San Diego State forward Demarshay Johnson Jr. enters transfer portal

Johnson played in 40 games over his four seasons at San Diego State

Bodie De Silva | Mar 25, 2025

San Diego State Aztecs forward Demarshay Johnson Jr. / Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images

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San Diego State Aztecs

The college basketball transfer portal opened up on Monday and names continue to fly in from the more than 350 Division 1 schools across the country.

San Diego State saw two of their starters from this past season officially enter their names into that mix on Monday in Nick Boyd and Magoon Gwath. Walk-on Cam Lawin also joined Boyd and Gwath in the portal.

A fourth Aztec has now entered the transfer portal. Redshirt junior forward Demarshay Johnson Jr. took to social media on Monday night, announcing his departure from the program.

#GodsPlan pic.twitter.com/CAlsaRmHd3
— Shay Johnson Jr (@ShayJohnsonJr11) March 24, 2025

A three-star recruit out of Salesian High School in Richmond, California, Johnson Jr. committed to the Aztecs in November of 2020. He enrolled at San Diego State in the summer of 2021 and spent his first season on campus redshirting. During San Diego State’s run to the national title game in 2022-23, Johnson Jr. played in nine games, scoring a career-high eight points against Occidental.

Last season, Johnson Jr. played in 16 games off the bench, finishing with six points and 15 rebounds. This year he played in 15 games, scoring 17 points on 8-11 shooting, giving him a total of 40 games over three seasons. Johnson Jr. was one of six Aztecs honored on senior night and will enter the portal as a graduate transfer.

“Obviously, we have to add pieces,” head coach Brian Dutcher said after last week’s season-ending loss to North Carolina. “We'll look at what we have coming back and find out what our deficiencies are and try to fill some of those deficiencies. We've had pretty good success in the transfer portal. We were taking transfers before the portal existed… So that's the goal again, to retain the players that want to be here and then to add pieces in the portal and continue to keep San Diego State relevant at a national level, and that's what my goal and job as a head coach is.”

With seven returning scholarship players and one freshman slated to enroll, San Diego State will have to be active when retooling its roster for the 2025-26 season. The Aztecs brought in four transfers last offseason and figure to be in the market for at least four more this spring.

After opening on Monday, the college basketball transfer portal will be open for 30 days, down from 45 days in past years. It will close on April 22, giving schools a full four weeks to complete the process of setting next season’s rosters.