Entering 2023-24 season
Brian Dutcher enters his seventh season as head coach after six years in which he led the Aztecs to six Mountain West title games, their conference-high 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th Mountain West crowns and four trips to the NCAA tournament, including a run to the 2023 national championship game. Along the way Dutcher’s Aztecs became the first Mountain West program to win a game in the Sweet-16, Elite 8 and Final Four.
Dutcher, who took the helm of the program following Steve Fisher’s retirement announcement on April 11, 2017, was on The Mesa for all of Fisher’s 18 seasons. He held the title of associate head coach/head coach in waiting for six years and is the program’s 15th head coach.
Over the course of his 24 years at San Diego State, Dutcher has helped the Aztecs reach the postseason 17 times, including 12 trips to the NCAA tournament, win a conference-best 16 Mountain West titles and record 18 seasons of at least 20 victories. He is the only coach in the 102-year history of San Diego State men’s basketball to win at least 20 games in each of his first six seasons and his 151 victories are the most of any first-time Division I head coach who began at their current institution since the start of the 2017-18 season.
His .763-win percentage (151-47) entering the 2023-24 season is the best in program history, as is his .550-win percentage (11-9) against top-25 opposition.
In 2017-18, Dutcher’s first roster as head coach featured a pair of seniors, Trey Kell and Malik Pope, that had won multiple Mountain West titles and had NCAA tournament experience. The Aztecs won six consecutive games to end the regular season and captured the program’s 11th crown, the Mountain West tournament title, and returned to the NCAA tournament. Dutcher was the only first-year head coach to guide his team to the 2018 NCAA tourney and one of six to have won at least 20 games. SDSU finished the campaign with a 22-11 record, with the 22 wins representing the most by a first-year Aztec men’s basketball head coach and the second-most among first-year coaches that season.
The 2018-19 season saw the Aztecs return to the Mountain West championship game after twice defeating nationally ranked Nevada, including a 65-56 victory over the Wolf Pack in the semifinal of the conference tournament. The team posted a 21-13 record, the 13th consecutive season with at least 19 victories. After the season concluded, sophomore Jalen McDaniels was selected in the second round of the NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets.
In 2019-20 his squad ripped off a program-record 26 straight wins to open the season and peaked, for eight weeks, at No. 4 in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches top-25 polls, before finishing the regular season at No. 6. The Aztecs went 30-2 on the year, including 17-1 in Mountain West play and Dutcher earned USA Today National Coach of the Year, Mountain West Coach of the Year (in both the coaches and media polls), NABC Division I District 17 Coach of the Year and USBWA District IX Coach of the Year. In addition, he was one of five finalists for the 2020 Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year Award.
In program history, the team’s 30 wins are the fourth most and its two defeats are the fewest. SDSU’s 17 wins in conference play are the most in program history. Its one loss in league action is the fewest in the Aztecs’ Division I era and equals the fewest since 1926-27, when it moved from junior college competition to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). San Diego State opened the 2019-20 league slate with a 15-game winning streak also which set a new Mountain West record.
Led by junior guard and consensus All-American Malachi Flynn, who would be a first-round selection of the NBA Toronto Raptors, the team won the Continental Tires Las Vegas Invitational with a blowout victory over Creighton and a 16-point comeback win against Iowa in the championship game. In addition, the Aztecs handed Utah a 28-point loss in the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, three days after the Utes beat No. 6 Kentucky.
In the COVID-affected season of 2020-21, the Aztecs were once again the cream of the Mountain West crop posting a 23-5 record, including a 14-3 mark in league play. San Diego State earned the league’s regular season and tournament crowns to secure an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, where it was a 6-seed. For the second consecutive campaign, Dutcher was named Coach of the Year of both the Mountain West and NABC Division I District 17.
The Aztecs opened 2020-21 with a win over No. 22 UCLA and just over two weeks later won at No. 23 Arizona State. The team reached the Mountain West title game for the fourth straight season and earned a measure of revenge in the championship game, defeating Utah State, 68-57, the team that had knocked them off in the previous two league title games.
The team was led by seniors Matt Mitchell and Jordan Schakel, who became the 34th and 35th players in program history, respectively, to score 1,000 points in their careers. Mitchell was named an honorable-mention AP All-American honors, Mountain West Player of the Year, first-team All-Mountain West, Mountain West All-Defensive Team, NABC first-team All-District 17, USBWA first-team All-District IX, Basketball Times West Coast All-District Team, Mountain West Tournament Most Valuable Player, Mountain West All-Tournament Team and was the sixth player, and first Aztec, in Mountain West history to earn Player of the Year & Tournament MVP in the same year.
Schakel was named second-team All-Mountain West, NABC second-team All-District 17 and a Mountain West All-Tournament Team honoree.
