This elite Big Ten defender has transferred to BYU basketball

Kevin Young is on a roll.

Rutgers transfer forward Mawot Mag has committed to Young’s BYU program, he announced Sunday via On3 Sports.

Mag averaged 9.1 points and 3.8 rebounds in 17 games this past year for the Scarlet Knights. He is considered one of the most elite defensive players in all of college basketball, with Maryland Terrapins head coach Kevin Willard even calling him “probably the best college defender I’ve seen in a long, long time” in February.

In 80 career contests at Rutgers, the 6-foot-7 Mag averaged 5.5 points and shot 44.1% from the field. He will have one season of eligibility to use at BYU.

According to Robby McCombs of Vanquish the Foe, new Cougars assistant Brandon Dunson was “the main factor” for Mag landing in Provo. The two have a relationship spanning “nearly a decade,” with Dunson helping the Sudanese-born talent arrive in the U.S. from Australia in 2016.

Mag is the second transfer signed by Young thus far. The first was former Utah center Keba Keita. Mag received a 4-star ranking from 247 Sports upon entering the portal this past March.

Mag’s addition gives BYU another candidate to start at forward, where he will likely be tasked with defending each opponent’s most potent offensive threat. Per McCombs, the Cougars have now filled 11 scholarship spots and have two remaining.