This is not an April Fools’ Day joke:
Magoon Gwath is coming back to San Diego State next season.
The 7-foot redshirt freshman entered the transfer portal when it opened on Monday and quickly was pursued by some of college basketball’s most storied programs with millions of NIL money. By Tuesday afternoon, several recruiting “experts” made crystal ball projections that Gwath would transfer to Kentucky.
Behind the scenes, though, Gwath was having second thoughts about leaving the program that uncovered him at a prep recruiting event in Arizona two springs ago, then patiently developed him over the past two seasons.
He told SDSU coaches on Tuesday night that he would return while still leaving open the possibility of the NBA Draft.
“I knew he wanted to be here with us and knew in his heart that he wanted to be at San Diego State, but he owed it to himself and to his family to see what was out there,” SDSU coach Brian Dutcher said Tuesday night. “At the end of the day, he was willing to settle for less money. It’s not all about money, as much as people want to say it is. Money is important, of course, but if money was the end-all, be-all, we wouldn’t have a team right now.”
Gwath averaged 8.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 2.6 blocks over 26 games, all starts, during his first season with the Aztecs. Over a seven-game stretch starting Jan. 25, Gwath put up an average of 13.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game, drawing dozens of NBA scouts to see him.
Gwath was named both Mountain West Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, as well as honorable mention all-conference. He finished seventh nationally in blocks per game.
Gwath’s breakout came Dec. 4 at Fresno State, when he had 25 points and 10 rebounds in a 22-point win. He strung together several more double-doubles in January and February, bringing dozens of NBA scouts to see him.
Then he hyperextended his right knee in the early moments at Utah State on Feb. 22 and played only once more all season, the 27-point loss against North Carolina in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament in Dayton, Ohio. The Aztecs went 3-3 without him and nearly spiraled out of making the tournament.
Gwath entered the portal, and most figured he was a goner given the enormous sums being thrown around this spring. Dutcher estimated he would command in the neighborhood of $1.5 million to $1.7 million.
No figures about what he’ll receive at SDSU next season were revealed. The MESA Foundation, the program’s NIL collective, had amassed just north of $2 million for 2025-26, although a recent matching campaign up to $500,000 has generated more than $300,000 on new donations this month.
Gwath’s return “speaks to the program we have and the culture we have, and the MESA Foundation allows us to achieve the goals we want to achieve,” Dutcher said. “The players love their experience here and want to win at the highest level, and the MESA Foundation allows us to do that.”
Dutcher and his staff first saw Gwath at a recruiting event in Arizona two springs ago. At the time, he had just concluded an injury-plagued senior season in high school with the intention of playing a post-grad year to continue improving and attract college interest.
SDSU offered him a scholarship right there, suggesting that he was better served developing in a college environment, and two weeks later the 7-footer was on campus.
Now, he’s among college basketball’s budding stars.
“Everybody knows how good he is,” Dutcher said, “but he’s just scratching the surface of what he could be.”
