Washington lands elite PG recruit over BYU, USC and others

JJ Mandaquit is one of the top point guards in the country, and that's good news for the Washington Huskies because he just committed to head coach Danny Sprinkle and his staff.

It's also big news because Mandaquit chose Washington over several other big-time suitors. From Hurricane, Utah, in-state BYU was one of the four-star's finalists. Cal, Creighton, Louisville and USC were also in the running for his commitment, but Washington ultimately won out.

“I’ve always been a Washington fan because my grandma was from the area and we would always visit the campus when we would visit family in Seattle. Coach Sprinkle has been successful everywhere he’s coached and I believe in his plan for the program going forward," Mandaquit told On3 regarding his commitment. "I also believe in his vision for me within the program and his plan for me to develop individually. I feel like coach Sprinkle and the staff can help me achieve my goals as a player while in college and in the future to one day play professionally.”

The hope is that Sprinkle can replicate the success at Washington that he had at Utah State in 2023-24. He led the Aggies' men's basketball program to its first outright Mountain West regular-season title while also coaching them to their first NCAA tournament win since 2001.

The expectations are obviously a bit higher at Washington, but there's certainly a belief at Washington that Sprinkle was the right person to replace Mike Hopkins, who went 118-106 at Washington in seven seasons with just one March Madness appearance. 

“My biggest message to UW fans would be that I’m grateful to them and the coaching staff for the opportunity to be part of such a great program and I take it very seriously to come in and do my best to carry on the lineage of all the great point guards who have come through the program before me," Mandaquit said.

He's now Washington's second 2025 commitment, joining four-star shooting guard Courtland Muldrew. Mandaquit is ranked as the No. 6 point guard recruit in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite.