Aztecs land Oregon State transfer following newcomer's injury
San Diego State had five foreign-born players on its men's basketball roster for next season.
Now it has six.
The latest addition is Isaiah Sy, a 22-year-old sharpshooting wing who was born in France and spent the last four years in the United States, averaging 10.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game for Oregon State last season. He announced his commitment at noon Saturday, giving the Aztecs 12 players: four returnees, three European pros, four from the domestic transfer portal and one incoming freshman.
The addition of the 6-foot-7 Sy (pronounced See) was necessitated by the week's other, less cheery news: Rice guard Nick Anderson, SDSU's second transfer commitment this spring and a key perimeter piece, tore his ACL while working out earlier this month and likely is out for the season.
Surgery is scheduled for Friday.
“I had a talk with the coaching staff after hearing about the Nick Anderson injury,” Sy said. “We talked about the fit, the program, the culture and everything about it, and I just loved it right away. Honestly, it just clicked.
“I just knew instantly that's where I wanted to go.”
The Aztecs pursued several veteran replacements once they learned of Anderson's injury and came close to one before he went elsewhere. They were fortunate that Sy, given his size and stats, was still available six weeks after the transfer portal opened and after receiving interest from several power conference programs.
“I had some from a couple of schools I was interested in, but I was honestly waiting for the right fit,” Sy said. “I feel like I had great opportunities, but I really didn't have that feeling of this is the school I want to play for, the environment, the culture that I want.
“I just trusted the process. I knew people would be doubting, but I wanted to wait until I found the right fit.”
Sy has at least one year of eligibility remaining and possibly two, if proposed NCAA legislation allowing five years to play five is approved next month, as widely expected.
He is a slightly different type of player than Anderson, maybe not the same explosive scorer, but longer and a more accomplished offensive rebounder, an area where the Aztecs have struggled in recent seasons. He shot better behind the 3-point arc (35.4%) than inside it (31.5%) and was one of the best free-throw shooters in the WCC at 87.1%.
He started 29 of 33 games, averaging 28 minutes. The Beavers were 11-5 when he scored in double figures and 6-11 when he didn't. That included 25 points (on 5-of-6 shooting from 3) and 11 rebounds against Loyola Marymount, 17- and 18-point games against USF, and 16 points and 12 rebounds in an overtime win against USD. He also had a five-assist game.
He’s primarily a 2 or 3, but his length and proficiency on the boards (he was second on Oregon State in rebounding last season) allow him to shift to the 4 in smaller lineups that coach Brian Dutcher sometimes utilizes.
Sy gives the Aztecs three players who speak French. Returning forward Tae Simmons grew up in France while his father played professionally there, and Italian guard David Torresani learned French while living in southern Belgium.
Luca Vincini was born in Italy, Luka Skoric in Croatia, returning guard Latrell Davis in England and returning center Thokbor Majak in South Sudan.
Sy, born in Reims in central France and raised in Marseille along the southern coast, grew up in a basketball family. His father played professionally for more than a decade in France and is currently the sporting director at Fos-sur-Mer, a club outside Marseille.
Sy came to the States at 18, first for a year of prep school in North Carolina, then a year at Cloud County Community College in Kansas and two at Oregon State.
He'll have to play against his former team, since both are in the relaunched Pac-12, but the Beavers roster will be largely unrecognizable under new coach Justin Joyner. Leading scorer Josiah Lake is back, but no one else from last season is after 12 players entered the transfer portal when coach Wayne Tinkle was fired.
SDSU hasn't had quite as much turnover, returning four players from last season and two from the 11-man rotation. With so many new pieces and players from six different countries, Dutcher has said he won't fully know what he has until they start practicing together over the summer and fall.
But the blurry outlines of a team are starting to come into view.
It is not as athletic as past Aztecs teams, with no one offering the length and bouncy explosion of a Miles Byrd, Pharaoh Compton or healthy Magoon Gwath. And it isn't as tall inside, after losing four of the five bigs in the rotation and replacing only two.
That said, it is an older group with more skill, better shooters and higher basketball IQ. Of the seven returning players or incoming transfers on the perimeter, five shot 38% or better behind the arc in their most recent seasons. Three were 40% or better.
They also have good positional size that should help on the boards, with no one under 6-2 and six perimeter players between 6-4 and 6-9.
“I want to bring my experience as a college player,” Sy said. “I want to bring some leadership and get some things going and try to go as far as we can.”
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This story was originally published May 23, 2026 at 1:11 PM.