SAN DIEGO – Seniors Trey Pulliam and Joshua Tomaić have announced they will return to San Diego State for the 2021-22 school year and take advantage of the NCAA's offer of an additional year of eligibility for winter sport student-athletes.
The pair were instrumental in the Aztecs posting a 23-5 record, winning the Mountain West regular-season and tournament championships, and garnering a 6-seed in the NCAA tournament.
A starting guard in all 28 games this past season, Pulliam averaged 7.3 points, 3.5 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.4 steals. He shot 41.1 percent from the floor, 27.1 percent from distance, and made 20-of-30 free throw attempts. He led the Aztecs in assists (99) and steals (39) and ranked fifth in scoring.
Pulliam led the Mountain West in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.36:1 and finished the season ranked No. 6 in assists per game (3.54). He led the Aztecs in assists 20 times (SDSU was 15-5 in those games), had multiple steals in 13 games (11-2), and committed one or fewer turnovers 18 times (14-4). In the seven games in which Pulliam scored in double figures, the team posted a 7-0 record, which includes three games of 15 or more points.
Among assist-to-turnover ratios for Aztec players since the 1999-2000 season, the start of the Fisher/Dutcher era at San Diego State, Pulliam's 2.36:1 ratio is the fourth best trailing only Malachi Flynn (2.86 in 2019-20), Trey Kell (2.59 in 2017-18) and D.J. Gay (2.47 in 2010-11). From Feb. 27 to the end of the season, Pulliam's 4.14:1 assist-to-turnover ratio was the second highest in the nation (minimum 25 total assists).
According to Synergy, the Bryan, Texas native, led the Mountain West in fewest points allowed per possession (0.682) with a minimum of 215 possessions. In the biggest games, Pulliam displayed some of his best work. Against Boise State (Feb. 25) he had 18 points and four rebounds, hit the game-winning shot as the clock expired to defeat Nevada (Jan. 9) and had a career-high eight assists in the team's conference crown-clinching game at UNLV (March 3).
In the 2021 Mountain West tournament, he recorded three straight games of double digit scoring and averaged 12.7 points on 18-of-34 shooting (.529), with 3.7 assists, 2.3 rebounds, and 2.3 steals per game. In the final 10 games prior to the NCAA tournament, he recorded six of his eight career double figure scoring games, and in that time frame, averaged 10.6 points, 4.0 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 steals.
In the team's NCAA tournament first-round game against Syracuse, Pulliam scored eight points, dished out a team-high six assists, had a team-best three steals and grabbed four rebounds. He shot 42.9 percent (3-of-7) from the field, including 66.7 percent (2-of-3) from the bonus distance. His six assists against the Orange were tied for the second most in a game by an Aztec this season, eclipsed only by his eight-assist game at UNLV.
Pulliam was named an honorable mention All-Mountain West performer by the media who regularly cover the league.
Tomaic, a grad student who played last season for the Aztecs after transferring from Maryland, enjoyed the finest campaign of his college career.
He appeared in all 28 games and earned one start, on Senior Day versus Boise State (Feb. 27). His 28 appearances are the most he has had since he played in 26 games as a freshman in College Park. Tomaic averaged 4.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.7 steals, 0.7 assists, and 0.5 blocks in 15.7 minutes per game.
He obliterated all his previous season and career bests, including scoring more points in one year at San Diego State (128), than he had in any single season at Maryland (his previous high was 57 in 2017-18), as well as for the entirety of his three-year, 62-game career as a Terrapin (83 points). In addition, his 93 total rebounds bettered this three-season total of 71 at Maryland.
The native of Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain, had 17 assists in 2020-21, compared to zero in 62 games at his previous institution. He knocked down multiple field goals in 13 of the team's 28 games after doing it just six times during his entire Maryland career.
The 6-9, forward is a career 54.7 percent shooter from the floor and his 50.5 percent shooting last season ranked No. 2 on the team, among those who attempted at least ten shots.
Last year, he set a scoring career-high with 12 points against San Jose State (Feb. 8). In addition, his three assists against UC Irvine (Nov. 27), three steals and five field goals versus Pepperdine (Dec. 6), and eight free throws, also against San Jose State, were all single-game career bests.
He finished the regular season ranked No. 14 in the Mountain West in offensive rebounds (1.48/game), and overall, his 8.45 rebounds per 40 minutes played were the second highest total on the squad. His 12 blocks were the third most on the team and his 17 steals and 17 assists were the most of any Aztec who was 6-7 or taller. A winner throughout his career, when Tomaic steps on the floor his teams have gone 67-23 in 90 college appearances.