Washington Huskies Men's Basketball Earns First Commitment From Class of 2027

The Washington Huskies men's basketball team landed just one commitment from the Class of 2026 last year.

That commit didn't happen until the offseason April 24. That player was three-star Small Forward Lattimore Ford, who attended Combine Academy in Charlotte, N.C.. Ford began his career near the Huskies at Mount Si High School in Snoqualmie, Wash. He ranked as the 261st-best overall player, 74th-best small forward and 11th-best player in North Carolina in the class, per the 247Sports composite.

UW didn't need to wait nearly as long to find its first commitment from the Class of 2027.

On Tuesday, Washington earned a commitment from four-star shooting guard Jimmie Haywood. The 6-foot-3, 170-pound two-guard chose the Huskies amidst a final three that also included the Nevada Wolfpack and Loyola Marymount Lions.

Similar to Ford, Haywood currently attends high school outside the Pacific Northwest. He goes to Compass Prep in Chandler, Ariz., but started high school career at Garfield High School in Seattle.

Haywood ranks as the 172nd-best overall player, 25th-best shooting guard and 16th-best player in the Class of '27, per the 247Sports composite. Rivals' Industry Rankings has him ranked as the 136th-best overall player, 37th-best shooting guard and 13th-best player in Arizona.

The shooting guard averaged 6.2 points and 1.4 rebounds across 25 games with Compass Prep last year. Following his junior season, Haywood began competing in the Nike EYBL circuit, where he started to draw more eyes and offers.

Haywood's commitment represents the first domino to fall for the UW men's basketball team, who shifted the team's coaching staff and managing personnel to have a slant towards player development and recruiting.

The Huskies hired former Syracuse Orange general manager Alex Kline for the same role. He specialized in Name, Image, Likeness (NIL) management and recruiting while with the Orange.

Washington also hired former Oregon Ducks assistant coach Mike Mennenga, who specialized in recruiting during his time in the Pacific Northwest.

The Huskies are reportedly last in the Big Ten in spending allocated towards their men's basketball roster and had to rely on international players and upperclassmen transfers this offseason to fill out the roster.

Haywood's commitment is a good step towards not having to rely as heavily on alternative pipelines to fill out the roster, and the team's recruiting efforts might not be over yet.

Washington also made the final four for five-star combo guard and Bremerton, Wash., native Jalen Davis.