Rutgers Transfer Mawot Mag Commits to BYU

BYU landed one of the best defenders in college basketball with its second transfer this cycle as Rutgers forward Mawot Mag announced his commitment to BYU. Mawot has one year of eligibility remaining after playing 4 years at Rutgers. He is rated a 4-star transfer by 247 Sports. Mawot had a final 5 that also consisted of San Diego State, Clemson, USC, and Southern Miss; BYU and San Diego State were in his final two. He took an official visit to BYU May 21.

The 6-foot-7 forward was born in Sudan and grew up in Australia. He’s played the last four seasons at Rutgers and is one of the best defenders in the country. He can play either the 3 or the 4 spots (he played both spots at Rutgers) and gives BYU additional versatility and a completely different player from anyone else on the roster due to how elite he is as a defender.

Mag missed the first 8 games of the 2023-2024 season and played 17 games total after he tore his ACL towards the end of the 2022-2023 season. He averaged 9.1 points, 3.8 boards, 1.2 steals in just under 27 minutes per game last season. Defense is his definite strength and he is an inconsistent outside shooter at best; he shot 12-49 from three this past season. He scored in double digits in Rutgers’ first four Big 10 games last season, including a career high 24 points at Iowa where he shot 3-6 from three, 7-10 from the line, and grabbed 10 boards.

Brandon Dunson was the main factor that got BYU in consideration. Dunson and Mag have known each other for nearly a decade after Dunson helped bring Mag to the United States from Australia in 2016.

Mag has not proven to be a consistent shooting threat in his college career, but he can score in other ways and gives BYU a truly elite and versatile defender. Last season, Maryland Head Coach Kevin Willard called him one of the best college defenders he has seen in a long time.

Depending who else BYU adds at the four, Mawot will be a candidate to start. He’s not the perfect fit for what Kevin Young wants to do offensively, but he can score off the bounce and defensively he will undoubtedly be BYU’s best defender that can comfortably guard 1-4 and allow BYU to be more aggressive on that end. BYU struggled at times last year defending high-end offensive players and offenses, and Mawot will immediately improve BYU’s defense. According to KenPom, BYU ranked 11 out of 14 Big 12 teams in defensive efficiency. I anticipate Mawot will make the Big 12 All-Defensive team if he stays healthy throughout conference play.

With Mag’s commitment, BYU has 11 scholarship players and 2 open scholarship spots they can still fill. You can watch highlights below.