San Diego State’s Magoon Gwath took the Mountain West in 2024-25.
Few individuals had him on their radar — myself included. Yet, the 7-foot big averaged 8.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and a MW-most 2.6 blocks
per game, becoming the second player in MW History to win the conference’s Freshman and Defensive Player of the year awards in the same season. Additionally, he finished second in the country in block percentage, though I still think there’s room for him can grow defensively.
And if he does, the 7-foot big could make history.
Magoon Gwath could be first player in SDSU History to average three blocks:
Blocks are far from an end-all, be-all stat to quantify a player’s defensive impact.
But Gwath was everywhere as a rim protector and rim deterrent as a freshman, making him incredibly valuable to SDSU’s remarkable defensive season.
No player in San Diego State history has averaged more than three blocks in a single season, according to Stathead. If any player can, it’s Gwath, who routinely swats away shots as a weakside rim protector with good timing, balance and elite hand-eye coordination.
However, the 7-foot big averaged north of 3.5 fouls per 75 possessions; Gwath’s discipline was good-not-great, but you can expect more teams to try and get him in foul trouble to negate his impact. He’s got good north-south agility for his size, but tends to get slightly out of position when he gets beaten laterally, where he can get in trouble.
He was also listed at just 196 pounds. I don’t expect that to be the case heading into this season, but he’s not overly strong (yet). More physical bigs can play through him, not around him.
Magoon Gwath could also be first MW player to win back-to-back DPOY awards in (redshirt) freshman/sophomore seasons:
Remarkably enough, San Diego State has taken home the last four and eight of the last 11 Defensive Player of the Year awards.
One of the last four winners — Nathan Mensah — was one of three players to ever win consecutive DPOY awards. The other two? Wyoming’s Justin Williams and UNLV’s Khem Birch.
However, neither of those two players did it in their (redshirt) freshman and sophomore seasons, respectively. Gwath is the presumptive favorite to take home the award, should the 7-foot big man remain healthy.
In fact, the Aztecs have two players who could secure the award: Gwath and Myles Byrd, one of the most active defensive playmakers in the nation. Byrd averaged an absurd 4.8 stocks (steals + blocks) per 75 possessions last season, despite his 3-point shot falling off the Mountain in conference action.
Do you think Gwath can take home the award for the second consecutive season? Let us know in the comments!
