San Diego State basketball officially adds Jeremiah Cherry, Nick Anderson to bolster roster rebuild
Forward Jeremiah "Bear" Cherry and guard Nick Anderson are now officially members of the San Diego State Aztecs basketball program.
Coach Brian Dutcher announced Tuesday that the two players signed their athletic aid agreements to use their final season of eligibility with the Aztecs. The players had previously announced via social media that they were transferring to SDSU.
"From the portal, we are looking to get better," Dutcher said. "We're just looking for the best players. The older guys can look better because they have experience. I wouldn't say we are pigeonholed trying to "get older", we're looking for guys who can help us win immediately."
What this means for the Aztecs
Dutcher has been busy rebuilding the roster after the most disappointing season in program history. The Aztecs came into last season with enormous expectations due to having a loaded roster, and then missed the NCAA Tournament entirely after losing the Mountain West tournament championship game to Utah State and then getting snubbed for an at-large bid by the selection committee.
A total of six players entered the transfer portal and four have found new homes, led by wing Miles Byrd, the MW Defensive Player of the Year, who signed with Providence.
Dutcher blunted the losses by luring Cherry from Sacramento State and Anderson from Rice.
Additionally, the Aztecs announced on Monday that four players are returning under new revenue-sharing contracts. They include likely starters Elzie Harrington, Tae Simmons and Latrell Davis, as well as 7-foot-1 forward Thokbor Majak. Harrington and Davis are guards, while Simmons is a forward.
Who is Jeremiah "Bear" Cherry?
Cherry is a 6-foot-11, 250-pound forward who is coming off a serious leg injury suffered in Sacramento State's sixth game last season, against UCLA. But he put up big numbers up to that point and, if healthy, could be the rebounder Dutcher was talking about signing after the disappointing end to last season.
Cherry appeared to be on the way to a monster season before getting hurt. He averaged 15.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 2.3 blocks and 31.2 minutes per game, and shot 48% (37 of 77) from the field.
He posted three double-doubles and had at least two blocked shots in four games. He narrowly missed two other double-doubles with 22 points and nine rebounds at UC Davis, and 20 points and seven boards vs. UC Santa Barbara.
SDSU fans should remember Cherry from his one season at UNLV, where he transferred after starting his career with two seasons at New Mexico Junior College. He started 32 of 33 games at UNLV and averaged 9.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots in 23.8 minutes.
Cherry was born in San Diego and is a 2022 graduate of Saint Mary's Catholic High School in Phoenix.
"I met Bear when I moved to San Diego," Dutcher said. "He was a young kid running around the gym while his brother Taeshon was working out. I followed his career: from high school in Arizona to junior college in New Mexico, to then playing against him at UNLV, and I fell in love with his game. He's hard-nosed, smart, tough, and everything I want in a player. Bear impacts the game physically. As big as he is, he is a very good athlete. He can protect the rim and will make it hard for people around the basket with his size and strength. So, we are grateful to have him for his final year of college basketball."
Who is Nick Anderson?
The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Anderson played in all 31 games at Rice, with 29 starts, and was named American Conference honorable mention.
He finished second on the team in scoring at 15.5 points per game, steals at 1.2 and free throw percentage at 81.2%. He led the Owls in field goal percentage at 43.8%, 3-pointers with 84 and 3-point field goal percentage at 40.0%. He averaged 4.3 rebounds.
Anderson played two seasons at St. Thomas and one each at Prairie View A&M and Rice.
"Nick passes all the tests…the eye test and the analytics test," Dutcher said. "He shoots an incredibly high percentage from three for a high-volume shooter. He has always been an elite scorer, not only from distance but also by attacking the basket, and he gets to the foul line. He's a mature, hard-nosed, winning basketball player that fills up the stat sheet and we got him for his final year of eligibility.
"Nick is a good defender and obviously anyone we recruit is told this is a defensive minded program and we're going to grow his game on the defensive end. He is obviously polished on the offensive end and now we have to make the next step at the defensive end, and he is more than willing to do that."
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/san-diego-state as San Diego State basketball officially adds Jeremiah Cherry, Nick Anderson to bolster roster rebuild.
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This story was originally published April 21, 2026 at 11:14 PM.