When Jeremiah Oden considered San Diego State as a transfer destination, he didn’t need to see Viejas Arena. He’d already been inside it three times.
And when Aztecs coaches considered 6-foot-9 Oden to fill its void at forward, it didn’t need to watch film of him. Oden averaged 13 points while shooting 61% (and 42.9% from 3) for Wyoming in five career games against SDSU.
It’s a match of familiarity, then, and one of necessity. Oden is looking for a spot for his sixth and final college season. SDSU needs a tall, athletic, experienced 4-man who can stretch the floor with Magoon Gwath in the transfer portal.
Oden visited SDSU over the weekend and orally committed to the Aztecs on Monday, two years after the Chicago native nearly made the same decision when he left Wyoming but decided to return home to DePaul instead.
“I knew if they came calling, that’s where I would go this time,” Oden said. “When I hit the portal and they called, it was pretty much a no-brainer. I had two years to think about it since the last time they recruited me.
“I think everything happens for a reason. There were things I learned from the DePaul situation and the Charlotte situation that will help me be better than I would have been two years ago, so I wouldn’t say there are regrets. But I never knew if the opportunity would come back around. It’s not often in life where you get two chances at something. I’m grateful for that.”
Oden is the first of possibly five spring additions for coach Brian Dutcher after three scholarship players ran out of eligibility and three others (Gwath, Nick Boyd and Demarshay Johnson Jr.) entered the portal. The Aztecs are expected to pursue four transfers and possibly another incoming freshman.
Oden, who goes by “JO,” has career averages of 7.5 points and 3.6 rebounds in three seasons at Wyoming and one at DePaul, bringing 119 games (86 starts) and 1,957 minutes of Division I experience. He transferred to Charlotte for the 2024-25 season to use his COVID year but broke a bone in his foot in October and never played. A medical waiver gives him a sixth year.
He had five and 11 points at Viejas Arena as a freshman in a pair of games without fans during the pandemic. In three games as a sophomore and junior at Wyoming, he had 17, 15 and 17 points.
“I always try to rise to the level of competition, and when we played San Diego State there were a lot of players out on the floor like me – long, athletic players,” Oden said. “I kind of took those games personally and used them as opportunities to show that I could compete with the best in the league. I’ve had a lot of my better games in my career against them. I’m sure that will translate now that I’m part of the program.”
At DePaul, he started 24 times and had a season-high 25 points on 6 of 7 shooting behind the arc against Iowa State. He also had 22 points against Louisville and 19 against Marquette. His career high of 28 came three seasons ago against Nevada.
His career 3-point accuracy of 31.4% is less impressive, but try telling that to Aztecs coaches; Oden was 9 of 21 behind the arc against them and 6 of 11 in Viejas Arena. He also has a midrange game off the dribble and is agile enough to play the 3-spot instead of exclusively the 4.
Another plus: He knows the Mountain West, having spent three years traveling from Laramie to Logan, Albuquerque, Boise and the rest of the conference’s diverse locales.
When Oden committed to Charlotte last year, coach Aaron Fearne called him “a talented player whose best basketball is still ahead of him (and who) brings length, athleticism and shooting ability to our perimeter in addition to a high level of professionalism, character and NCAA Tournament experience.”
That came during his sophomore season at Wyoming, when the Cowboys went 25-9 and reached the Big Dance for the first time in seven years.
Success has been fleeting since. The Cowboys were 9-22 the next year, and DePaul went 3-29 in his only year there. Charlotte was 11-22 last season, which he watched from the sideline wearing a protective boot.
“At this point of my career, winning was a really big factor and culture, and that’s what San Diego State is about,” Oden said. “They’ve built that up over decades to where it is now. … There wasn’t much of a thought process, to be honest, whether I would continue playing (for a sixth college season). I knew I didn’t want my career to end like that.”
