Jon Rothstein sets high expectations for Washington entering 2025-26 season

Heading into the second season of the Danny Sprinkle era at Washington, high expectations are beginning to grow for the Huskie program.

Last season, Washington finished with a disappointing 13-18 (4-16) record in its first season of Big Ten play. Just four of its 13 wins were against power-four programs (Maryland, Minnesota, Northwestern and Penn State) and it suffered two separate six-game losing streaks.

CBS Sports college basketball insider Jon Rothstein however predicted a resurgence for the program this upcoming season on his X show last week.

“I moved Washington into the top-30 of the Rothstein 45,” Rothstein said. “Danny Sprinkle‘s team, Washington, has a chance to be one of the most improved power conference teams in college basketball next season. Desmond Claude and Wesley Yates come from USC and have produced at the high-major level. Lathan Sommerville is a really, really good piece from Rutgers. I’m a fan of what they did in other areas and Zoom Diallo is back. I think you have to look at Washington now as a top-25, top-30 team entering next season. I think that’s a fact of life.”

The Huskies return just two players from last season’s team (Zoom Diallo and Franck Kepnang) but hit it big in the transfer portal. Washington hauled in On3’s No. 3 ranked Transfer Portal class behind just Texas and Kentucky, led by a returning Wesley Yates, his USC teammate Desmond Claude, Vanderbilt forward Tyler Harris and Rutgers center Lathan Sommerville.

Yates is the prized prospect of the class, choosing to return to Washington due to his ties with his cousin Quincy Pondexter, who is an assistant coach on the staff. Last season at USC, he led all Big Ten freshmen in scoring during Big Ten play with 17.0 points per game against conference opponents. His teammate Desmond Claude was All-Big Ten Honorable Mention selection and led the Trojans in scoring.

Washington, which made the NCAA Tournament six times from 2004-2011, has been to the event just once since then (2019). Head coach Danny Sprinkle, who coached at Montana State and Utah State prior to the jump to U-Dub, had led his teams to three straight NCAA Tournaments from 2021-2024 (two at Montana State, one at Utah State).

With Sprinkle having a strong core in year two, watch out for the Huskies in a Big 10 conference that lost a lot of star power following the 2024-25 season, including Maryland‘s Derik Queen, Michigan State‘s Jase Richardson and Michigan‘s Danny Wolf.