington?
Harrington is a 6-foot-5 guard who came to SDSU as a four-star prospect out of St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, a Los Angeles suburb.
Harrington was the No. 73 recruit in the ESPN 100. He was rated as the No. 7 recruit in the state, No. 13 in the region and No. 17 in the nation at his position.
In his four years, St. John Bosco went 103-33, including 31-8 in the tough Trinity League.
He averaged 16.3 points, 5.2 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 steals as a senior in Trinity League play. He led his team to a No. 8 ranking in the state, a third-place finish in the CIF Southern Section and a berth in the Open Division state tournament.
For the second straight year, we have the @MountainWest Preseason Freshman of the Year! Congrats, @ElzieHarringto1! #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/no8dba8oUa
— San Diego State Men's Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) October 23, 2025
Harrington was named to the Maxpreps’ California All-State Team, the CIF Southern Section All-Open Division Team, Trinity League co-MVP and Long Beach Press Telegram Player of the Year.
MORE SAN DIEGO STATE NEWS & ANALYSIS
-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.