Despite the power conferences hogging most of the at-large bids, Mountain West Basketball has still consistently received multiple bids to the NCAA Tournament, 10 combined in the last two years. They’ve been highly successful via the transfer portal, including examples such as Nick Boyd (FAU), Kobe Sanders (Nevada), and Alvaro Cardenas (Boise State).
In the last year of this group of Mountain West members, some teams have landed some marquee transfers. Here are some early winners to watch from the league.
San Diego State Aztecs
Key incoming transfers
- Sean Newman - 9.9 ppg and 7.9 apg at Louisiana Tech
- Latrell Davis - 11.1 ppg and 3.1 rpg at San Jose State
- Jeremiah Oden - 7.6 ppg and 3.2 rpg (2023-24) at DePaul
The Aztecs brought back several key pieces, so they had specific needs. Newman ranked 3rd in all of college basketball in passing so he’s a big pickup at point. Davis and Oden are more wings who’ll provide added scoring and as long as they can defend well, San Diego State’s roster will be a contender in the Mountain West again.
UNLV Rebels
- Kimani Hamilton - 13.1 ppg and 4.6 rpg at High Point
- Myles Che - 12.1 ppg and 2.8 apg at UC Irvine
- Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn - 5.9 ppg and 1.6 rpg at Illinois
With new HC Josh Pastner on board, the Rebels are hoping the backcourt duo of Che and DGL can be just as good as departing lead guard Dedan Thomas. Hamilton is a skilled forward from the Big South champion Panthers’ squad and should be the focal point inside.
Utah State Aggies
- Kolby King - 5.6 ppg and 3.9 rpg at Butler
- MJ Collins - 7.4 ppg and 2.3 rpg at Vanderbilt
- Luke Kearney - 8.9 ppg and 2.7 rpg at Air Force
Coach Jerrod Calhoun excelled in his first year but lost a ton of talent in the offseason. He’s hoping that a new backcourt core of players can break out, including King, who was a double-digit scorer at Tulane and is back to a similar level. The key for the Aggies will be MJ Collins, who could be a breakout lead contributor in the Mountain West after having a solid campaign in the SEC for Vandy.