The Washington Huskies men's basketball team has had an unfortunate season that has been plagued with injuries.

The Huskies have had just two players, sophomore guard Zoom Diallo and senior center Franck Kepnang, play all 22 games this season and at least 10 players pop up on the injured report this year due to various ailments.

All of these factors have played out to a 12-11 overall record for Washington and a 4-8 mark in Big Ten competition.

One of the few things that have gone right for the Huskies this season has been freshman forward Hannes Steinbach.

Aside from a three-game stretch where he was out due to an ankle sprain, the German big man has been a fixture in UW's starting five and has received hype as a potential high pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Steinbach was also recently named as one of 10 players to watch for a national award.

The first-year forward was named the midseason watchlist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award.

The honor, awarded by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, is annually given to the best center at the NCAA Division I level.

Past winners of the award, which was established in 2014, include Frank Kaminsky (Wiconsin), Jakob Poltl (Utah) and two-time winners Luka Garza (Iowa) and Zach Edey (Purdue), among others.

Steinbach recorded his 15th career double-double of the season in the team's 84-74 loss against Iowa on Feb. 4. His 20-point, 12-rebound showing gave him the program record for the most double-doubles by a freshman. It's also the second-most double-doubles in the country.

Steinbach is averaging 17.8 points per game this season on 53.7% shooting from the floor. He's also pulled in 11.5 rebounds per game and has blocked 1.1 shots per game. He's also putting up averages of one steal and 1.6 assists per game.

Steinbach's 17.8 points and 11.5 rebounds per game lead Washington.

Steinbach's 11.5 rebounds per game are the most among other players on the midseason watchlist for the award, which includes Motiejus Krivas (Arizona), Alex Condon (Florida), Flory Bidunga (Kansas), Aday Mara (Michigan), Rienk Mast (Nebraska), Henri Veesaar (North Carolina), Oscar Cluff (Purdue), Zuby Ejiofor (St. John's) and Tarris Reed Jr. (UConn).

Fans will have an opportunity to vote on the award by following this link. The winner of the fan vote will count as one committee vote.

Steinbach and the Huskies will next be in action against UCLA at 7 p.m. PT on Feb. 7 at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.

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