Taking a deep dive into the disappointing 2026-27 campaign for the Scarlet & Black: A season in review 

March Madness is not the same without the San Diego State Aztecs participating in the NCAA Tournament.

Aztecs’ head coach Brian Dutcher has been a part of 21 NCAA Tournaments, helping showcase some amazing runs. This postseason, however, he will be looking to get a head start in recruiting for the 2026-27 season.

The Aztecs’ loss to Utah State in the conference championship on Saturday is not easy to move on from, being so close to the Big Dance. It is a shame that this team will not be on the big stage after having so much hype entering the season.

2025-26 was, without a doubt, Dutcher’s biggest failure as a head coach. That is not to undervalue Dutcher whatsoever, as a 22-11 season and a few possessions going the other way from winning the MWC Tournament is still better than what a majority of programs hope to accomplish. Even so, it never felt like this team ever hit its stride.

Miles Byrd said after the loss to Utah State that he felt like his team had played their best basketball all season during those three days in Las Vegas.

“I felt like the past few days have been our best playing basketball together. It sucks that it was 30 games into the year, but yeah, if we’re given the opportunity again, I think we’ve still got a lot left in us.”

Unfortunately for Byrd and the Aztecs, that opportunity will not happen after they missed out on the NCAA Tournament and declined to participate in any postseason tournament. Dutcher spoke about the NCAA’s decision to leave SDSU out of the Big Dance.

“I’m disappointed for our players and our great fans that we weren’t selected to compete in this year’s NCAA Tournament. There are only 68 spots available, and unfortunately, we didn’t get one of them.

We fought hard all year, and in a league that featured seven teams that won at least 20 games, we completed the regular season alone in second place and reached the championship game of our conference tournament. All those are accomplishments we can be proud of, but in the committee’s eyes, it just wasn’t enough to be included in the field. We respect the work they do.

Physically, our team is very banged up at this point. If we had received a bid for the NCAA Tournament, we would have competed. However, with where we are today physically, I don’t feel that playing in another postseason event would benefit us.

It is always disappointing not to hear your name called on Selection Sunday, but we will take this moment and use it as motivation as we move into the new Pac-12.”

Difficult Non-Conference Slate 

How many programs can say they aren’t afraid to schedule the best? SDSU has not shied away from taking on the better teams in the country. Even though they don’t necessarily always earn the victories, the Aztecs put themselves on notice by playing very good teams in meaningful games.

Over the past four seasons, the Aztecs have played Arizona twice (No. 14 & No. 1), Gonzaga twice (No. 13 & No. 3), BYU twice, Stanford twice, Saint Mary’s twice, Oregon twice, California twice, No. 6 Michigan, No. 9 Arkansas, No. 6 Houston, No. 21 Creighton, Ohio State, Washington, and Baylor all in non-conference games.

What mid-major team can say that they battle the best early on in the season?

Yes, the non-conference slate hurt the Aztecs this season. The loss to the Sun Belt winners, Troy, brutally damaged SDSU’s postseason chances. Though nobody on earth saw that coming. Taking on a very good Michigan team and losing by 40 was painful to watch. They beat Oregon, but lost to Baylor to finish the Players Era in Las Vegas. That wasn’t the end of it, as right before Christmas in Phoenix, Arizona, the Aztecs lost to the top team in the country at the time, the Arizona Wildcats.

Only Auburn and TCU played both the Wolverines and Wildcats this season. You would have thought that those two games would have made the Aztecs much better moving forward throughout the year. That ended up not really being the case, or at least the improved play did not last as long as they had hoped.

The Aztecs’ defense did not play well during the non-conference. SDSU struggled to play the brand of basketball that this program is known for. The defense really did not show up until conference play after the dominant win over Whittier. Teams were able to do whatever they wanted on the Aztecs, and some of their play styles lasted all season. It started when Troy was able to make 12 three-pointers against SDSU, playing sound offense, not letting the Aztecs force turnovers.

