The season hasn’t tipped off, but Brian Dutcher is already giving Aztec fans reasons to think about the next one. With Davey Harris, Precious Sam and Mahamadou Diop committed, SDSU has a perimeter addition and two incoming centers to build around. As of October 19, the Aztecs sit fifth nationally in the 247Sports Composite high school team rankings, ahead of sixth-ranked Utah State and No. 28 Oregon State. That is an early snapshot from one ranking system, not a prediction o

Landing Mahamadou Diop and Precious Sam is more than a recruiting win. In today’s NIL market, it gives San Diego State a chance to address an expensive position before desperation enters the equation. Proven big men command serious money. CBS Sports reported in April that elite portal center Flory Bidunga was seeking $5 million for the following season. That was a reported asking price at the top of the market, but it illustrates the financial competition programs face when s

San Diego State gave us reasons to be excited Friday night. It also gave Brian Dutcher plenty to put on the practice agenda. In an 82–67 exhibition loss at Arizona, the Aztecs got an encouraging introduction from Isaiah Sy, productive nights from Chance Gladden and Bear Cherry, and an efficient scoring performance from Tae Simmons. The pieces were there. Putting them together consistently—and finishing defensive possessions—remains the assignment. Sy led SDSU with 17 points o

I owe Bear Cherry some airtime. I’ve spent the offseason talking about SDSU’s guards, wings and all the different ways this lineup could look, while somehow giving less attention to the 270-pound big man standing in the middle of it. That needs to change. The more I look at Cherry’s résumé, the more excited I get about what he can bring to the Mesa. There is a lot to like about adding a veteran who can score inside, block shots and make opponents work for space around the bas

Chance Gladden has been earning praise around San Diego State, with Nick Anderson among those excited about the sophomore guard. His freshman résumé helps explain why. At Boston University, Gladden averaged 14.4 points and 4.5 assists, shot 47.6% from the field and earned third-team All-Patriot League honors. For a player navigating his first college season, that is a promising foundation. Now he brings that experience to the Mesa with three years of eligibility and an opport

Brian Dutcher believes San Diego State has the talent to compete for a championship in the new Pac-12. Ahead of Friday’s exhibition at Arizona, however, his assessment came with a clear qualification: the Aztecs are still learning how to play together, and injuries have slowed that process. With nine newcomers and just four returning players, SDSU heads to Tucson with considerable upside and an offense still finding its rhythm. Dutcher said he was leaning toward holding Latre

After months of roster moves, practice reports and lineup debates, San Diego State finally gets to play somebody else. The Aztecs travel to Tucson on Friday, October 16, for an exhibition against Arizona, with tipoff scheduled for 7 p.m. Pacific on ESPN+. For fans eager to see what this group can become, it is an appealing opening assignment: a talented opponent, a road environment and an opportunity to see the new pieces work together under pressure. I want SDSU to win. Ther

In an exclusive interview with Sports on the Mesa, the San Diego State guard discusses the phone call he dreaded making, his preferred path back to basketball, fatherhood, and what he’s seeing from the Aztecs behind closed doors. When Nick Anderson learned he had torn his ACL, one of his first concerns wasn’t just the injury. It was figuring out how to tell San Diego State. The Houston native had just earned the biggest opportunity of his college basketball career. After clim

I’ve been pretty damn critical of San Diego State football this season. The offense, the play calling, the coaching, the direction of the program — all of it. And I don’t take any of it back. But if we’re going to be loud when this team looks like shit, we better be just as loud when they show up. Saturday night, they showed up. SDSU beat Texas State 31-29 to open Pac-12 play, and somehow the final score doesn’t even tell you how ridiculous this game was. At halftime, this th

With the Pac-12 schedule officially released, San Diego State’s 2026–27 regular-season picture is finally coming into focus. For a program that expects to compete for an NCAA Tournament berth every March, the biggest question isn’t simply who SDSU plays. It’s how many of those games could eventually become meaningful résumé opportunities. Based on a conservative preseason projection, Sports on the Mesa estimates SDSU’s 29 guaranteed Division I regular-season games could break

