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LOGAN — When Utah State fired then-head coach Tim Duryea on March 11 following a historic run to the Mountain West Conference semifinals, there was a lot of speculation of which players would stay in Logan and who might leave.
One player made it official in his decision Friday afternoon.
Sophomore point guard Koby McEwen announced via Twitter that he received his official release and would be "transferring to pursue athletic and academic opportunities at another institution."
— Koby McEwen (@TheTrueOne1_) March 30, 2018
During his two years in Logan, McEwen has been a key figure for the Aggies. The former Wasatch Academy standout earned Mountain West Conference freshman of the year honors after finishing second on the team in scoring at 14.9 points per game. The 14.9 points per game also led all freshmen in the MWC in 2016-17.
McEwen made a USU freshman record 130 free throws on a freshman record 179 attempts. During his freshman campaign McEwen also averaged 5.1 rebounds.
McEwen, who has three years of eligibility to play two seasons, followed that up with an even better sophomore campaign. He averaged 15.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and just over three assists per game while shooting 40 percent from the floor, including 33 percent from beyond the arc. McEwen became the first guard to lead Utah State in rebounding since the 2006-07 season when Jaycee Carroll led the Aggies with 6.3 rebounds per game.
He earned third team All-Mountain West honors along with teammate Sam Merrill, and the duo shined in the Mountain West tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Quite arguably the best backcourt in the Mountain West Conference averaged 36 points and 12 rebounds in three tournament games. McEwen scored a team-high 25 points in USU's opening round win over Colorado State. Merrill scored a game-high 28 points in the Aggies' upset win over the 2-seed Boise State in the quarterfinals. And in the MWC semifinals against New Mexico, McEwen had 16 points and eight rebounds while Merrill had 17 points and three rebounds.
According to Utah State's 247 Sports' website, McEwen asked for his release prior to Craig Smith taking over the head coaching position at USU.
Koby asked for his release before a new coach was hired so this had nothing to do with Coach Smith
— AggieUp (@AggieUp) March 30, 2018
McEwen did not specify where he plans to attend.
