How Magoon Gwath Fits Into a Retooled DePaul Roster
The former Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year brings rare shot blocking and shooting ability to the Demons.
In the spring of 2025, Magoon Gwath would have had his pick of schools had he stayed in the transfer portal. As a redshirt freshman, the seven-footer out of Dallas was one of the top ten shot blockers in the country (2.6) and averaged 8.9 points and 5.2 rebounds a game, anchoring a defensive juggernaut in San Diego State.
His freshman season included Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year honors, as well as being named Mountain West Freshman of the Year.
Gwath turned down a bigger payday elsewhere to return to the Aztecs, however. And he returned with massive expectations, including being one of 20 centers named to the Preseason Watch List for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award.
His sophomore campaign was solid, but likely fell short of the expectations Gwath had for himself — with injuries playing a big factor.
Knee surgery last spring led to him missing all of the offseason — and pushing back his season debut until mid-November. Then a hip flexor injury forced him to miss time in conference play.
As a result, Gwath averaged just 19.0 minutes per game (down from 25.0), but he still managed to put up 8.9 points and 4.3 rebounds, while seeing his shot block numbers dip a bit (1.5 bpg).
Regardless, when Gwath hit the portal again this spring (this time opting to stay in it), he was one of the most sought-after bigs in the country.
And when DePaul landed him ahead of a scheduled visit to Kentucky it served as quite a statement for Chris Holtmann and his staff.
What Makes Gwath So Intriguing?
Big men are all the rage in college basketball in 2026, and Gwath offers a rare combination of shot blocking and 3-point shooting ability.
Let’s start with the defense.
Gwath was a top-ten shot blocker in the country as a freshman, and his defensive metrics are impressive:
Opponents scored just 0.687 points per possession when being guarded by Gwath this past season. San Diego State was a straight man-to-man team, and opponents shot 28-91 (30.8%) when being defended by Gwath in 2025-26.
His numbers were even more impressive as a freshman, when Gwath held opponents to 22.5% shooting (29-129).
Gwath spent three years learning under one of the best defensive coaching staffs in the country at San Diego State — a program that ranked 16th in the nation in Defensive Efficiency in each of Gwath’s two active seasons there.
Here’s a glimpse of his rim protection:
Offensively, Gwath isn’t much of a post-up option (8-21 from the field in 2025-26), but he will spread the floor for DePaul — a team that struggled from beyond the arc last season (32%, 255th in the nation).
Gwath is a career 40% three-point shooter (37-91) and hit at a 43% clip this past season (20-46).
He saw a sizable jump in catch-and-shoot efficiency as a sophomore — improving from 33% as a freshman to an outstanding 46% this year.
What are the Biggest Question Marks?
Gwath’s production at a high-level program like San Diego State figures to transition well to the Big East, and it stands to reason that DePaul paid a hefty price to get a seven-footer with this type of shot blocking and three-point ability.
His sophomore season wasn’t a full breakout, as he played just 19 minutes a game and saw his on-off numbers fall. The Aztecs’ NET Rating (point differential per 100 possessions) was +7.9 with Gwath on the court during his freshman year, but fell to -9.1 this past year.
A return to health will be key. The knee surgery that cost him his entire offseason (and the beginning of the year) and subsequent hip flexor injury were setbacks. DePaul will need more than 19 minutes a night for this level of investment.
It’s worth noting that his minutes spiked late in the year, as Gwath averaged 30 minutes in their final two games of the Mountain West Tournament — when he put up 12/8 versus Utah State and 17/6 against New Mexico.
A Look at the Film
In each of these transfer portal deep cuts, we’ll show three minutes of unfiltered possessions from late in the season to give our readers a true look at the Big East’s newcomers. Here’s Gwath:
The Final Word
DePaul is certainly trending upwards under Holtmann. Their portal class has them in legitimate discussions as an NCAA Tournament hopeful heading into 2026-27.
The Demons added scoring punch and much-needed shooting to their backcourt in Kahmare Holmes (19.8 PPG at Wofford), Koree Cotton (14.1 PPG and 39% from 3 at UTRGV), and Ade Popoola (10.9 PPG and 42% from 3 at Tulsa).
Meanwhile, Gwath and Wilson Jacques (8.9 points, 8.8 rebounds as a freshman at Fresno State) will give them significant length and production up front — joining 7’2 sophomore Fabian Flores.
Gwath provides the interior length and shooting pop the Demons were in search of this offseason, and he may have been the biggest statement Holtmann and Co. made in the portal.
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