Parity in Conference Play

The Aztecs started 7-0 in conference play and somehow ended 14-6. SDSU was 2-0 before January with wins against Air Force and San Jose State, and then followed up with wins against Boise State, Nevada, Fresno State, Wyoming, and New Mexico before losing to Grand Canyon on the road. The Lopes and Aztecs will likely not play each other again in the non-conference for a very long time, if ever, and GCU owns a 6-1 career record over the Aztecs.

SDSU would proceed to finish conference play 7-6 and lose four of its final six games. Dutcher often talked about the party in the Mountain West. From the beginning of the season to the end, Dutcher knew that the parity would hurt the conference.

“The Mountain West was undervalued this year. Seven teams with 20-plus wins, so the parity — I’ve said it all year, the parity has hurt our league this year. That’s what every league wants is parity. So if you’re in a Power Four, the parity is fantastic. Get 18, 19 teams in. But in the Mountain West, parity is not a good thing. There wasn’t enough separation between the top.”

Magoon Gwath and Elzie Harrington were not able to contribute much at all down the stretch in conference with their injuries. The rotation trimmed down, but the Aztecs desperately wanted these two healthy and ready to play. Gwath was able to recover, contribute, and become a big part of the success in Las Vegas.

Mountain West Tournament

The Aztecs are now 17-4 all-time in the semifinal round of the tournament. That is the most wins in this round of the event. Dutcher and his team advanced to the championship for the eighth time in nine seasons. The one instance they did not was last season when they fell to Boise State in the quarterfinals.

SDSU ends the tournament with a 46-20 record overall. UNLV owns the second-most wins with 31. Since 2006, SDSU’s 16 appearances in its conference championship game are tied for the second most in Division I.

Davis’ game-winner against New Mexico was with 2.6 seconds remaining. This was the first time SDSU made a game-winning shot in a Mountain West Tournament game with less than three seconds left since Jamaal Franklin hit a three-pointer at the buzzer against in the quarterfinals of the 2012 MW tourney against Boise State (March 8).

BJ DAVIS GIVES SDSU A 2 POINT LEAD

2.1 remaining. Lobos ball pic.twitter.com/S8uUKtTzJY

— Chris Spiering (@Clutch__Chris) March 14, 2026

Despite the loss to Utah State, San Diego State leaves the Mountain West with league records of 16 overall championships, nine regular-season titles, and seven tournament championships.

What Happens Now?

With this new era of college hoops involving the transfer portal and NIL, you never know who is safe or not when it comes to returning to the program. Any player from any team can leave for either more money or an opportunity to play more minutes elsewhere. Some players will even depart solely for the purpose of having a better chance of winning the NCAA Tournament.

“Everyone is in the portal,” Dutcher said Tuesday. “If you have an agent, you are in the portal … entertaining offers. Their agents are talking to someone every day.”

The Aztecs’ season ends with many questions about the future of the roster. There is a good chance that Dutcher and his assistants will be searching and scouting for more replacements than they ever have together as a staff.

With four seniors leaving the program and Miles Byrd likely to attempt to go play professional basketball, the Aztecs will be losing their two leaders. Reese Dixon-Waters will attempt to join Byrd in the process of becoming an NBA player, but that will be a long hill to climb. It is certainly possible, as their game is good enough to translate at the next level. If professional basketball must wait one more season, then Byrd could return to The Mesa for one final season, though I would not count on it.

“I think Miles (Byrd) will have an interesting decision to make,” Dutcher said Tuesday. “He is going to graduate from San Diego State, and financially, does he want to play professionally at another college. I will be a supporter over whatever decision he wants to make.”

Sean Newman Jr, Cam Lawin, and Jeremiah Oden will transition to the next stages of their young careers. Lawin was not a part of the rotation and was not a scholarship player, while Oden and Newman Jr. did not have the seasons they expected to have when they transferred in last offseason. Dutcher thought their experience would help this young team, but their play on the court overall was not a success.

