Creighton Has the Ultimate Glue Guy in BJ Davis
The San Diego State transfer is an ideal fit for a Blue Jays team undergoing a transitionary phase
Perhaps one of the most underrated Big East-related transfer portal moves this offseason involves BJ Davis, who arrives in Omaha as one of the more experienced two-way guards in the market — bringing three seasons of production and defensive impact from San Diego State to a reshaped Creighton roster.
Player Profile
Davis is a former four-star recruit out of Modesto Christian High School in California, entering college as a top-150 national prospect (247Sports ranked him 129th in the class of 2023).
Across 76 career games at San Diego State, Davis developed into a steady backcourt contributor, making 38 starts while averaging 8.6 points per game on 42.2 percent shooting from the field and 35.2 percent from three. After handling a full-time starting role as a sophomore in 2024-25, he transitioned into a sixth-man role as a junior without a drop in efficiency.
Davis’ best season came this past year, when he averaged 10.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists while shooting 37.4 percent from deep. Despite starting just seven of 33 games for the Aztecs, he led all San Diego State regulars in offensive rating (118.4), and finished second in scoring behind Reese Dixon-Waters (13.1 PPG). Davis also took a big step forward as a playmaker as a junior, registering an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.32 (72 dimes to 31 giveaways) and a miscue rate of just 9.3%, ranking in college basketball’s 84th percentile.
Those familiar with San Diego State basketball know that head coach Brian Dutcher’s teams are dominant defensively on an annual basis. Of note: the Aztecs have ranked within the top 25 of Ken Pomeroy’s Adjusted Defensive Efficiency Margin in each of the last seven seasons (including a 16th place finish this year).
So, it should come as no surprise that Davis carved out a nice reputation for himself as a disruptive perimeter defender. He finished among the Mountain West conference’s top 10 in steal percentage in each of the last two seasons, and his career 3.3% steal rate ranks 22nd all-time in league history.
Advanced metrics reinforce his two-way profile, as he ranked third (4.3) and fourth (3.9) in Defensive Box Plus/Minus over the last two seasons.
How’s this for some irony? One of Davis’ signature collegiate performances came in the 2024 Players Era Festival in Las Vegas when he posted 18 points and nine rebounds on 7-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-5 from three… in a win over Creighton.
Role Definition / Creighton’s Roster Construction
He now joins a Bluejays program undergoing a seismic shift following the retirement of longtime head coach Greg McDermott, who stepped down in March following a 16-year run that included 366 wins and 10 NCAA Tournament appearances.
Former Jays assistant Alan Huss, a Creighton alum who previously led High Point to a 56–15 record and an NCAA Tournament berth during the 2024–25 campaign, now takes over in Omaha.
Huss returns six players from the 2025-26 squad — guards Austin Swartz and Shane Thomas alongside forwards Jackson McAndrew, Isaac Traudt, Hudson Greer, and Jasen Green — but the roster has still seen significant transfer movement since the offseason began. Fedor Žugić, Karem Konin and Liam McChesney are still looking for their next stops, while Josh Townley-Thomas (South Dakota), Blake Harper (VCU), Ty Davis (Samford), Owen Freeman (Auburn) and Aleksa Dimitrijević (Tulsa) have all departed for new programs.
In response, Creighton assembled an incoming transfer class that includes Davis as well as fellow guards Wes Enis (South Florida) and Kayden Edwards (TCU), JUCO big man Wesley Rosa, and former Providence center Oswin Erhunmwunse. On the high school recruiting front, the Jays added four-star pieces in Trevon Carter-Givens and Katrelle Harmon.
The Final Verdict
From a roster standpoint, the Jays look fit to compete this upcoming season. They possess more than enough talent to complement Huss’ blend of head-coaching experience with his familiarity with the environment. But as college basketball has shown us over the past few years, talent alone is not enough; the best teams feature seasoned veterans of the collegiate game with a knack for the nitty-gritty things.
Which, after all, is what makes a player like Davis so appealing. An interchangeable two-way guard capable of either starting or serving as a spark plug off the bench, he’s a winner and quietly underrated player capable of helping the program hit the ground running in the post-McDermott era. Whether he starts or not is ultimately for the coaching staff to decide, but the value which he provides should be unwavering regardless.
Late Season Highlights
Here’s a look at Davis from late in the season — in the Mountain West Tournament and catching fire (30 points) in the regular season finale against UNLV.