San Diego State senior Jaedon LeDee will return to the Aztecs, while the program also will add a forward who last played ball in North Carolina.
LeDee, who declared for the upcoming NBA Draft but maintained his college eligibility, withdrew his name from consideration, he announced last week, after consulting with NBA teams.
“I got great feedback from the people and organizations I met with and know what I need to work on to achieve my goal of playing at the next level,” LeDee said. “With that being said, I’m excited to continue my journey at San Diego State and help lead the team to another Mountain West title and back to the postseason in 2023-24.”
LeDee’s decision followed that of Lamont Butler, who also opted to remain an Aztec, though he had initially declared for the draft.
After sitting out the 2021-22 season due to NCAA transfer rules, Ledee, in his first season for the Aztecs, averaged 7.9 points and 5.3 rebounds, helping the team to reach the national championship game of the NCAA Tournament.
LeDee appeared in all 39 games, averaging 18 minutes per contest. He shot at a 48.9% clip and hit 72.8% of his free throws as he set career highs in nearly every statistical category. His 309 points are more than double his previous high for a season and he returns as the third leading scorer on the team. His 80 offensive rebounds were the second on the team and good for No. 7 in the Mountain West.
The Houston native also played college ball at Ohio State and TCU.
Joining LeDee and Butler will be transfer Jay Pal, who signed a Grant-In-Aid with SDSU. Last year, the 6’9”, 190-pound forward competed at Campbell University, but he will be immediately eligible to play for San Diego State in the 2023-24 season.
The Omaha, Neb. native began his college career at Clarendon (Texas) College in 2019-20, then spent two seasons at Jacksonville State, before transferring to Campbell. He has one year of eligibility remaining.
His most productive season came last year, when he started 32 games. During Campbell’s run at the title at the Big South Conference Tournament, he was named to the All-Tournament Team.
For the season, he averaged 12.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 31 minutes per game, while being successful on 58% of his shots from the field, 32.9% from long distance and 73.4% from the line. He added 221 rebounds, 48 blocks, 45 assists and 30 steals. Among Big South players, he ranked No. 3 in blocks and double doubles (7) and No. 5 in rebounds.
Pal, a prep graduate of Omaha (Neb.) Central High, will join Reese Dixon-Waters, who transferred from the University of Southern California, and incoming freshmen B.J. Davis and Miles Heide, as fresh faces on the Aztecs.