SAN DIEGO – In voting by members of the media who regularly cover the Mountain West, guard Lamont Butler has been named the league's Defensive Player of the Year and is among five members of the regular-season champion Aztecs that have been named All-Mountain West performers. The awards are based on the league's 18-game schedule but are not the official league awards, which will be announced on Tuesday, March 7.
Senior guard Matt Bradley earned first-team All-Mountain West honors, while Butler, along with senior's Darrion Trammell, Nathan Mensah and Aguek Arop, received honorable mention designation.
Butler, a junior from Moreno Valley, Calif., was the leader of the top defense in the Mountain West. His Aztecs topped the league in scoring defense (63.72 points per game), scoring margin (+7.50 points), field goal percentage defense (.424), 3-point scoring defense (.297) and rebounding defense (29.33/game).
Butler consistently drew defensive assignments against the opponents top scoring guards and led the team in steals (24), was third in defensive rebounds (38) and total rebounds among guards (47), and shot a team-best 82.1 percent from the line. Among Mountain West performers in league games, he was No. 7 in steals, No. 11 in assist-to-turnover ratio and No. 12 in assists.
Last year's media poll Newcomer of the Year and a second-team honoree, Bradley has been recognized as an All-Mountain West performer for the second time in as many campaigns. In conference play this season, he led SDSU in points (259), scoring (14.4 ppg), field goal percentage (.427) among those with at least six field goal attempts per game, 3-point field goals (36), free throws (41) and free throw attempts (55).
One of six San Diego State players who played in all 18 league contests, the native of San Bernardino, Calif., ranked in the top four on the roster in steals (14), assists (43), defensive rebounds (52), free throw percentage (.745) among those who have at least two attempts per games played and 3-point field goal percentage (.429). In conference games among Mountain West players, he ranked No. 9 in 3-point field goals, No. 13 in field goal percentage and No. 15 in scoring.
Trammell, in his first season as an Aztec, paced the team in assists (63) in conference games, was second in steals (19), and tied for third on the team in scoring (7.8 ppg). In Mountain West Conference games, he ranked No. 4 in assist-to-turnover ratio and No. 10 in assists.
Mensah was again the anchor of the top defense in the Mountain West. He paced the team in blocks (27) and offensive rebounds (43), was second in defensive rebounds (59) and total rebounding (102), third in field goal percentage (.526) and fifth in steals (10). In league contests, he was No. 3 in blocks, No. 4 in offensive rebounds and No. 13 in overall rebounding.
Arop was the team's top field goal percentage shooter in Mountain West games (.605), No. 2 in blocks (13), and shot 80.0 percent from the line. What doesn't show up for Arop in any box score or stat sheet is all the little things he does that help the Aztecs win game…diving on the floor for loose balls, keeping plays alive on the glass, and being one of the team's most physical defenders.
San Diego State, ranked No. 20 in the AP poll and the No. 1-seed in the Mountain West tournament, next plays in a quarterfinal game at the 2023 Mountain West championship tournament at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. The Aztecs will face the winner of No. 8-seed Colorado State vs. No. 9 Fresno State game at noon on Thursday, March 9, with the game being broadcast on CBS Sports Network.