Washington Huskies Center Lathan Sommerville Embracing Leadership Role

SEATTLE — The Washington Huskies men's basketball team will need several players to step up in the 2026-27 season, both in an on- and off-the-court capacity.

The Huskies top scorers from last season, forward Hannes Steinbach (drafted by the Charlotte Hornets) and guard Zoom Diallo (transferred to Kentucky Wildcats) are no longer with the program. Diallo and center Franck Kepnang (transferred to Kentucky) were the only two returning players on last year's roster compared to the previous year.

Third-year center Lathan Sommerville is one of six returning players on Washington's roster this season from last. He was Kepnang's backup last year and started in the team's 109-91, exhibition game loss against the Boise State Broncos on Oct. 17. Now, in his second year with the program and in a starting role, he's begun to embrace the role he's inherited as a leader.

"(I'm) just trying to be more of a vocal voice and just lead by example, really," Sommerville said after a practice Tuesday at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle. "Being consistent in that every day. That's just how I'm approaching it."

In addition to emerging as a leader in the UW locker room, he's also been spending the offseason looking to get back to form after his first year in the Pacific Northwest was derailed with injury.

Sommerville missed 11 of the team's 33 games last year due to a knee injury. He came back for the team's final 11 games, which included the final stretch of Big Ten play and the Huskies' two Big Ten games against the Southern California (USC) Trojans and Wisconsin Badgers.

With Sommerville's minutes fluctuant due to sitting behind Kepnang, and him working his way back from his knee injury, he was unable to maximize his ability in the final stretch of the year.

The 6-foot-10, 275-pound center finished his second year of college ball and first in the Pacific Northwest having averaged 4.3 points on 43.8% shooting from the floor across 22 games (seven starts). He also averaged 2.6 rebounds per contest.

This offseason, Sommerville has been working both individually and with the team to make sure this season goes better than last.

"(That was) extremely important," Sommerville said. "(I don't want to say I'm) building back up my confidence, but just knowing what I can do. I know the type of player I am. I believe I'm a high-level player. So just getting back to that and just knowing what I can do."

Sommerville's competitive nature hasn't waivered despite his injury from last season. He was arguably the most vocal player in Tuesday's practice.

Sometimes, that competitiveness can be a double-edged sword. He fouled out of the exhibition game against Boise State after drawing a technical foul. He also led the team in points (10) and rebounds (five) at halftime, which saw UW go on a run to get the deficit down to 13.

That competitive nature has been something that Sommerville sees in the team as a whole, and it might be what keeps Washington competitive in a stacked Big Ten conference.

"That (competitiveness is) never going to go anywhere," Sommerville said. "I feel like this team is, overall, a very competitive team. I feel like nobody wants to lose. That's never the case, but with this group, it definitely stands out."