SAN DIEGO – San Diego State senior Matt Mitchell will return to the Aztecs basketball program for his senior season, the 6-foot-6 forward announced on Friday. Mitchell declared for the 2020 NBA Draft on April 26, but did not hire and agent and has maintained his college eligibility. His decision to return to The Mesa comes after testing the NBA Draft waters and gaining feedback from NBA teams.
"After exploring my options and following discussions with both my family and the coaching staff," Mitchell said, "I have decided to return to San Diego State for my senior season. I am looking forward to returning to school and completing my degree. I am excited to join my teammates and for the opportunity to lead our quest for another Mountain West championship, and potential return to the NCAA Tournament."
"We are very happy to have Matt returning for his senior season." head men's basketball coach Brian Dutcher said. "To be able to fulfill his dream of playing at the next level, it was important to meet with NBA teams and hear their evaluations so he can continue his development. As we focus on earning another Mountain West championship in 2020-21, this experience can only be a positive for Matt and the Aztecs."
Selected by the league's coaches as a first-team All-Mountain West performer in 2019-20, the Riverside, Calif., native played in all 32 games, starting the final 19, and averaged 12.2 points and 4.8 rebounds, while shooting 46.8 percent from the floor, 39.3 percent from three-point range and 87.3 percent from the free throw line, all career-highs.
In addition to his first-team all-conference honor, Mitchell earned second-team All-Mountain West designation from the media who regularly cover the league and second-team All-District 17 distinction from the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
Mitchell helped lead the Aztecs to the 2019-20 Mountain West regular-season championship, and then for the third consecutive year, to the title game of the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas. In three games in last season's tournament, he averaged 10.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 27.7 minutes per game.
Among last year's Mountain West performers, he ranked second in free throw percentage, No. 17 in scoring and No. 20 in rebounding. On a national level, he was No. 27 in free throw percentage.
In perhaps his finest performance of the campaign, Mitchell scored 28 points on 9-of-14 shooting from the floor (64.3 percent), 4-of-6 from the bonus distance (66.7 percent) and 6-of-6 from the line in an 80-68 win over Utah State on Feb. 1. In the game, 24 of his 28 points came in the second half and he added four rebounds, an assist and a steal.
With a 22-point effort against New Mexico on Feb. 11, Mitchell cemented his place in SDSU men's basketball history becoming the 34th player to score 1,000 points in his Aztec career and the 24th to accomplish the feat in less than three seasons. In addition to his 22 points in the game, he grabbed 12 rebounds to notch his first career double double.
He will enter the 2020-21 season ranked No. 27 on the program's scoring list (1,085 points), No. 10 in three-point field goal attempts (377), No. 11 in free throw percentage (.8013) and conference victories (39), No. 12 in three-point field goal (135), No. 18 in games started (84), No. 19 in victories (73), and No. 22 in free throws (238).
In addition, Mitchell enters the upcoming season on the precipice of joining some elite Aztec company. He is on the verge of becoming just the third player in the program's 99-year history to amass 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals in his Aztec career. He needs 75 rebounds, 27 assists and seven steals to achieve the milestone. When he achieves them, he will join Trey Kell (2015-18) and Winston Shepard (2013-16) as the only Aztecs to post those numbers.
Last year, Mitchell led the Aztecs in free throw percentage, ranked No. 2 in points (390), rebounds (154), and steals (34) and No. 4 in assists (55) and blocks (11). Among returners from last year's team, he leads the squad in scoring and steals and ranks second in rebounds, assists, blocks and minutes.
The Aztecs finished last season ranked No. 6 in the nation with a 30-2 record, including a 17-1 mark in Mountain West action. San Diego State was the only team in the nation to end the regular season with one loss and one of three teams to finish the campaign with just two losses (Gonzaga and Dayton). SDSU was also the last team in the nation to be undefeated and maintained that distinction for all or parts of 39 days, from Jan. 15 to Feb. 22.
The Aztecs 17 wins and 94.4 winning percentage in Mountain West play are conference records. In addition, the team opened the season with a 26-game win streak, the longest in the nation last year. The streak was the program's longest to open a season as well as the longest win streak in Aztec history.
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