SAN DIEGO – One of the most exciting days of the year is National Signing Day and fans of San Diego State men's basketball have a lot to be excited about. The Aztecs have inked a pair of 4-star recruits in Elijah Saunders and Miles Byrd. Head men's basketball coach Brian Dutcher made the announcement on Wednesday afternoon.
Saunders is a 6-8, 220 pound forward who will graduate from Sunnyslope High School in Phoenix, Ariz., this year. He is a 4-star recruit, nationally ranked No. 115 at his position and No. 23 at power forward and No. 8 in Arizona according to 247Sports, who has a big body and is equally comfortable down on the block as well as beyond the 3-point line. Saunders can run the floor, has a quick release, and scores with his back to the basket as well as off the bounce. He has shown the ability to attack closeouts, handle the ball, & finish thru contact.
As a junior, the No. 145 ranked recruit in the nation, according to Rivals, averaged 15.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.0 assists in 22 games according to Maxpreps. Sunnyslope finished the season on an 11-game winning streak and were 21-1 overall on its way to the 2021 Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) Conference 6A Boys Basketball State Championship and were ranked No. 4 in the state. Saunders was named to The Arizona Republic All-Arizona team.
In 2019-20, Saunders sophomore season, Sunnyslope was 23-6, including 9-3 in 5A League action. The team finished the year ranked No. 11 in the state. In his freshman year, Saunders played at Rancho Solano Prep in Scottsdale, Ariz., and averaged 5.8 points and 3.6 rebounds.
Saunders chose San Diego State over 24 other offers, including Miami, Notre Dame, South Carolina, St. John's and Virginia, as well as Mountain West programs UNLV, New Mexico, Nevada, Fresno State and San Jose State.
Byrd is a 6-7, 185-pound shooting guard who will graduate this year from Lincoln High School in Stockton, Calif. A four-star prospect, according to 247 Sports, Byrd is nationally rated as the No. 162 recruit, the No. 20 shooting guard and No. 15 in California. The lefty is the prototypical Aztec shooting guard.
He averaged a team-leading 19.0 points, 3.5 steals and 2.2 blocks in an eight-game COVID-19 shortened 2020-21 season. His 5.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists ranked second on the squad.
In a 28-game sophomore campaign his numbers were 12.3 points, 6.4 rebounds,2.8 assists, 2.4 steals per game. Per 32 minutes played, he averaged 17.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 3.2 steals. Lincoln posted a 25-4 overall record, including 10-2 in Tri-City Athletic League play and competed in the CIF-Sac Joaquin Section 2020 Division I Boys Basketball Championship. Combined he shot better than 40 percent from the floor over the last two seasons.
His father, Calvin Byrd, is a former college basketball player and coach, most recently working at The University of the Pacific in Stockton.
Byrd chose the Aztecs over ten other programs, including Washington, California, Stanford, Villanova, Saint Mary's, and Minnesota, as well as Mountain West programs Colorado State, New Mexico, and San Jose State.
San Diego State won its 2021-22 regular season opener on Tuesday night against the UC Riverside Highlanders, 66-53 and heads to Provo, Utah for a Friday, Nov. 12 meeting with the Brigham Young Cougars. Tip is set for 7 p.m. MT and will be broadcast on BYUtv.
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