The Huskies will be without sophomore guard Wesley Yates III for the foreseeable future
The Washington Huskies men's basketball team has one more nonconference game left on the schedule before beginning a Big Ten gauntlet.
The Huskies will face the Utah Utes at 8 p.m. PT on Dec. 29 at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle. After that game, Washington will face four in-conference teams currently ranked 13th or better in their first six games in January.
The Huskies will be without one of their best players for the foreseeable future.
According to a report on "X" from Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68, sophomore guard Wesley Yates III will be out indefinitely after undergoing wrist surgery. The report came via comments made by head coach Danny Sprinkle.
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Yates suffered the injury in Washington's 70-66 loss against Seattle University on Dec. 19. He was pulled from the game having played just under 11 minutes after coaches and trainers noticed swelling in his hand. He missed the team's subsequent 86-56 win against San Diego on Dec. 22.
It's a disappointing setback for Yates, who is currently in his second stint with the Huskies.
Yates originally committed to the program under former head coach Mike Hopkins. In his freshman year in 2023-24, Yates suffered an injury that forced him to redshirt and miss the entire year.
Yates transferred to the Southern California (USC) Trojans 2024-25.
Yates re-entered the transfer portal after his redshirt freshman season with the Trojans and Sprinkle was able to convince the Beaumont, Texas, native to return to the Pacific Northwest.
In 11 games this season, Yates has averaged 14.9 points per game on 39.5% shooting from the floor and a 33.8% clip from 3-point range. His scoring output is second on the team behind freshman forward Hannes Steinbach (17.9 points per game).
Yates has also pulled in 3.9 rebounds per game.
In addition to his scoring and rebounding, Yates has been one of Sprinkle's most opportunistic guards while guarding the perimeter. He averaged 1.6 steals per game before going down with his injury.
Yates also led the Huskies and was fifth in the Big Ten in minutes per game (31.2).
Washington, which has dealt with a variety of injuries this season, will likely turn towards senior guard Quimari Peterson, another sharpshooter, to fill in the minutes vacated with Yates' injury.
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