San Diego State star named top five defensive player in college basketball
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Brian Dutcher and the San Diego State Aztecs have earned their reputation on the defensive end of the floor.
Tough, rugged, physical basketball from everyone on the court led the Aztecs to historic success over the past half-decade, including a run to the national championship game in 2023.
More of the same is expected from this program in 2025-26, San Diego State's final season in the Mountain West before joining the new-look Pac-12.
The anchor for SDSU defensively this season will be 7'0 sophomore center Magoon Gwath, who was recently included on a list of the ten best defenders in college basketball by NCAA reporter Andy Katz.
Gwath was No. 5 on the list behind Luke Bamgboye (Texas Tech), Tamin Lipsey (Iowa State), JoJo Tugler (Houston), and Yaxel Lendeborg (Michigan). Following Gwath is Sencire Harris (Cincinnati), Maliq Brown (Duke), Bruce Thornton (Ohio State), Jaden Bradley (Arizona) and Kylan Boswell (Illinois).
After redshirting for the Aztecs in 2023-24, Gwath immediately made an impact as a freshman last year. He started all 26 games he appeared in and averaged 8.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, and a conference-leading 2.6 blocks per game.
His block rate of 14.5% not only led the Mountain West but was second in the NCAA behind Queens' big man Malcolm Wilson, and his defensive rating — an estimate of points allowed per 100 possessions — was a very solid 96.3, good for fifth in the Mountain West.
Gwath did all this in his first season on the floor, while widely being considered a raw prospect with room to grow. Entering year two, with more understanding of his role within SDSU's system, Gwath could easily blossom into one of — if not the very best — defensive big man in college basketball.
The good news for Gwath and San Diego State is that he is not alone among top-notch defenders on this Aztecs roster. Miles Byrd was one of the best perimeter defenders in all of college basketball last year, and he and Gwath will form an outstanding 1-2 punch — offensively and defensively — for coach Dutcher's team this year.
The Aztecs will also get back veteran guard Reese Dixon-Waters, who missed all of last season with a foot injury, as well as role players Pharaoh Compton, BJ Davis, and Taj DeGourville. All projects to be above average defenders, making life even easier on Gwath down around the rim.
San Diego State will put its tough-nosed defense to the test on Friday night in an exhibition game against the UCLA Bruins, tipping off at 7:00 PM PT at Viejas Arena.
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Andy Patton is a diehard fan and alumnus of Gonzaga, graduating in 2013. He’s been the host of the Locked On Zags podcast covering Gonzaga basketball since 2021, and one of two co-hosts on the Locked On College Basketball podcast since 2022. In addition to covering college basketball, Andy has dabbled in sports writing and podcasting across nearly every major sport dating back to 2017. He was a beat writer covering the Seattle Seahawks from 2017–2021 for USA TODAY, where he also spent one year each covering the USC Trojans and Oregon Ducks, and had a stint as the lead writer for College Sports Wire. Andy has also written about the NBA, NHL, and MLB for various news outlets through TEGNA, including KREM in Spokane, CBS8 in San Diego, and KING 5 in Seattle. After stints in Spokane and Seattle, Andy is back in Oregon near his hometown with his wife, daughter, and dog.
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