{"id":326827,"date":"2025-10-23T15:52:16","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T15:52:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/326827\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T15:52:16","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T15:52:16","slug":"aztecs-unanimous-choice-to-win-mw-four-players-honored","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/326827\/","title":{"rendered":"Aztecs Unanimous Choice to Win MW: Four Players Honored"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAS VEGAS<\/strong> \u2013 In its final year competing in the Mountain West Conference, the San Diego State men\u2019s basketball team has been predicted to be crowned the 2025-26 league champions in the annual preseason poll it was announced Thursday morning ahead of the start of the league’s Media Day at Resorts World. Junior Miles Byrd<\/a> and freshman Elzie Harrington<\/a>, both guards, have been tabbed the Preseason Player of the Year and Preseason Freshman of the Year, respectively. Senior guard Reese Dixon-Waters<\/a> and sophomore forward Magoon Gwath<\/a>, along with Byrd earned inclusion on the 10-player Preseason All-Mountain West Team.<\/p>\n

The Scarlet and Black garnered 312 points and all 26 first-place votes from media members who regularly cover the conference, to finish in front of Utah State and its 275 points. Boise State has been predicted to finish in third place in this year’s preseason poll. The Broncos picked up 260 points to finish ahead of fourth-place Grand Canyon (224), and fifth-place New Mexico (184 points).
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UNLV (6th place; 174 points), Colorado State and Nevada (T7th place; 164 points) were the next three teams to fall in line behind the Lobos. Wyoming (9th place; 96 points), San Jose State (10th place; 82 points), Fresno State (11th place; 65 points) and Air Force (12th place; 30 points) round out the poll.
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The Aztecs join Utah and Utah State as the only programs to be unanimously selected to win the conference in its preseason poll. Utah picked up all 28 first-place votes in the league\u2019s initial season (1999-00) while Utah State garnered each of the 17 available votes in 2019-20.<\/p>\n

San Diego State is predicted to win the league for the 11th time overall, including for the fourth time in the last six seasons. In nine of the 10 previous times the Aztecs were predicted to win the league, the team advanced to the postseason (seven NCAA Tournament and two NIT appearances). SDSU has been predicted to finish either first or second in the Mountain West preseason poll in 10 of the last 11 years. It is also the 16th\u00a0time in the 27 seasons the Mountain West has been in existence that San Diego State has been picked first or second in the preseason poll. Additionally, those 16 times have occurred in the last 21 years.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Byrd is the second Aztec to be named Preseason Player of the Year in the Mountain West, joining Jamaal Franklin<\/a> who earned the distinction prior to the 2012-13 campaign. Last season was a breakout year for the Stockton, Calif., native. It saw him earn second-team National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-Pacific Division and second-team All-Mountain West designation, as well as inclusion on the Mountain West All-Defensive Team and the inaugural Players Era Festival All-Tournament Team.<\/p>\n

A starter in each of his 30 appearances last season, Byrd averaged 12.3 points and 4.4 rebounds in 30.1 minutes per game. He shot 38.1 percent (118-of-310) from the field, 30.1 percent (53-of-176) from beyond the arc, and 83.2 percent (79-of-95) from the line with 82 assists, 32 blocks and 64 steals and was the only player in the nation to compile those stats. In the season opener against UC San Diego, his first career start, he became just the second player in NCAA Division I basketball over the past 10 seasons (since 2014-15) to record at least 20 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals and 4 blocks in the same game and was also the first Aztec since at least 1996-97 with that stat line. 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.<\/p>\n

Byrd scored in double figures 19 times, including four games at 20 points or more and a career-high 25 against Colorado State. The Aztecs were 11-4 in the 15 games in which he knocked down at least four field goals and he shot at least 40.0 percent from the floor in 13 games, and the Aztecs posted a 12-1 record in those contests. He hit multiple 3-pointers in 16 contests (SDSU was 12-4), sank three or more in eight games (SDSU was 6-2) including a career-best five against Colorado State, and shot 40.0 percent or better from distance in 10 games.<\/p>\n