The status of Magoon Gwath is unknown. Dutcher said last offseason that he believes San Diego State is the best place for Gwath to be, and while Dutcher may be right, that doesn’t mean things always work out. Gwath could be searching for a fresh start and a solid NIL deal. If he entered the portal last season, he will certainly do it again this offseason. It will be difficult to imagine Gwath returning to the Aztecs two years in a row after declaring for the portal. A fresh start could be good for the 7-footer.

Elzie Harrington’s time as an Aztec could be over as well. The star freshman did not get to finish the season playing due to a lingering leg injury that he has dealt with for the entire season. Harrington is a very talented freshman who could command a ton of NIL this offseason as well. It will be extremely hard for Dutcher to convince him to stay. Harringon isn’t necessarily known to stick with one school, either, as he flipped from USC to Harvard before then flipping to SDSU.

“I want guys who want to be back,” Dutcher said Tuesday.

Looking to the Future

This leaves BJ Davis, Miles Heide, Taj DeGourville, Pharaoh Compton, Tae Simmons, Latrell Davis, Thokbor Majak, and Raymar Gonzales.

Rumors are spreading that Taj and Pharaoh are a package deal. There is a good chance that their decision to either stay or enter the portal will be the same. Those two are still really great players who will get much more playing time next season if they stay. They have high ceilings, but neither had the season they wanted. DeGourville never got into a groove until mid-season, while Compton did not emerge as the starter center as foul trouble continued to be the story for him. We will see what they end up deciding to do.

Dutcher must do whatever he can to keep Tae Simmons on the roster. The freshman’s role on this team skyrocketed from the beginning of the season until the conference tournament, when he became a starter. Simmons embodies everything about this program, and Dutcher can turn him into one of the best big men in the conference, and even the nation, in this system. Simmons has a very high ceiling and will be the star of the team next season.

Given the roles of BJ Davis and Heide, it wouldn’t make sense for them to enter the transfer portal, but you never know. Heide is now recovering from a broken hand he suffered in the conference tournament. It would not be in Heide’s best interest to leave Dutcher. Davis was a Mountain West Honorable Mention last season, and could return in 2026-27 as one of the starting guards for Dutcher, as he did in 2024-25. It seems that, at least for now, Heide, Davis, Gonzales, and Majak are almost a lock to return next season.

Latrell Davis redshirted last season. It also would not make sense for him to enter the portal, as he now has a great opportunity to shine next season. Davis is a serious threat on the offensive end. On Tuesday, Dutcher had high praise for his play during practices this season in what turned out to be a wild statement. Aztecs All-In shared the statement on X.

“Coach Brian Dutcher just said that the Aztecs would have been an NCAA Tournament team had Lattrell Davis not redshirted this season, based on how he practiced this season… Adding he had skills that his teams could have used this season.”

“I am encouraged to add Letrell next year,” Dutcher followed. “I think he has a chance to be an all-conference type player. So, excited to have Latrell on the team and on the floor next year.”

If Dutcher thinks the team would have made the NCAA Tournament, then maybe he should have played him. Hindsight is always 20/20, but if someone had to reshirt, maybe Elzie Harrington should have been the one to do so with his lingering injury.

Potential Transfer Portal Candidates: Magoon Gwath, Elzie Harrington, Pharaoh Compton, Taj DeGourville, Miles Byrd

Aztecs Who Could Stay: BJ Davis, Miles Heide, Taj DeGourville, Pharaoh Compton, Tae Simmons, Latrell Davis, Thokbor Majak, and Raymar Gonzales, Miles Byrd (very unlikely).

Aztecs Dutcher MUST Retain: Elzie Harrington, BJ Davis, Tae Simmons, Latrell Davis

There are far more questions than answers right now. This offseason is going to be a wild one; I’d buckle up.

Chris Spiering

Chris is a graduate of the University of San Diego. He is the former Sports Editor for the USDVista newspaper. Chris has covered the San Diego Loyal, and now covers San Diego State Men’s Basketball. He also contributes regularly about the Padres. Chris is an athlete and is a huge fan of San Diego sports.