Having to replace 12 players in basketball in no easy feat, that’s exactly what Washington basketball coach Danny Sprinkle had to do. The 2025-26 Huskies team looks more than ready to make an impact in their second-year in the Big Ten, of their top six scorers from last season only Zoom Diallo returns. The transfer of Tyler Davis certainly was a bit shocking, but Washington certainly did some real work during the offseason to try and better themselves after going 4-16 in the Big Ten in 2024-25.
So what can the Huskies do this season. They have some real firepower and plenty of new players for 2025-26 that they could easily be a sneaky good team. So let’s dig a little deeper into Washington basketball in 2025-26.
Washington Basketball 2025-26 Preview: Huskies Could Be Sneaky Good
Roster Outlook
Diallo really stepped up down the stretch last season as a freshman, and with his return, along with the massive additions of transfers including four from within the conference itself is going to be huge. That group is headlined by a pair of former USC Trojans in Wesley Yates III who returns to Washington for his second stint along with the Trojans leading scorer Desmond Claude.
They aren’t alone as a pair of now sophomores in Bryson Tucker (Indiana) and Lathan Sommerville (Rutgers) will be ready to contribute.
Quimari Peterson and Jacob Ognacevic both come in a graduate senior transfers. Peterson was the Southern Conferce Player of the Year at East Tennessee and certainly gives the Huskies another point guard piece. As for Ognacevic he’s another regining Conference Player of the Year from the A-Sun, as he averaged 20 points and eight rebounds at Lipscomb.
Mady Traore is back in the Big Ten, after spending last year at the JUCO Level. He will be looking to contribute in the post as the Huskies must replace Great Osobor. Florida State transfer Christian Nitu will also get an opportunity in that spot as well.
A strong batch of Freshman led by the son of former Huskie Brandon Roy should help fill some holes. Brandon Roy Jr, and top recruit JJ Mandaquit along with Courtland Muldrew and Jasir Rencher highlight a five-player class that is finished off with Hannes Steinbach a 6-foot-9 small forward from Germany, who looks more than ready to perform.
Hannes dunks it and now has 22 points and 14 rebounds 💪
Subscribe/watch on B1G+ https://t.co/TEkKB32mHA pic.twitter.com/Q7CeVOqTvg
— Washington Men's Basketball (@UW_MBB) October 19, 2025
The final spot on the roster belongs to Franck Kepnang who has had an injury riddled career to this point. He’s still a question mark at this point.
Schedule Outlook
Washington got to showcase a little bit in their opening exhibition with UNLV. As they get ready to gear up for their season opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on November 3rd, the Huskies have plenty of intriguing games to look forward to. It includes road trips to Baylor (Nov. 9th) and in-state rival Washington State (Nov. 14th).
From their they travel to Palm Desert, California for the Acrisure Holiday Classic during Thanksgiving. They will play Nevada and San Francisco in that event. Then comes their two early Big Ten games at home against a possible conference contender in UCLA, and then a trip to USC. They get an exciting final non-conference home game against the Utah Utes in late December.
That leads to a challenging Big Ten Slate that begins with a road trip to the State of Indiana. Yep they begin the 2026 part of the calendar with road visits to Bloomington (Indiana) and West Lafayette (Purdue). Those games should really show if Washington can be taken seriously this year.
Home Games: Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Oregon, Iowa, Penn State, Minnesota, Wisconsin, USC
Road Games: Nebraska, Illinois, Northwestern, UCLA, Maryland, Rutgers, Oregon
Last Word on the Huskies
Coach Tinkle has had quite the challenge rebuilding teams each season. But in year two on the bench at Washington, this group has a chance to make some real noise. Sure only having one returning player makes things a challenge, but the group the Huskies have been able to bring together has talent. That makes Washington as dangerous as anyone in the Big Ten. Sure they might not have many expectations nationally, but this is a group that could sneak up and surprise anybody.
© Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