Byrd finished with a career-best 11 rebounds at Fresno State and had 10 boards at UNLV where, in combination with 15 points, he recorded his first career double double. He dished out a single season-high 82 assists including 24 games with multiple dimes and a single-game best nine at Nevada. Byrd matched his career-high with four blocks against UC San Diego, among nine games with multiple swats. In 18 games with multiple steals, he finished with a career-best seven against Colorado State and had at least three steals in 11 games (SDSU was 8-3). Those seven steals against Colorado State were the most in a game by any player in the Mountain West.<\/p>\n

Among Mountain West performers, Byrd ranked No. 2 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.<\/p>\n

The combination of Byrd, Dixon-Waters and Gwath garnering Preseason All-Mountain West designation marks the most conference preseason honors in one year that San Diego State has earned since it joined the league at its inception prior to the 1999-00 season.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dixon-Waters, who sat out last season with a foot injury, but was a Preseason All-Mountain West selection in 2024-25, returns to the list this year. He was also previously, in 2023-24, named the Mountain West Preseason Newcomer of the Year, the 10th Aztec to earn that moniker.<\/p>\n

The Long Beach, Calif., native, who transferred the San Diego State from Southern California prior to the 2023-24 season, attempted more free throws (43) without a miss to start that season than any player in the country, and his 90.3 percent shooting from the line led the team, among those that attempted at least 26 free throws.<\/p>\n

Appearing in all 37 games in 2023-24 and starting 23 times, he averaged 12.0 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.3 assists. Dixon-Waters shot 44.0 percent (91-of-207) from the floor, 43.0 percent (40-of-93) from the bonus distance, and 93.0 percent (53-of-57) from the line.<\/p>\n

In that season\u2019s SoCal Showcase, against California at The Pavilion in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., he went 6-of-11 from the field (54.5 percent), 2-of-3 from distance (.667) and was 10-of-10 from the line, with seven rebounds and two steals. His efforts earned him the event\u2019s Most Valuable Player Award, and his 24 points and seven boards were both career-highs at the time.<\/p>\n

In the team\u2019s 84-74 victory at No. 13 Gonzaga, snapping the \u2018Zags 59-game win streak against non-conference opponents, he was 8-of-11 from the floor (72.7 percent), 3-of-5 from beyond the arc (60.0 percent) and made 3-of-4 free throw attempts. He added two assists and two steals without a turnover. It was just Gonzaga\u2019s second home loss in its last 90 games at that point and snapped the \u2018Zags 173-game home streak without a double-digit loss. Dixon-Waters was at his best in the second half, scoring 15 of his 22 points and is just the second Aztec under Brian Dutcher<\/a> to record at least 20 points, 2 assists, 2 steals and 0 turnovers in a game (also Malichi Flynn at UNLV on Jan. 26, 2020).<\/p>\n

Gwath is the reigning Mountain West Freshman and Defensive Player of the Year, joining former Utah State post Neemias Queta as the only players in league history to garner both awards in the same season (2018-19 for Queta). In addition, he was honorable-mention All-Mountain West, a Mountain West All-Defensive Team selection, and his three league Freshman of the Week honors are the most by an Aztec in a season, since the distinction was instituted by the league for the 2021-22 season.<\/p>\n

A 7-0 wing who can score from three levels, as well as being a rim protector on the defensive end, he was the only player nationally who stands at least 7-foot that blocked at least 68 shots and shot at least 37.8 percent from beyond the arc. Despite missing all but two minutes of the final five regular season games and the Mountain West Tournament, his 68 blocks were 18 more than the No. 2 shot blocker in the league and in conference games only, he blocked 12 more than his next closest competitor.<\/p>\n

Gwath\u2019s 13 rebounds at Nevada, on January 25, are the most by an Aztec freshman since Jalen McDaniels<\/a> grabbed as many on February 3, 2018, against Air Force. He was 7-of-7 from the field, including 1-of-1 from beyond the arc, for game-high 15 points and career and game-high 13 rebounds in that Nevada game and became the first Aztec since the 1997-98 season to record a double-double shooting 1.000 percent from the floor since Roy Kruiswyk was (6-of-6) in a 13 point\/10 rebound double-double against SMU on January 15, 1998. Gwath is the 12th player in Mountain West history to have a double-double with a perfect shooting night, minimum of seven field goal attempts, but if you include his successful 3-pointer, he is the only player in league history to accomplish the feat.<\/p>\n

