Zach White, a 6-foot-6 wing from Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High School, verbally committed to San Diego State two months ago, but it wasn’t until this week that Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher could share his excitement publicly.

NCAA rules preclude coaches from speaking about “recruitable athletes” until they sign with the school. In the past, it was a binding letter of intent. In the NIL and revenue-sharing era, it is a scholarship agreement, which White inked earlier this week.

“Zach is going to be a really good Aztec,” Dutcher said of the three-star prospect who plays on a roster loaded with Division I talent. “I watched him this summer, and he’s one of the players I thought was good enough. I targeted him. He impacted winning. He impacted it at the defensive end, which you have to do to play at San Diego State, and he’s a very good, underrated offensive player because he plays on a really good team.

“He’s the guy who does whatever it takes on his team to win games, and those are the kind of guys we’ve had success with.”

White was the first, and so far only, signee from the high school class of 2026. The Aztecs had visits from four others, but three committed elsewhere and one remains undecided.

Josh Irving, a 6-11 post from Pasadena High School, eliminated SDSU from his list of three finalists before choosing Texas A&M last month. Anthony Felesi, a 6-6 wing from Utah, picked Pitt over SDSU, UCLA, USC and BYU. Elias Obenyah, a 6-4 guard from Northern California, committed to Stanford over SDSU.

That leaves 6-4 guard Josiah Johnson from Mayfair High School outside Los Angeles. The son of former Helix High School basketball star Ron Johnson has limited his visits to Southern California schools and the Aztecs remain firmly in the mix, but he hasn’t indicated when he might announce a decision.

He offers the kind of versatility and mature demeanor that SDSU covets.

“He’ll play anywhere,” Dutcher said. “He can guard multiple positions. He can guard a 4, he can guard a 3, he can guard a 2, he can guard a 1. He’s an undervalued shooter. I’ve been to games where he makes five 3s. And he connects the team. He does whatever it takes to keep it running at both ends of the floor, offense and defense.”

Injury update

Dutcher is expected to have his entire roster (minus redshirt Latrell Davis) healthy and available for Tuesday’s game against Troy, the final nonconference tune-up before No. 6 Michigan on Nov. 24 in the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas.

That includes Magoon Gwath, who was cleared for full contact last week, 6 ½ months after surgery on his right knee. Dutcher said he hasn’t decided whether the 7-foot sophomore will start or come off the bench Tuesday, only that “he’ll play.”

Miles Byrd has had a heavy wrap on his (shooting) left hand all week after spraining a finger Sunday in the 73-57 win against Idaho State. He sat out practices Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The team had Friday off, but he is expected to return to practice Saturday and play Tuesday.

Defense dominance

Two games into the season, the Aztecs already rank near the top of Division I in several defensive categories.

Their 51.0 points allowed is tied for third nationally after holding Long Beach State to 45 and Idaho State to 57. In the Kenpom metric, they are No. 7 in defensive efficiency, behind Houston, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Tennessee, Gonzaga and Duke.

All of them except Cincinnati are ranked in the Associated Press top 25. The Aztecs moved up one spot in this week’s poll to second among others receiving votes, or 27th overall. They appeared on 17 of 61 ballots and as high as No. 16.

Center of attention

One of the season’s pleasant surprises so far has been the center, both of them.

Miles Heide and Pharaoh Compton have generally split minutes there, and they’ve responded with modest numbers individually that are impressive when put together.

Against Idaho State, they combined for 23 points and five rebounds in 30 minutes. In the opener against Long Beach State, it was 16 and nine. Through two games, they are shooting a combined 17 of 22, or 77.3%.

The USD exhibition: 11 points (4 of 5 shooting), 13 rebounds, four blocks.

“We’re getting huge production out of that position,” Dutcher said. “You look at them combined statistically and it’s 20-some points and (close to) double-digit rebounds out of the center position. … If they continue to be productive, we’ll be really dangerous.”

Foreign update

Malachi Flynn scored the game-winning 3 for Turkish club Bahçeşehir Koleji, then playfully tossed the ball at an opposing fan after time expired, starting an on-court fracas. He is averaging 21 points and 4.7 assists … In his most recent game, against Aria Midea, former SDSU teammate Matt Mitchell came off the bench for Bahçeşehir to score 16 points on 6 of 6 shooting … Two other members of that 2019-20 Aztecs team are also in Europe – Nathan Mensah with U-BT Cluj-Napoca in Romania and Jordan Schakel with Filou Oostende in Belgium, while KJ Feagin is playing in Mexico …

Jaedon LeDee is averaging a double-double (18.5 points, 10.7 rebounds) for Germany’s Fraport Skyliners … Trey Kell is averaging 23.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists for the Toyama Grouses in Japan’s top league with a high of 44 points against the Yokohama B-Corsairs.