The 2021-22 campaign demonstrated that despite losing its top three scorers from the previous season, the Aztecs reload while other programs in the Mountain West rebuild. For the fifth consecutive year, Dutcher guided the Aztecs to 20-plus wins (23-9), and a bid to the NCAA tournament for the second straight campaign, the third since taking the helm of the program prior to the start of the 2017-18 season. If not for the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA tournament, SDSU, which was projected to be a No. 1 or No. 2 seed with a 30-2 record, the 2021-22 season would have marked the third straight, and fourth overall, NCAA appearance.
San Diego State posted a 2-2 record against top-25 opponents, including a 79-49 dismantling of the No. 20 Colorado State at Viejas Arena on Jan. 8, the worst beating SDSU has ever handed to a ranked opponent, and a 63-58 win over the No. 23 Rams in the semifinal of the Mountain West Championship. Entering 2022-23, Dutcher was 5-0 against top-25 opponents in Viejas Arena and 9-6 overall against ranked teams.
Senior forward Nathan Mensah, who had been one of the best back line defenders in the Mountain West for years, emerged as the most dominant force on that end of the floor, earning the league’s Defensive Player of the Year after leading the conference in blocks (71) and blocks per game (2.2). In addition, Mensah earned inclusion on the MW All-Defensive Team and was a third-team all-league performer.
Matt Bradley, a transfer from California, slipped seamlessly into the Aztecs offense, led the team in scoring, 16.9 points per game, and was named the Mountain West Newcomer of the Year, first-team All-Mountain West, second team NABC All-District 17 and earned both ESPN and NCAA March Madness National Player of the Week honors. In addition, sophomore guard Lamont Butler was a Mountain West All-Defensive Team designee and Chad Baker was the league’s sixth man of the year.
The years leading to 2022-23 set the stage for men’s basketball history. Following its 15th and 16th Mountain West Crowns, San Diego State earned a No. 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament and began the most epic run in program history. In its 10th appearance in the last 13 NCAA Tournaments, the Aztecs ended five multi-game win streaks in snapping the College of Charleston’s 10-game win streak in the NCAA First Round and Furman’s seven-game win streak in the second round. It then ended No. 1/2 Alabama’s five-game win streak in the Sweet 16, Creighton’s three-game win streak in the Elite 8 and Florida Atlantic’s 11-game win streak in the Final Four.
When the season came to an end, the Aztecs had compiled 32 wins, the second most in a season in program history, and Dutcher had kept the promise he and Coach Fisher had made nearly a quarter century earlier, that SDSU would play for a national championship.
For the 18th consecutive season, finishing with a 15-1 mark, the Aztecs posted a winning record on their home floor. The 2022-23 campaign also marked the 18th straight year SDSU reached double digit home wins and it topped all Division I institutions in the state of California in total attendance.
The key to San Diego State’s success continues to be its defense. SDSU finished the year No. 2 nationally in defensive efficiency, according to KenPom, which also had the Aztecs in the top-10 nationally in effective field goal defense (No. 5) and two-point percentage defense (No. 6). In addition, the Scarlet and Black ranked No. 16 in block percentage, No. 29 in turnovers percentage, No. 33 in three-point defense and No. 42 in steal percentage.
Since 2008-09, Dutcher and SDSU have advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 (2011, 2014, 2023) and NIT semifinal round (2009, 2016), won at least 25 games nine times and captured 16 MW championships (nine regular season, seven tournament).
Dutcher arrived at SDSU shortly after Fisher was hired on March 26, 1999. In his first year in “America’s Finest City,” the Aztecs won only five games, but improved upon their win total from the season before. After that, San Diego State posted a 14-14 record in 2000-01, before winning the 2002 MW Championship, earning an NCAA tournament bid and finishing with a 21-12 record. The 2002-03 campaign saw SDSU receive an NIT invitation, which culminated in the program’s first Division I postseason victory.
After helping attract the program’s first McDonald’s All-American to the 2002-03 squad, Dutcher assisted in securing the signatures of future all-league performers Brandon Heath and Marcus Slaughter. The duo started their first two seasons on The Mesa, leading to the school’s first MW regular-season and tournament title sweep in 2005-06. The Aztecs advanced to the NCAA tournament and that appearance led to a string of 11 consecutive postseason berths.
From the 2006-07 campaign through 2008-09, San Diego State registered 20 or more wins and went to three straight NITs and in 2009, the Aztecs advanced to the NIT semifinal.
The run to the NIT semifinals was a springboard to the most successful run in SDSU basketball history. Led by future NBA first-round draft pick and NBA champion Kawhi Leonard, the 2009-10 Aztecs won the MW Championship, advanced to the NCAA tournament, and finished with a 25-9 record.
The NCAA experience from the 2009-10 squad proved fruitful in 2010-11, when it returned all five starters, including Leonard, and a freshman named Jamaal Franklin, who would turn out to be a future MW Player of the Year and NBA draft selection. With Dutcher on staff, SDSU won its first 20 games of the year, shared the MW regular-season title, and captured the MW tournament crown. The Aztecs moved on to the NCAA tournament as a No. 2 seed and won the program’s first Division I NCAA tournament game. San Diego State, which was ranked as high as No. 4 and received first-place votes at one point in the season, advanced to the Sweet 16 and fell to the eventual national champion, finishing with a school-record 34 wins, a mark that still stands today. The Aztecs also found themselves in the final top-25 polls, ranking sixth in the AP and 11th in the USA Today Coaches Poll.
