Former Washington State kicker Blake Mazza announces transfer to SMU

When Blake Mazza announced plans to transfer from Washington State last week, the kicker expressed a desire to finish his career close to home.

The Plano, Texas, native couldn’t have found a destination much closer than SMU.

On Tuesday, Mazza announced he’ll be transferring to the American Athletic Conference school in Dallas, tweeting “I’m coming home! #PonyUp.”

During an interview with The Spokesman-Review last week, Mazza said playing his last college season, or seasons, in his home state of Texas was a priority. The Cougars played two games in the Longhorn State the past three seasons, traveling to San Antonio for the Alamo Bowl and playing Houston at NRG Stadium during the 2019 season, but Mazza’s parents rarely got an opportunity to see their son play at Martin Stadium because of travel costs to and from Dallas.

Mazza is also engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Makenzie Wise, and indicated that also played a role in his decision to transfer. The two are getting married this summer in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Because the NCAA afforded every player another year of eligibility, Mazza will have two seasons to play at SMU if he chooses. He leaves WSU as the career leader in field-goal percentage. In 2019, he became the first Lou Groza Award finalist in school history.