San Diego State officially lost star Lamont Butler Friday – the guard, with his commitment to Kentucky, will move on from the Mesa according to multiple media reports.
The Aztecs have benefitted richly from the transfer portal, but now lose Butler, a two-time Defensive Player of the Year in the Mountain West famed for the 2023 buzzer beater that put SDSU in its first NCAA Tournament title game.
It’s the second year in a row that they lost a major contributor to that post-season run. Keshad Johnson departed for Arizona for the 2023-24 season.
Butler posted at statement on X Wednesday, and also wrote simply, “Always love Aztec Nation.”
Sports Illustrated reported that Duke, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, USC, Washington and West Virginia showed interest in the Moreno Valley native before he opted for Kentucky, which has a new head coach, Mark Pope.
Butler played four seasons at SDSU, appearing in 131 games in which he scored 1,008 points, had 338 assists and 306 rebounds. His playing time ramped up considerably in his third year, which ended with the Aztecs’ historic title run and a loss to UConn.
This past season, SDSU, though denied a Mountain West title, embarked on another NCAA run with Butler among the team leaders taking them to the Sweet 16, but no farther, as UConn again ended the Aztecs’ post-season hopes.
Micah Parrish also will depart. Last week, the guard, who came to San Diego State as a transfer, committed to Ohio State.
It’s not all woes for the Aztecs. Forward Jared Coleman-Jones committed to SDSU after departing Middle Tennessee State, as did Nick Boyd of Florida Atlantic University.
The duo has SDSU connections, no less. Boyd happened to be guarding Butler when he made his big Final Four shot to eliminate FAU. And Coleman-Jones’ older brother once played football for the Aztecs.