Araiza, ex-SDSU players not charged in rape case
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Alaina GetzenbergESPN
Former Buffalo Bills punter Matt Araiza and former teammates on the San Diego State football team will not face criminal charges in connection with an alleged gang rape of a minor that occurred at an off-campus party in October 2021, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday.
“Ultimately, prosecutors determined it is clear the evidence does not support the filing of criminal charges and there is no path to a potential criminal conviction,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement. “Prosecutors can only file charges when they ethically believe they can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”
The DA’s office said the San Diego Police Department did not recommend charges be filed when the case was submitted in early August.
A civil suit remains ongoing.
The Bills released Araiza on Aug. 27, two days after a civil lawsuit was filed accusing him of having sex with a then-17-year-old high school senior, who was under the age of consent in California, outside an off-campus party held at his residence in the early morning of Oct. 17, 2021, when he was a member of the SDSU football team. The lawsuit states that Araiza, who was 21 at the time, then took her inside the home, where at least three other men, including the other two defendants named in the suit — Araiza’s then-Aztecs teammates Zavier Leonard and Nowlin Ewaliko — were located, and that she was repeatedly raped for about 1½ hours. An initial crime report obtained by ESPN said the girl sustained “severe black and blue bruising to her neck and throat region,” in addition to a half-inch laceration to her upper forehead. She had bruising on her right leg and noted “vaginal pain and bleeding from the incident.”
The teen reported the alleged rape to San Diego police the following day. Nine months later, on Aug. 5, 2022, San Diego police turned its investigation over to prosecutors for review.
Araiza released a statement through his agency that read, “I am grateful that the District Attorney and the San Diego Police Department have discovered all the facts and found no criminal wrongdoing. I am excited to continue my NFL career.”
Leonard’s name was removed from the SDSU roster after the lawsuit was filed, and Ewaliko was not on the roster when training camp began.
“I am never surprised when a prosecutor does not file sexual assault charges when the victim was intoxicated,” the plaintiff’s attorney, Dan Gilleon, said in a statement. “It’s a very rare case where the criminal justice system achieves anything satisfactory for the victim in a sexual assault.
“The lawsuit we filed is not in the criminal justice system. … It is only in the civil system that a victim of sexual assault can achieve justice, and we plan to do just that.”
Gilleon said the suit is in the beginning stages.
Responding to the litigation, Araiza’s civil attorney, Dick Semerdjian, said in a statement, “Should the plaintiff continue in her civil case despite the District Attorney’s conclusion that there is ‘no path to a potential criminal conviction, we will vigorously defend the civil complaint against our client.”
According to the release from the DA’s office, sexual assault experts, including prosecutors and investigators, analyzed the evidence in the case, including over 35 taped witness interviews, the results of a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) exam, DNA results and “forensic evidence from cell phones and video evidence of the incident itself.”
The DA’s office also said it “met with the young woman at the center of this case twice” and “worked with SDPD to conduct further investigation, which resulted in interviewing additional witnesses.”
San Diego State president Adela de la Torre said in a statement Wednesday that the school’s student conduct investigation is ongoing, after the university waited until it was cleared by San Diego police in July to proceed with its own investigation.
The Bills declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press. Araiza was drafted by Buffalo in the sixth round of the 2022 NFL draft after his senior year at SDSU.
Texas State officials have informed the Sun Belt Conference that they are expecting an offer from the Pac-12 in the near future, sources told ESPN.
The talks between Texas State and the Pac-12 have intensified in the last 24 hours, per ESPN sources, although a formal offer from the Pac-12 to Texas State has yet to be delivered.
A formal offer is anticipated in the near future, per sources, as Texas State is in talks to join the league for the 2026-27 school year.
It’d be the next step in the courtship, which may not formally conclude until Monday because of the process required. To formally accept an offer upon receipt, Texas State would need to call a board of regents meeting, which requires 72 hours of notice to convene, per state of Texas open meeting laws.
Pac-12 officials have also alerted the Sun Belt of the talks with Texas State, per sources. Texas State has been the heavy favorite to join the league for months.
That anticipation has increased this week because Texas State’s exit fee to join the Pac-12 for 2026 doubles from $5 million to $10 million on July 1. For formal board approval and to avoid the buyout, Texas State’s invitation would have to come late this week.
Texas State would become the league’s eighth football member, which the Pac-12 needs as a minimum to operate as an FBS conference. (There’d be nine overall, including Gonzaga.)
The Pac-12’s football membership for 2026 consists of Oregon State, Washington State, Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State, Utah State and Fresno State. Gonzaga doesn’t sponsor football but also will be in the league.
Texas State is a school of 40,000 students that gives the Pac-12 a presence in the football-rich state of Texas. It joined the WAC in 2012 under coach Dennis Franchione and entered the Sun Belt a year later.
Texas State held a verbal offer in the fall to join the Mountain West but ultimately turned that down.
The Bobcats are coming off back-to-back bowl wins and an eight-win season under coach GJ Kinne.
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Eli Lederman
After a series of high-profile whiffs in the 2026 quarterback class, Oregon landed one of the cycle’s fastest-rising prospects on Wednesday with a commitment from three-star passer Bryson Beaver.
Beaver, a 6-foot-3 recruit from Murrieta, California, initially committed to Boise State on April 19. But amid fresh interest from a series of major Power 4 programs including Alabama, Ole Miss and Oregon, Beaver pulled his pledge from the Broncos and reopened his recruitment earlier this month on June 12. He took unofficial trips to Alabama and Ole Miss days later, and Beaver drew new offers from Auburn and LSU on Monday in the wake of a standout performance at the Elite 11 Finals — the nation’s premier high school passing camp — from June 17-19.
His commitment to the Ducks follows an official visit to Oregon this past weekend, closing a rapid, 13-day re-recruitment.
“The last few weeks have been a blessing-I’ve had some great conversations with amazing coaches from top programs, and I’m super thankful for the interest I’ve received,” Beaver wrote on social media.
Beaver joins Oregon as the 10th commit in the Ducks’ incoming recruiting class, and his pledge closes the program’s protracted pursuit of a 2026 quarterback in recent months.
Oregon appeared settled at the position in the cycle after four-star passer Jonas Williams (No. 155 overall) committed to the program last August. But Williams’ flip to USC six months later on Feb. 21 forced the Ducks to renew their efforts in the 2026 quarterback market this spring, setting the stage for several near-misses before Beaver’s commitment on Wednesday.
Oregon spent early spring engaged in a neck-and-neck battle with Georgia for No. 1 quarterback prospect Jared Curtis (No. 5 in the 2026 ESPN), who ultimately committed to the Bulldogs on May 5 following visits with both programs. On Tuesday, the Ducks finished second for a top quarterback once again, this time losing out on four-star BYU pledge Ryder Lyons (No. 49). Two-sport star Matt Ponatoski, who is expected to be selected in next month’s MLB draft, is another quarterback prospect the Ducks actively recruited in recent weeks.
Beaver, a strong-armed passer who threw for 3,214 yards and 33 touchdowns as a junior last fall, will arrive on campus next year alongside a pair of ESPN 300 pass catchers.
Five-star Kendre’ Harrison, ESPN’s No. 1 tight end in 2026, has been committed to Oregon since Nov. 2024. Wide receiver Messiah Hampton ( No. 193 overall) became the program’s most recent top-300 addition on offense earlier this month.
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