The Huskies men's basketball team will be taking on the BYU Cougars at the annual event in Hawaii.
The Washington Huskies men's basketball team will be looking to take what could possibly be a necessary step forward for the future of Danny Sprinkle as head coach of the program.
The Huskies finished last season 16-17 and missed out on the NCAA tournament for the seventh-straight season.
Washington had six players return from last season, which will leave the team with several questions to answer as to the roles of the nine newcomers on the roster.
Usually for the Huskies, and other Power Four teams, the offseason practice and nonconference schedule is the time to figure out lingering questions when it comes to starting positions and the rotation.
Unfortunately for Washington, its nonconference slate looks to be stacked, with the majority of top-end, non-Big Ten competition set to come in the Maui Invitational.
The Huskies will compete in the Southwest Airlines Maui Invitation from Nov. 23-25, 2026, at the Lahaina Civic Center in Lahaina, Hawaii.
The full slate for UW at the Invitational is still yet to be announced, but it was confirmed in a post on "X" on Wednesday from the team's official account that the BYU Cougars will be one of Washington's opponents.
The other six teams set to compete at the Invitational include: Arizona, Clemson, Providence, Colorado State, Ole Miss and Virginia Commonwealth (VCU). The Huskies will play two games among the additional crop of six.
In addition to Washington's three nonconference games at the Maui Invitational, the team has two more non-Big Ten games currently scheduled against Colgate on Nov. 2 and against Baylor on Dec. 29 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle.
That leaves the Huskies with six open slots for nonconference competition, which are still unknown.
Two of Washington's usual in-state rivals outside of the Big Ten, the Washington State Cougars and Seattle University Redhawks, will not be on the Huskies' schedule after years of consecutive competition (over a century of consecutive games against WSU).
Washington Huskies forward Emmitt Matthews Jr. scores during a game against the Seattle University Redhawks on Dec. 18, 2021, at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle. | Joe Nicholson/Imagn ImagesWith six open slots available, not including the two additional to-be-announced Maui Invitational games, Sprinkle and Washington will likely have several opportunities throughout the nonconference slate to iron out the rotation ahead of Big Ten competition, despite the Redhawks and Cougars no longer being on the schedule.
However, the list of talented programs set to compete in the Maui Invitational could pressure the Huskies to figure out the questions on their roster sooner rather than later. BYU lost its best player, AJ Dybansta, to the NBA Draft, but is still expected to be a talented team. With Arizona, Ole Miss and Clemson also in the mix, Washington could have an opportunity to add to its 2026-27 resume and earn several Quad 1 wins before Big Ten play even begins.