Five months after SDSU’s record-setting 2010-11 campaign, the University elevated Dutcher from associate head coach to associate head coach/head coach in waiting.
The next year the Aztecs advanced to the 2012 NCAA tournament as an at-large team and recorded 26 wins. The following season, San Diego State was again an at-large selection to the 2013 NCAA tournament, moved on to the round of 32 for the second time in three years and finished with 23 victories.
Another NCAA Sweet 16 run was in the cards in Dutcher’s third season as the head coach in waiting. The Aztecs opened the season by winning 21 of their first 22 games, including 20 in a row at one point, and were led by seniors Xavier Thames, who would become an NBA draft pick, and Josh Davis. SDSU won its second outright Mountain West regular-season title and later swept through two games in Spokane, Washington, to secure its second Sweet 16 appearance in four years. San Diego State won 31 games and finished ranked 13th in the AP and 12th in the Coaches after rising to as high as fifth in both polls.
The 2014-15 campaign saw the Aztecs spend their fifth straight season in the top 25. In the process of winning 27 games, San Diego State earned its second straight MW regular-season crown and an at-large invitation to the NCAA tournament where they defeated St. John’s in the round of 64. One season later, the Aztecs found themselves in the NIT after winning the MW by three games with a 16-2 record. San Diego State won three games and qualified for the NIT national semifinals, eventually logging 28 victories.
SDSU completed the 2016-17 slate with a 19-14 record despite experiencing a rash of injuries. The 2016 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic champions entered 2017-18 as one of 12 teams to have won at least 19 games in 12 consecutive seasons, which was a sign of things to come in Dutcher’s first year.
Before Dutcher arrived at San Diego State, he served as assistant coach and later associate head coach at Michigan under Fisher. He spent 10 seasons on the Wolverine staff. His first year in Ann Arbor was 1989 and resulted in a national title for Michigan as he assisted then-interim head coach Fisher.
The Bloomington, Minn., native led UM’s recruiting efforts in 1990-91 when the Wolverines inked Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson, Jimmy King, Jalen Rose, and Chris Webber. The “Fab Five” is considered perhaps the best recruiting class in NCAA history. Dutcher helped lead that group to nearly 100 wins, two berths in the NCAA championship game and a regional final over a four-year period. He was also on the Michigan staff for an NIT championship (1997).
Dutcher’s recruiting prowess was cemented when Michigan had the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class in 1993-94 and in 1994-95, with a group that included Maurice Taylor and Jerod Ward. The accomplishment marked the first time that a university had the nation’s top class in consecutive years, according to recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons.
Dutcher was born Oct. 30, 1959, in Alpena, Mich. He attended Jefferson High School in Bloomington, Minn., and earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education from Minnesota in 1982. While an undergraduate, he worked for his father, then-Gopher head coach Jim Dutcher. He then spent one season in the prep ranks at Apple Valley (Minn.) High School before becoming a graduate assistant at Illinois, where he earned his master’s degree in physical education and athletic administration. While in Champaign, Dutcher helped Lou Henson lead the Illini to a Big Ten championship, two appearances in the Sweet 16 and one regional final.
Dutcher’s first full-time coaching job came at South Dakota State, where he spent three seasons helping turn around the Division II program before departing in 1988 for Michigan.
Dutcher and his wife, Jan, have two daughters, Erin and Liza and became grandparents for the first time in the 2022-23 season.
Dutcher Head Coaching Year-By-Year| Season | Overall W-L | Pct. | MW W-L | Pct. | Postseason | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 22-11 | .667 | 11-7 | .611 | NCAA (0-1) | MW tournament champion; Only first-year head coach in NCAA tournament |
| 2018-19 | 21-13 | .617 | 11-7 | .611 | MW tournament runner-up; Only team to defeat nationally-ranked Nevada twice during the season | |
| 2019-20 | 30-2 | .938 | 17-1 | .944 | canceled | Ranked No. 6 in final AP poll; Best regular-season record in nation; USA Today National Coach of the Year |
| 2020-21 | 23-5 | .821 | 14-3 | .824 | NCAA (0-1) | MW regular season & tournament champion; MW & NABC District 17 Coach of the Year |
| 2021-22 | 23-9 | .719 | 13-4 | .765 | NCAA (0-1) | MW tournament runner-up |
| 2022-23 | 32-7 | .821 | 15-3 | .833 | NCAA (5-1) | MW regular season & tournament champions; NCAA South Regional Champions; national runner-up |
| 6 seasons | 151-47 | .763 | 81-25 | .764 | 4 NCAA | 3 MW regular season titles; 3 MW tournament titles; 6 MW tournament championship game appearances; 4 NCAA tournament appearances; NCAA South Regional Champions; national runner-up |