Husky Basketball Hears Others Label It An NCAA Tourney Team

Originally posted on Washington Huskies on SI
By Dan Raley | Last updated Jul 9, 2025 9:30 PM ET

The University of Washington basketball team on Wednesday earned an NCAA Tournament berth.

No, the Huskies didn't receive an automatic bid. Nor did a committee award them at-large entry into March Madness.

Rather it was the court of public opinion, with national college basketball aficionado Jon Rothstein, after taking one look at the infusion of talent to the UW roster by Danny Sprinkle, concluding this will happen on his own.

While optimism radiates throughout Montlake these days, a word to the wise directed at Rothstein: the hard facts are the Huskies have been to the Big Dance just once in 14 seasons, and none over the past five years, which is borderline embarrassing for the school and its stewardship of this winter sporting venture.

And this includes missing in 2020 with a pair of first-round draft picks in the lineup in Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels following an 11-4 season start.

Sometimes old habits are just hard to break.

Washington looks like it can be an NCAA Tournament team in 2026.

https://t.co/c9JLel2QnF (Apple)
https://t.co/EsZxIkca32 (Spotify) pic.twitter.com/fOVijWhv7O
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) July 9, 2025

The only time over the past decade and a half the UW played in the tournament, a Mike Hopkins-coached team in 2019 beat Utah State 78-61 and lost to North Carolina 81-69 in Columbus, Ohio, in the first two rounds.

No, Sprinkle was not the Utah State basketball coach back then. He wasn't a head coach anywhere just yet.

That was so long ago, Sprinkle was concluding his final season as an assistant coach for Cal State Northridge and negotiating to take the Montana State head job while the UW was enjoying its rare moment in the basketball sun.

While the Huskies appear to have gathered sufficient talent to advance to the next NCAA postseason event, new guards Desmond Claude and Wesley Yates III know well and good to be cautious over such bold pronouncements.

After all, they've transferred in from USC, which has never been to the College Football Playoffs even with its fans convinced every year that this is going to be a strong possibility, and now banking on it more than ever following program momentum built on a string of recent recruiting successes.

It is good to be optimistic, but even better to stay humble.

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

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