Utah State hasn’t lacked for 3-point shooting in recent years. Nor will the Aggies lack outside shooting in the upcoming 2026-27 campaign. Even with that high floor, Wright State transfer Solomon Callaghan could very well become the next great 3-point shooting ace. The kind of player that excites the crowd with logo threes and nights where his hot hand brings the roof down.
From his earlier days as a player, Callaghan has been a shooter and scorer. He averaged 21.7 points as a senior in high school and has taken his next-level shooting abilities to carve a path to joining a Pac-12 team.
Let’s jump right into the details on someone who will be among the more impactful newcomers for the Aggies this season.
Biographical Info/Stats
- Height: 6’2″
- Weight: 195 lbs
- Class: Junior (2 years of eligibility)
- Hometown: Wadsworth, OH
- High School: Wadsworth
- Previous College: Wright State
Solomon Callaghan Career Per-Game Averages
| Season | Team | GP / GS | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks | FG% | 3P% | FT% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | Wright State | 32 / 11 | 6.7 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 40.6 | 37.2 | 80.5 |
| 2025-26 | Wright State | 33 / 31 | 10.2 | 1.9 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 41.7 | 39.5 | 92.6 |
Solomon Callaghan Advanced Metrics
| Stat | Value | Rank Within Team | Rank Within CUSA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Box Plus/Minus | -0.1 | 5th | 30th |
| Win Shares | 2.6 | 5th | 23rd |
| Bayesian Performance Rating | -2.13 | 9th | 63rd |
A note on the source for stats in this section and later portions. Basic averages (points, rebounds, etc.) come from Sports Reference, as do the advanced stats of Win Shares and Box Plus/Minus. Bayesian Performance Rating comes from EvanMiya.com, as does any lineup data used. All stats referencing specific shot types (such as shots at the rim or jump shots), along with play-specific shot attempts (such as post-ups or spot-up shooting), come from Synergy Sports.
Scouting Report
Strengths
- Elite 3-point shooter
- Great off-the-bounce scorer
Weaknesses
Solomon Callaghan is a great example of a sparkplug scorer, with in-the-gym range and a solid ability to score off-the-bounce as well. In adding him, Utah State can boast another dangerous perimeter scorer who will have defenses constantly looking over their shoulder to ensure they have him covered, even when he’s not the number one option on the court.
One might take an initial look at Callaghan’s 41.7 field goal percentage, which is low for good scoring guards, and be concerned. But his overall percentage being low comes from a shot distribution that is lopsided toward 3-pointers. Callaghan took 177 threes to just 65 shots inside the arc. His 47.7 percentage on 2-pointers is less than ideal, but not criminally low for a 6-foot-2 guard.
Once you notice the volume of 3-pointers Callaghan takes, more than seven per game on average, you begin to see the specific kind of scorer he is. The spark he brings comes from being able to hit any jump shot placed before him, but especially 3-pointers. Callaghan shot 37% from distance as a freshman and upped that to 39.5% in his sophomore season.
As much as that 3-point percentage is solid, there’s far more to it. When it comes to his 3-point shooting, there’s a distinction that needs to be made between just shooting a high percentage and shooting a high percentage on higher volume. Ranking players by just 3-point percentage can be reductive when it comes to speaking about impact. Zach Keller shot 47.1% from three last year, nearly eight percent better than Callaghan. But no one should be saying that Keller was a more impactful 3-point shooter (no offense intended for Keller).
When accounting for volume, Callaghan was in the top five percent of 3-point shooters last year (numerically, that’s around the top 200 of about 4,000 players). He was able to take 3-pointers in virtually any scenario, and he was almost a surefire bet to make them, too.
From a handoff? Easy.
Coming off a screen away from the ball? No problem.
Off-the-dribble in isolation or from an an-ball screen? Consider it done.
This is a type of weaponized shooting that all coaches want to have on their team. And it’s something Utah State hasn’t really seen since Steven Ashworth, who made nearly 44% of his threes as a junior on 7.3 attempts per game. There’s certainly been a great 3-point shooter or five that have rolled through Logan in that time. Even volume shooters that hit on percentages in the 35-36 percent range. But Aggie fans have only witnessed three USU players in history who averaged at least seven 3-point attempts per game and shot north of 39% (Jay Goodman, Reid Newey and Ashworth). Callaghan comes in with the capability to make his name the fourth on that list.
While most of Callaghan’s scoring is going to come from his numerous 3-point attempts, he’s more than just a catch-and-shoot outside threat. He can create his own shot. A lot of those are still outside jumpers, but he’s able to mix things up and get to the rim or to the mid-range. The 18 points he scored against Virginia in the NCAA Tournament are a good example of him shouldering a difficult scoring load in a crucial game.
Aside from spot-up shooting, where every shooter gets the majority of their attempts, Callaghan got most of his outside shot attempts from on-ball screens. And he’s unnervingly good at pulling up for three when going over a screen. He shot 17 of 30, or 56.7%, from three in these actions. Sometimes you can see this kind of extreme in one season, or at low volume. But neither of those applies. Callaghan was shooting these at least once per game, a pretty solid volume for a fairly specific kind of shot. And as a freshman, Callaghan shot an even better 7-for-11.
There’s a lot that Jacobson can do with this talented of a shooter on the court. Before we get to that, though, it’s time to address Callaghan’s biggest (though also really his only major) red flag. And it comes on the defensive side of the court.
Advanced metrics are kind to Callaghan regarding his defense. They range from mildly unimpressed to incredibly critical. Defensive Box Plus/Minus places Callaghan as a slight negative on defense, while EvanMiya Bayesian Performance Rating views him as one of the worst defenders in the country.
It’s never a good thing to see this kind of negativity from advanced metrics. Even so, you should never take them as gospel. The whole picture has to come from film to see where some of the weaknesses may be showing up and whether a new system, a new coach, or simply some more development time could lead to a fix.
The first thing you notice about Callaghan’s defense once you pull up the film is that he’s not lacking in effort. Box-outs, help defense, close-outs, almost anything you see Callaghan doing, he’s putting his full effort behind it. He also doesn’t lack for defensive IQ, nor does he get lost on defense or lose track of backside cutters or shooters.
Most of Callaghan’s struggles come from his not having developed the finer points of great defense. His biggest weaknesses show up in navigating around screens and poor technique when guarding the ball. But in his defense, navigating screens is already an incredibly tough task. No one is able to consistently prevent their man from creating a bit of space when going around a screen. Not even the best defenders. The key is quick and smart recovery, and that’s where Callaghan is actually coming up short. He must learn to do better, though, because Ben Jacobson’s defense requires those recoveries, as it doesn’t prioritize switching. Callaghan will need to learn and adjust his defensive effort to fit within the scheme.
I’m a bit hesitant to use Synergy data for defensive plays because it can be spotty in correctly identifying whether a player was truly involved in the action of a play. However, in this case, there’s a trend that does get showcased. In plays where Callaghan is defending a spot-up shooter off-ball, he’s usually doing just fine. Spot-up shooters made just 29% of their shots against Callaghan, which includes times where he had to defend a player attacking his close-out.
Shift over to plays that require chasing an offensive player, either around screens or even just staying in front of them. Callaghan’s numbers start declining. He ranks in the 42nd percentile in defending ball-handlers in the pick-and-roll, and then 26th and 54th percentile in defending shots after handoffs or off screens, respectively.
What should be encouraging is that Callaghan’s issues in this area of his game aren’t a lack of want or willpower. It’s mostly a lack of development and experience. He needs to be coached up in these areas, and so long as he puts in the effort, there’s no reason he can’t see a significant improvement from him on defense.
Fit with Utah State
A decent comparison for Callaghan’s upcoming role would be Max Weisbrod, a wing who played under Jacobson last year at Northern Iowa. It’s not a perfect comparison, as Weisbrod was a starter last year while Callaghan is most likely to come off the bench. That, and Callaghan has more on-ball scoring ability than Weisbrod. But in some broad strokes, you can get an idea of how Jacobson has used a player who is an in-the-gym type of 3-point threat.
Weisbrod attempted nearly 150 threes last year and did so through a variety of actions. My personal favorite play, and one you will definitely see Callaghan featured in, is one in which Weisbrod would loop from the corner, though the paint, and then up to the top of the arc for a handoff into a straightaway 3-pointer.
As briefly noted already, one area where Callaghan goes beyond the role Weisbrod had is as an on-ball scorer. Callaghan will join his fellow guards in running many of the pick-and-roll actions as a ball-handler. His threat to shoot at any moment is the kind of thing that will make defenses switch or hedge, two things that are likely to end with a power forward or center trying to guard Callaghan.
That’s a situation where Callaghan feasted at Wright State.
Beyond just creating a rhythm shot for Callaghan, this scenario is ripe for getting the screening big switched onto a major mismatch in the post. The Aggies have a dedicated post scorer on the team in Will Hornseth, and getting him switched onto a guard or wing as a side effect of running a ball screen for Callaghan just adds icing on the cake. And while Callaghan isn’t point guard material as a passer, he’s perfectly capable of making the passes necessary to keep the ball moving and not be a black hole on offense.
I noted off hand that Callaghan will probably be a bench player. But I should note that he’s likely to still play a significant role and see a solid amount of playing time. That could range from Kolby King’s roughly 20 minutes per game up to the 25 per night Dexter Akanno got two years ago. Neither were full-time starters, yet the two were consistently on the court and playing alongside starters and stars during crucial stretches of the game. There will probably be plenty of games in which Callaghan doesn’t start but plays up until the final buzzer.
