Washington Huskies Men's Basketball Coach Names Potential Breakout Candidates

The Washington Huskies men's basketball team will enter the 2026-27 season with a good amount of questions.

The Huskies lost four-of-five of their typical starters to a combination of the transfer portal, graduation and the NBA draft and had to replace nine of the 15 spots available on the roster this offseason.

The team's top two scorers, forward Hannes Steinbach (drafted to the Charlotte Hornets) and guard Zoom Diallo (transferred to Kentucky) were among the players to leave the program.

As much as Washington's new returners will be critical to leading the team to what would be its first winning season since joining the Big Ten, the returning players are just as, if not more crucial.

The Huskies had a combination of young players last season as well as others who deal with injuries, sometimes both.

Washington took part in Big Ten media days Thursday at Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Ill.

In an appearance on Big Ten Network at the event, head coach Danny Sprinkle picked two returning frontcourt players as breakout candidates.

"I think the two are gonna have breakout years (are) Lathan Sommerville, he's finally healthy, he's in good shape — he's actually in great shape for him, he's playing with a lot more confidence — and Nikola Dzepina," Sprinkle said in an appearance on the Big Ten Network on Thursday. " ... (Dzepina) didn't know the playbook (when he joined us last year), never been to America. He's made huge strides. His body, he's grown a little bit. Played with Team Serbia this summer on the national team and has a lot more confidence. I think their skill level's improved and I think those two are going to make a big jump."

Sommerville transferred to the Huskies before the 2025-26 season after spending his freshman season at Rutgers. He primarily served as the backup to starting center Franck Kepnang, who also transferred to Kentucky this offseason.

The 6-foot-10, 275-pound center was out 11 games due to a knee injury. Amidst his injury and receiving backup minutes, he finished his first year in the Pacific Northwest having averaged 4.7 points across 22 games (seven starts) and shot 43.8% from the field. He pulled in 2.6 rebounds per contest.

Dzepina was a late addition to the team. He joined while the season was already underway last year in December as an international recruit out of Serbia. He struggled to carve out consistent minutes and was unable to maximize his performance due to limited knowledge of the playbook.

The 6-foot-10 forward finished his first year with UW having averaged 2.6 points in 14 games on 30.2% shooting (25% from 3-point range). He pulled in 1.3 rebounds per game.

Dzepina competed with his native Serbia in the FIBA EuroBasket tournament this past summer and looked significantly improved. He led his country to the championship game and averaged 13.9 points across seven games on a 47.8% clip from the floor (32% from beyond the arc). He pulled in 6.6 boards, dished 2.3 assists and blocked 1.9 shots per contest. He was named to the all-tournament team.