SAN DIEGO – Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry, a 6-11 forward who Aztecs fans will be familiar with after playing at UNLV during the 2024-25 season and 6-5 guard Nick Anderson from Rice are officially members of the San Diego State men’s basketball program after signing athletic aid agreements to compete for SDSU in 2026-27. Head men’s basketball coach Brian Dutcher made the announcement on Tuesday.
“From the portal, we are looking to get better,” said Dutcher, who is entering his 10th season guiding the program. “We’re just looking for the best players. The older guys can look better because they have experience. I wouldn’t say we are pigeonholed trying to “get older”, we’re looking for guys who can help us win immediately.”
Jeremiah “Bear” Cherry
Cherry is in his fifth year of collegiate basketball after beginning his career with two years, 2022-23 and 2023-24, at New Mexico Junior College in Hobbs, N.M. He then competed at UNLV during the 2024-25 campaign and in 2025-26 he played six games at Sacramento State, all starts, before an injury ended his season.
“I met Bear when I moved to San Diego,” head men’s basketball coach Brian Dutcher said. “He was a young kid running around the gym while his brother Taeshon was working out. I followed his career: from high school in Arizona to junior college in New Mexico, to then playing against him at UNLV, and I fell in love with his game. He’s hard-nosed, smart, tough, and everything I want in a player. Bear impacts the game physically. As big as he is, he is a very good athlete. He can protect the rim and will make it hard for people around the basket with his size and strength. So, we are grateful to have him for his final year of college basketball.“
For his high major college career, 39 games, Cherry has averaged 10.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.6 blocks and 0.8 assists. He has reached double figures in 20 contests and posted four double doubles. His career-high, 24 points, came against Alabama State when he was a Rebel and his top rebounding effort was a dozen versus William Jessup while a member of the Sacramento State program. He’s twice blocked a single-game best five shots. He’s one of 10 active players who have competed in only the last two years, who has averaged 17.3 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.6 blocks and 1.4 assists per 40 minutes played.
In a small sample size from Sacramento State, he averaged 15.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. He shot 48.1 percent (37-of-77) from the field, made one of eight attempts from long range, and was 18-of-26 (69.2 percent) from the line. In his first five games with the Hornets, he was injured early in his sixth game, he had three double doubles and scored in double figures in each of those games. His points, assists and rebounds per game were 25.3, and jumped to 32.5 per 40 minutes played. He led the Hornets in rebounding three times and points twice in the five full games in which he competed.
In his lone year at UNLV, he averaged 9.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 23.7 minutes per outing. His rebounds and block total as well as his 62.7 percent field goal shooting led the team in 32 starts and 33 total appearances. He finished 15 games with 10-plus points and in those contests, UNLV was 10-5. In the nine games in which he grabbed at least seven rebounds, the Rebels went 6-3. He led the team in rebounding on seven occasions and points three times.
Prior to UNLV, Cherry attended New Mexico Junior College (NMJC) in Hobbs, N.M., and in the two seasons in which he attended and competed for the Thunderbirds he averaged 11.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 17.8 minutes per game. In 62 total games, he shot 55.3 percent from the field, 57.9 percent from the line and connected on 1-of-6 three-point attempts.
In the summer prior to his sophomore campaign, he participated in the JA48, a prestigious invite-only basketball showcase featuring 48 of the top junior college players in the country and also accepted an invitation to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Rising Stars event, a showcase for top sophomore basketball players.
In 2023-24, his second season at NMJC, he averaged 12.6 points and 5.8 board in just 16.7 minutes per game. In 32 appearances, all starts, he shot 62.0 percent from the field and 54.4 percent from the charity stripe. The Thunderbirds went 23-9 on the year, 9-7 Western Junior College Athletic Conference (WJCAC) play, 4-1 in regional action, and reached the semifinal round of Region 5.
As a freshman, he averaged 11.0 points and 6.9 rebounds in 28 starts and 30 total appearances. Cherry shot 48.5 percent from the floor, including 20.0 percent from beyond the arc and 61.5 percent from the line. He had seven double doubles, including a 26-point, 12-rebound effort. Following the campaign, Cherry was named the Freshman of the Year in the WJCAC.
A San Diego native, he graduated in 2022 from Saint Mary’s Catholic High School in Phoenix, Arizona. A four-year member of the Knights program, he led the team to the 4A state championship as a junior and garnered first team All-Skyline Conference designation after averaging 16.2 points and 11.3 rebounds per game.
Nick Anderson
Anderson comes to the Aztecs after attending and competing for Rice last season and was at Prairie View A&M in 2024-25. He began his college career at Division III University of St. Thomas (UST) in Houston, Texas, playing for the Celts in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.
“Nick passes all the tests…the eye test and the analytics test,” Dutcher said. “He shoots an incredibly high percentage from three for a high-volume shooter. He has always been an elite scorer, not only from distance but also by attacking the basket, and he gets to the foul line. He’s a mature, hard-nosed, winning basketball player that fills up the stat sheet and we got him for his final year of eligibility.
“Nick is a good defender and obviously anyone we recruit is told this is a defensive minded program and we’re going to grow his game on the defensive end. He is obviously polished on the offensive end and now we have to make the next step at the defensive end, and he is more than willing to do that.”
Last year as a member of the Rice program, the Houston area native garnered honorable mention All-American Athletic Conference distinction, while averaging 15.5 points 4.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists and steals in 29.2 minutes per game. Appearing in all 31 of the team’s games with 29 starts, he led the Owls in both field goal percentage (.438) and three-point percentage (.400). An all-around competitor, Anderson was the only player in the nation last season, who stood no more than 6-3 and shot at least 43.8 percent from the field, 40.0 percent from beyond the arc with 133 rebounds, 37 steals and 10 blocks. He scored in double figures 16 times and in seven of those games he put up at least 20 points, with a season-high 29 at Tulane. Anderson shot at least 40.0 percent from the field in 19 games and his effective field goal percentage for the season was 55.9 percent.
Competing for Prairie View A&M in 2024-25, he averaged 18.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.3 assists in the first 12 games of the season before an injury ended his campaign. Anderson scored in double figures in each of his dozen games, including five games of 20 or more points, and led the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) in scoring prior to his injury. He shot 47.1 percent from the field and 82.4 percent from the line. He posted the first double double of his career in an 18 point/10 rebound effort at Rice.
In his two years at UST, the team went 43-11, including 28-4 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) action. Following each season, Anderson was honored as a second-team All-SCSC performer, the team reached the semifinal of the conference tournament and competed in the Division III NCAA Tournament.
In his sophomore campaign, Anderson shot 46.4 percent from the floor, including 36.2 percent from beyond the arc and 86.4 percent from the line. He averaged 16.4 points and 4.3 rebounds to go along with 1.5 assists, and 1.2 steals per game in 26 games, including 16 starting assignments. His points led the team and ranked second in the SCAC The Celts posted a 20-7 record, finished in second place in the SCAC with a 12-4 record. Among his 23 games with double figure points, he scored 20 or more 12 times.
As a freshman who made 19 starts in 24 appearances, Anderson averaged 10.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.0 steals in 20.3 minutes of action per game. He shot 48.7 percent from the field, which includes 31.8 percent from distance for a team that went 23-4 overall and 16-0 in SCAC play. He scored in double figures in 12 games and reached 20-plus points five times.
Anderson attended Clear Creek High School in League City, Texas. In 40 varsity games for the Wildcats in 2019-20 and 2021-22, he averaged 8.1 points, 2.2 boards, 1.0 assists, 1.1 steals and 0.2 blocks, but as a senior, those numbers jumped to 22.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 3.3 steals and 1.1 blocks.