San Diego State is 1–3, the offense has struggled to find any consistency, two running backs are banged up, and the Aztecs are coming off a 41–16 loss to Toledo. If there was ever going to be a Sean Lewis press conference where major changes were hinted at, Monday felt like the opportunity. That didn’t happen. Lewis took responsibility for the Toledo performance, saying SDSU was “not even close” to the standard the program expects and admitting he needs to coach better. That

San Diego State appears to have made a strong impression on 2027 prospect Mahamadou Diop. In a conversation with Sports on the Mesa, San Gabriel Academy head coach Danny Piepoli spoke highly of both SDSU and where the Aztecs currently stand in Diop’s recruitment. Piepoli is listed as the head coach of SGA’s boys basketball program. “SDSU definitely [is] an amazing place with an amazing culture and will be in his top 3 for sure,” Piepoli told SOTM. That doesn’t mean a decision

Sean Lewis had every opportunity to put some of San Diego State’s offensive failures on Jayden Denegal after a 41-16 loss at Toledo. He didn’t. In fact, he did the opposite. Lewis praised Denegal’s decision-making, footwork, mechanics and confidence, saying that outside of the interception, he thought his quarterback was putting the football where it needed to go. That defense of Denegal creates a problem for Lewis, because if the quarterback is doing what he is being coached

I had my starting five picked out. Then I plugged it into EvanMiya and got a C on offense. Apparently, the computer would like a word. I’m still opening with Elzie Harrington, Latrell Davis, Luka Škorić, Tae Simmons and Bear Cherry. There’s enough scoring, size and interior help to make that group interesting. But after looking through the individual profiles and running the five together, I have a few questions—starting with who gets this offense a good shot when the first o

Davey Harris gives San Diego State an intriguing possibility: a wing who can help create offense while developing within the program’s defensive identity. His athleticism should give him a path onto the floor. His shooting and decision-making will determine how much responsibility he earns once he gets there. The Windward prospect, listed by Prep Hoops at 6-foot-7 in the 2027 class, brings more than above-the-rim finishes. Scouting reports describe a player who can rebound, p

San Diego State's 26-13 loss to James Madison on Saturday night was more than another frustrating result. It exposed an offense that continues to struggle to find its identity, a quarterback situation that deserves serious evaluation, and a head coach who must now determine whether his offensive philosophy is producing the results this program needs. The Aztecs finished with 401 yards of total offense, including 192 on the ground, yet managed just 13 points. SDSU was shut out

For about two quarters Saturday night, it felt like San Diego State was about to do something hilarious. All the talk during the week, Sean Lewis going viral, me and mine versus you and yours, UCLA fans getting pissed off, Aztec fans making the trip up to Pasadena — and then the game starts and SDSU’s defense spends the entire first half punching a Big Ten team directly in the mouth. 0-0 at halftime. At that point, call me crazy, but it absolutely felt like San Diego State’s

San Diego State got exactly what it needed in Week 1: a win, points on the board and plenty of film to work with. Now comes the real test. The Aztecs head to Pasadena on Saturday for a 4:15 p.m. kickoff against UCLA at the Rose Bowl. Both teams are 1-0, both scored at least 45 points in their season openers and both showed enough flashes to excite their fan bases. But if SDSU wants to leave Pasadena 2-0, simply repeating its 53-20 performance against Portland State probably w

Photo Credit: Mike Dunning San Diego State’s season opener looked pretty straightforward on paper: an FBS team at home against a Portland State program coming off a 1-11 season. After Saturday, it deserves a little more attention. Portland State opened the Chris Fisk era by taking a 21-0 halftime lead over No. 6 UC Davis before ultimately falling 31-24. The Vikings didn’t steal that lead with a series of turnovers or bizarre breaks, either. For 30 minutes, they legitimately c

Photo Credit: NY Times College athletes deserve to make money. That debate is over, and it should be. For decades, schools, conferences and television networks generated billions of dollars while the athletes responsible for the product faced strict limits on how they could benefit financially. NIL and, more recently, direct revenue sharing have finally begun correcting that imbalance. But fixing one broken system doesn’t mean we should create another one. College sports now