Ex-Cal Star Matt Bradley Is Transferring to San Diego State

Aztecs were ranked in top 20 each of the past two years and offer Matt Bradley an opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament

Former Cal star Matt Bradley did not take long to choose a new school after putting his name in the transfer portal.

Bradley, a second-team all-Pac-12 selection this season, announced via social media on Monday that he will attend San Diego State next season.

“I kind of had in mind where I wanted to head to,” Bradley told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “Before I even reached out to San Diego State, that was a place where in my mind I could see myself playing and establishing myself.”

San Diego State recruited Matt Bradley out of San Bernardino (Calif.) High School before he committed to Cal in June 2017 when Wyking Jones was Cal's head coach. Bradley spent his first three seasons at Cal and was the Bears' best player the past two seasons

The Aztecs, who have finished each of the past two seasons ranked in the top 20, offer Bradley a chance to play in the NCAA tournament. They have won at least 19 games each of the past 16 seasons and have reached the NCAA tournament in eight of the last 11 seasons the tournament was held.  

San Diego State finished the 2020-21 season with a 23-5 record and ranked No. 16 before losing to Syracuse in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

The Aztecs went 30-2 in 2019-20 and were ranked No. 6 in the final AP poll. They were expected to make an impact in the NCAA tournament last year before the tournament was canceled because of the pandemic.

San Diego State won the Mountain West regular-season title each of those  two seasons.

Brian Dutcher was the Aztecs' head coach in both those seasons and remains at San Diego State after some earlier reports that he might head elsewhere.

Cal last went to the NCAA tournament in 2016, when Cuonzo Martin was the Bears head coach. Cal has finished last in the Pac-12 in two Bradley's three seasons at Cal, and the Bears lost at least 18 games in each of his three seasons in Berkeley.

Bradley has two years of eligibility remaining if he chooses to use both.

Bradley earned second-team all-conference honors as both a sophomore in 2020 and as a junior this season.

Bradley was considered one of the top players in the portal and heard from programs such as Kansas, Gonzaga, Kentucky, USC and Oregon.

He was third in the Pac-12 in scoring this past season, averaging 18.0 points per game. Bradley averaged 17.5 points as a sophomore, and as a freshman, Bradley led the Pac-12 in three-point percentage, hitting 47.2 percent of his attempts from long range.

Click here for a story on Bradley's farewell to Cal and where he ranks among this year's transfers.

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Cover photo of Matt Bradley by Soobum Im, USA TODAY Sports

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