He shattered the program record for blocked shots, 51 by Skylar Spencer<\/a>, and did so in just 21 games compared to the 34 games it took Spencer to set the mark.<\/p>\n

Among league players he was No. 1 in blocks, No. 9 in offensive rebounds and No. 12 in rebounding. Nationally, he ranked No. 7 in blocks per game and No. 17 in total blocks.<\/p>\n

Harrington is the fourth Aztec to be named Preseason Freshman of the Year and the second in as many seasons. He joins Pharoah Compton, who earned the distinction last year, and Jalen McDaniels<\/a> and Kawhi Leonard<\/a>, who were recognized with the honor in 2016-17 and 2009-10, respectively.<\/p>\n

A product of St. John Bosco High School in Bellflower, Calif., Harrington is a four-star prospect who was the No. 73-ranked recruit in the ESPN 100. The 6-5 guard 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 posted a 103-33 record, including a 31-8 mark in Trinity League play.<\/p>\n

As a senior, he averaged 16.3 points, 5.2 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 steals in Trinity League action, one of the toughest basketball leagues in the state and 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. Following the season, Harrington was honored with inclusion on Maxpreps\u2019 California All-State Team, as well as the CIF Southern Section All-Open Division Team, Trinity League co-MVP and Long Beach Press Telegram Player of the Year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

2025-26 Mountain West Preseason Predicted Order of Finish<\/strong>
Pl. Team \u2013 Points (1st-place votes)<\/strong>
1. San Diego State \u2013 312 (26)
2. Utah State \u2013 275
3. Boise State \u2013 260
4. Grand Canyon \u2013 224
5. New Mexico \u2013 182
6. UNLV \u2013 174
7. Colorado State \u2013 164
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Nevada \u2013 164
9. Wyoming \u2013 96
10. San Jose State \u2013 85
11. Fresno State \u2013 65
12. Air Force \u2013 30<\/p>\n

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2025-26 Preseason All-Mountain West Team<\/strong>
Miles Byrd<\/a>, Jr., G, San Diego State
Reese Dixon-Waters<\/a>, Sr., G, San Diego State
Magoon Gwath<\/a>, So., F, San Diego State
Andrew Meadow, Jr., F, Boise State
Jaden Henley, Sr., G, Grand Canyon
Brian Moore Jr., Gr., Grand Canyon
Elijah Price, So., F, Nevada
Deyton Albury, Sr., G, New Mexico
Kimani Hamilton, sr., F, UNLV
Mason Falslev, Jr., G, Utah State
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2025-26 Preseason Player of the Year<\/strong>
Miles Byrd<\/a>, Jr., G, San Diego State
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2025-26 Preseason Newcomer of the Year<\/strong>
Brian Moore Jr., Gr., G, Grand Canyon
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2025-26 Preseason Freshman of the Year<\/strong>
Elzie Harrington<\/a>, G, San Diego State \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAS VEGAS \u2013 In its final year competing in the Mountain West Conference, the San Diego State men\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":326828,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,103418,1582,276,3549,3890,134583,13875,2247,134585,134586,7264,10055,134584,18257,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-326827","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-aztecs","10":"tag-ca","11":"tag-california","12":"tag-san-diego","13":"tag-san-diego-state","14":"tag-san-diego-state-athletics","15":"tag-san-diego-state-aztecs","16":"tag-san-diego-state-university","17":"tag-san-diego-state-university-athletics","18":"tag-san-diego-state-university-aztecs","19":"tag-sandiego","20":"tag-sdsu","21":"tag-sdsu-athletics","22":"tag-sdsu-aztecs","23":"tag-united-states","24":"tag-united-states-of-america","25":"tag-unitedstates","26":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","27":"tag-us","28":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115424287135199299","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326827","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=326827"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326827\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/326828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=326827"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=326827"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=326827"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}