SAN DIEGO – Two of the best men’s basketball programs on the West Coast, San Diego State and UCLA, will face off in an exhibition game at Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena on October 17 at 7 p.m. PT. The proceeds of the contest will benefit the San Diego State Men’s Basketball Recruitment and Retention Fund.
In January of this year, the NCAA adopted a new rule in which Division I programs can play, what was a closed scrimmage, as an exhibition game in front of fans. This rule change, along with the House settlement, created the opportunity to generate revenue which will specifically benefit the program’s recruitment and retention activities. Programs across the nation are playing similar games, nearly all at neutral sites, while San Diego State opted to schedule the game at Viejas Arena.
Starting Wednesday, September 17, men's basketball season ticket members will receive priority access with preferred pricing, and their tickets will be uploaded to their accounts. On September 30, season ticket members from men’s basketball and other sports will have the option to purchase tickets if any remain unclaimed. Finally, any additional tickets that are still available will go on sale to the general public on October 9.
The student claim process will be similar to the regular season claim process. We will communicate the timeline as we get closer to the start of this process.
The Aztecs and UCLA, a potential top 10-ranked team going into the 2025-26 season, have only met twice since the 1992-93 season, with SDSU earning victories in both contests, including the last get together, a 73-58 regular-season win on November 25, 2021, when the Bruins were the No. 22-ranked team in the nation. That contest was played at an empty Viejas Arena due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Overall, San Diego State is 6-5 against the Bruins in games contested in America’s Finest City, but this meeting will be just the third time UCLA has ventured south to San Diego since the start of the 1939-40 campaign.
San Diego State returns the Mountain West’s 2025 Freshman of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and honorable mention All-MW designee Magoon Gwath, second-team NABC All-Pacific District and second-team All-Mountain West performer Miles Byrd, 2024-25 Preseason All-Mountain West honoree Reese Dixon-Waters, starter BJ Davis, as well as multiple time Freshman of the Week recipients Pharoah Compton and Taj DeGrouville.
The Aztecs welcome transfers Sean Newman Jr., Latrell Davis and Jeremiah Oden. Newman Jr.’s 7.9 assists per game last season at Louisiana Tech ranked No. 3 in the nation. Davis averaged 10.3 points off the bench last season at San Jose State which led the Mountain West and was No. 24 nationally among players who played a minimum of 26 games as a reserve. Entering 2025-26, Oden sits 133 points from 1,000 for his career and is familiar with the rigors of a Mountain West season having spent the first three years of his college career competing for Wyoming.
SDSU brought in a pair of four-star freshmen in Elzie Harrington and Tae Simmons for the 2025-26 campaign. Harrington is the second top 100 prospect (No. 66 by ESPN) to sign with San Diego State in as many years (also: Pharaoh Compton in 2024-25). Following the season Harrington was honored with inclusion on Maxpreps’ California All-State Teams, as well as the CIF Southern Section All-Open Division Team, Trinity League co-MVP and Long Beach Press Telegram Player of the Year. ESPN, at the time of his signing, had Simmons ranked the No. 40 forward in the nation and, overall, the No. 19 player in California, while in 247Sports ratings he was the No. 21 forward in the nation and the No. 12 player in the state. Rivals had him as the No. 33 power forward in the nation. Simmons was a four-time all-state and All-Olympic League performer who has also earned league Defensive MVP honors.