Wesley Yates III was recognized as one of the players to watch for the Jerry West Award
There is a sense of expectation surrounding the Washington Huskies men's basketball program going into the 2025-26 season.
Last year, Washington finished the year 13-18 overall and 4-16 in the Big Ten in its first year under head coach Danny Sprinkle.
That record placed the Huskies in last place in their first year playing in the Big Ten conference, and they missed the 15-team cutoff for the postseason conference tournament.
Sprinkle and the rest of the coaching staff completely overhauled the roster. Thirteen of the 15 members of this year's team are new to the roster — either incoming freshmen or transfers. The only two returning players from the '24-25 squad are sophomore guard Zoom Diallo and graduate center Franck Kepnang.
The retooled roster was enough for several Associated Press (AP) members to vote for Washington on the first AP Top 25 poll of the season. The Huskies didn't receive a placement on the Top 25, but received seven votes.
The influx of new talent has been evident, and that was recently reaffirmed.
Sophomore guard and transfer Wesley Yates III was named to the watch list for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Tuesday. The honor is given to the best shooting guard in college basketball. Yates was one of 20 players named to the watch list.
Yates, a Beaumont, Texas, native, transferred to the Huskies after spending last year with Southern California (USC).
Yates, in his redshirt freshman year, averaged 14.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.2 steals across 33 games with the Trojans. He averaged 47.8% shooting from the floor and 43.9% from 3-point range.
Yates originally committed to Washington but redshirted in his true freshman year in 2023-24 after he suffered a foot injury before the season began.
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