Lathan Sommerville moves from Rutgers to the UW for the coming season. Alex Martin/Journal and Courier / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Huskies Should Try This Big Ten Lineup On for Size

Originally posted on Washington Huskies on SI
By Dan Raley | Last updated Jun 15, 2025 3:38 PM ET

The transition to the Big Ten for last season's University of Washington basketball players was a lot harder than many of them envisioned.

The league was rougher than they were used to. They weren't always sure what to do when push came to shove. Last place for the Huskies was an unwelcome outcome.

To fix this inequity, coach Danny Sprinkle went out and signed up 12 new players with a caveat -- five of them come from Big Ten teams last season so they're not getting into anything they haven't experienced before.

While Sprinkle returns conference-tested Huskies in guard Zoom Diallo and center Franck Kepnang, should he want to use five newcomers with Big Ten entries on their resumes, the lineup would look something like this:

LATHAN SOMMERVILLE

The 6-foot-10, 275-pound center comes from Rutgers, where he spent his freshman season and averaged 8.2 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. A 15-game starter, he opened against the Huskies and shared in an 89-85 overtime victory at Alaska Airlines Arena. He had season highs of 17 points against Michigan and 9 rebounds against Maryland, UCLA and Wagner.

️ @TheAndyKatz LOVES what @UW_MBB has accomplished in the offseason #B1GMBBall pic.twitter.com/64ESFZ70rO
— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) June 9, 2025

MADY TRAORE

As a 7-foot, 195-pound sophomore in 2023-24, Traore started four of 12 games for Maryland before crashing to the floor with a knee injury. In his first start for the Terrapins, he scored 8 points and grabbed 5 rebounds against Ohio State.

BRYSON TUCKER

A McDonald's All-American, the 6-foot-7, 207-pound forward appeared in 23 games for Indiana, all in a reserve role. He averaged 5.4 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. He had a season-high 16 points against Minnesota on 6-for-10 shooting.

WESLEY YATES III

As a USC transfer, he's overly familiar with the Big Ten. And after an injury redshirt year in 2023-24 at the UW, he knows Montlake, too. Yates returns to the Huskies after starting 24 of 33 games for USC and averaging 14.1 points per game, second on the team. He had six games of 20 points or more, topped by a 30-point outing at Purdue on 11-for-22 shooting.

DESMOND CLAUDE

The 6-foot-6, 201-pound senior guard comes to Montlake after scoring 20 or more points for USC 11 times. He averaged 15.8 points and 4.2 assists an outing. He had a 31-point game against Illinois on 12-for-20 shooting and a season-high 11 assists against the Huskies.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

This article first appeared on Washington Huskies on SI and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: