The 2023–24 New Mexico State Aggies men's basketball team represented New Mexico State University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Aggies were led by first-year head coach Jason Hooten and played their home games at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, New Mexico as first-year members of the Conference USA. They finished the season 13–19, 7–9 in C-USA play to finish in a four-way tie for fourth place. As the No. 6 seed in the C-USA tournament, they lost to Western Kentucky in the quarterfinals.
Previous season The Aggies finished the 2022–23 season 9–15, 2–16 in Western Athletic Conference play to finish in last place. On February 10, 2023, the school announced the men's basketball program's season would be cancelled based on new reports of violations of university policies. The rest of the team's games were canceled and were deemed forfeits by the WAC. The NCAA does not recognize the forfeited games as part of the team's overall record. They did not take part in the WAC Tournament.
On November 19, 2022, there were reports of a shooting between a student attending the University of New Mexico and a New Mexico State basketball player, leaving the student dead. The basketball player was later identified as Mike Peake, who was wounded on the UNM main campus in Albuquerque. A day later, on November 20, 2022, the New Mexico State Police released details of the shooting, including the arrest of 17-year old Mya Hill. The next day, the New Mexico State Police confirmed a second arrest relating to the shooting, arresting 19-year old Jonathan Smith.
The Aggies and Lobos were slated to renew the Rio Grande Rivalry on the night of the shooting, but the game was postponed. Three days later, both schools decided to cancel the Rio Grande Rivalry for the season due to safety concerns. On December 5, NM State Athletic Director Mario Moccia announced the indefinite suspension of the 21-year old Mike Peake. No charges have been filed against Peake in what was called a "self-defense situation", but there are two investigations surrounding the shooting.
On February 10, New Mexico State University announced the men's basketball program's season would be cancelled based on new reports of violations of university policies. Its entire coaching staff was placed on administrative leave as a result. KTSM reported that the season was suspended because of allegations of hazing by at least three different players multiple times.
On February 14, head coach Greg Heiar was officially fired by NMSU. On March 24, the school named Sam Houston head coach Jason Hooten the team's new head coach.
The season marked the school's last in the Western Athletic Conference. The school joined Conference USA in 2023.
Offseason Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure Anthony Roy 0 G 6'5" 200 Sophomore Oakland, CA Transferred Marchelus Avery 1 F 6'8" 215 Sophomore Richmond, VA Transferred to UCF Issa Muhammad 2 F 6'9" 240 RS Junior Atlanta, GA Transferred to UT Martin Xavier Pinson 3 G 6'2" 175 Senior Chicago, IL Graduated/signed with Montreal Alliance in the CEBL James Beck 4 F 6'8" 215 RS Senior Grand Rapids, MI Graduated Kyle Feit 5 G 6'4" 190 Junior Boca Raton, FL Transferred DaJuan Quaye Gordon 11 G 6'5" 195 Junior Chicago, IL Transferred to UT Arlington Doctor Bradley 13 F 6'8" 205 Sophomore Los Angeles, CA Transferred to Northern Illinois Shahar Lazar 14 G 6'3" 200 Freshman Emunim, Israel Transferred to Gardner–Webb Mike Peake 15 F 6'7" 218 Junior Chicago, IL Transferred Ziri Blackwood 21 G 6'3' 170 Sophomore Killeen, TX Walk-on; transferred Deuce Benjamin 22 G 6'1" 175 Freshman Las Cruces, NM Walk-on; transferred Ethan Anderson 23 F 6'9" 220 Freshman Kaysville, UT Walk-on; transferred Kim Aiken Jr. 24 F 6'7" 215 RS Senior Redlands, CA Graduated Jaden Alexander 25 G 6'4" 200 Freshman Vallejo, CA Transferred to Cal State Bakersfield Isaac Shingange 31 F 6'5" 180 Freshman New York, NY Walk-on; transferred Shakiru Odunewu 34 F 6'10" 245 RS Sophomore Providence, RI Transferred Vuk Vucevic 35 F 6'6" 190 Freshman Paris, France Walk-on; transferred Deshawndre Washington 42 G 6'7" 205 Junior Chicago, IL Transferred
Incoming transfers Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous college Jaylin Jackson-Posey 0 G 6'2" 196 Junior Midland, TX Stephen F. Austin Kaosi Ezeagu 1 F 6'10" 255 Senior Brampton, ON Sam Houston Jordan Rawls 2 G 6'1" 185 GS Senior Chattanooga, TN Western Kentucky Christian Cook 3 G 6'2" 175 Junior Oklahoma City, OK Northeastern State Brandon Suggs 4 G/F 6'6" 185 GS Senior Powder Springs, GA UCF Rakeim Gary 9 G 5'10" 165 Senior Dallas, TX South Carolina State Femi Odukale 11 G 6'6" 205 Senior Brooklyn, NY Seton Hall Jaden Harris 13 G 6'4" 190 Junior Atlanta, GA South Plains College Robert Carpenter 21 F 6'7" 210 Senior Detroit, MI Mississippi Valley State Jonathan Kanyanga 24 C 6'9" 225 GS Senior Kinshasa, Congo Edward Waters Clarence Jackson 25 F 6'7" 225 Senior Dublin, GA Jacksonville State Davion Bradford 26 F 7'0" 270 Senior St. Louis, MO Wake Forest
2023 recruiting class
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=| Non-conference regular season
!colspan=12 style=| Conference USA regular season
!colspan=12 style=| Conference USA Tournament
Sources
References