University of Washington men's basketball standout Hannes Steinbach continues to generate praise from the college hoops industry, with longtime insider Andy Katz talking on Thursday about how Steinbach has a chance to be a part of one of the most storied freshman classes we've ever seen.

Katz, who has worked for ESPN and the NCAA, said he thinks that the freshman class has a chance to dominate the awards this season and fill up spots on All-America teams. He also thinks it has a chance to dominate the NBA Draft Lottery next summer. He included Steinbach in that group. You can see his full comments in the player above.

About Steinbach

At 6'11','' he's a handful down low for opponents, and he showed that on Monday night in a season-opening win against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, scoring 21 points and pulling down seven rebounds.

The following information comes from his UW player page:

Led Germany to the Silver Medal at the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup

• Was one of five selections to the competitions All-Star Team

• Averaged 17.4 points, 13.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game at the World Cup

• Led all scorers in the Gold Medal game against Team USA, dropping in 19 points

• In Germany’s Round of 16 win over Serbia, racked up 23 points and 19 rebounds

The German connection 

There have been several prominent German players to make an impact in college basketball or the NBA, including Basketball Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki and former Seattle SuperSonics star Detlef Schrempf.

Schrempf also played at Washington and then went onto a 16-year NBA career with the Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers, SuperSonics and Portland Trailblazers. He helped lead the Sonics to the 1995-96 NBA Finals, where they were beaten by the Chicago Bulls.

Beyond Nowitzki and Schrempf? Point guard Dennis Schroder, Franz Wagner, Moritz Wagner and Maxi Kleber are current NBA players from Germany.

Up next for Washington

The Huskies will be at home on Thursday night against Denver. Tip-off time from Alaska Airlines Arena is set for 7 p.m. PT. Our own Teren Kowatsch will have live coverage on the ground and you can follow him on social media @Teren_Kowatsch.

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