San Diego State swingman named to Julius Erving Award preseason watch list

It’s the latest honor for junior Miles Byrd

San Diego State and UCLA players during an exhibition game at Viejas Arena in San Diego. | Photo courtesy of San Diego State University Athletics

Another week brings another honor for San Diego State basketball star Miles Byrd.

The junior was named to the preseason Top 20 watch list for the 2026 Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award on Tuesday by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Byrd was a member of the list last year when it was cut down to 10 players. He joins Malik Pope as the second Aztec to be named to the preseason watch list for the award named for the Hall of Famer and 11-time NBA All-Star. 

The list will be cut to 10 in late January, with the final five being announced in March. The winner will be revealed at the Final Four in Indianapolis.

Why Byrd was nominated

The 6-foot-6 swingman announced in late May that he was withdrawing from the NBA Draft process to return for another season with the Aztecs. The return of Byrd and 7-footer Magoon Gwath, who withdrew from both the transfer portal and the NBA Draft, has made SDSU the unanimous preseason pick to win the Mountain West title in their last season in the league before moving to the new-look Pac-12.

Byrd 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. 

One of the best small forwards in the game! Congrats to @_mbyrd21 on being named to the #ErvingAward Preseason Watch List! #GoAztecs pic.twitter.com/vOYacFXUod

— San Diego State Men's Basketball (@Aztec_MBB) October 28, 2025

Byrd helped lead the Aztecs to a 21-10 record and a spot in the NCAA Tournament First Four, where they were routed by North Carolina.

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.

Big expectations ahead 

Byrd was named the MW Preseason Player of the Year last week. He has helped lead SDSU to the NCAA Tournament three times in as many seasons and is the last remaining scholarship player from the squad that lost to UConn in the national championship game in 2023. 

Byrd thinks the Aztecs have the work ethic needed to make another run at the national championship. 

“I think we’re more than capable of doing it,” he said recently. “I think we’ve got to all be everyday guys. We’ve got to all come in here every day with the right intentions and to get better and to work toward our goals. It’s not easy to say we want to get to the national championship but it’s easy to have the mentality and to come in here and work every single day.”

What’s next for the Aztecs

SDSU lost 67-60 to preseason No. 12 UCLA in an exhibition on Oct. 17. It hosts San Diego in another exhibition on Wednesday night before opening the regular season with a home game against Long Beach State on Nov. 4.