Washington hires Danny Sprinkle from Utah State as men's basketball coach
A day after being bounced from the NCAA tournament, Danny Sprinkle has a new job.
Washington announced on Monday that it has hired Sprinkle as its men's basketball coach. Sprinkle just completed his first season at Utah State, where he led the Aggies to the NCAA tournament as a No. 8 seed. The Aggies won their NCAA tournament opener over TCU, then lost to No. 1 seed Purdue on Sunday.
Sprinkle, 47, has five seasons of NCAA experience as a head coach. He coached his alma mater Montana State for four seasons before taking the Utah State job in 2023. A native of Pullman, Wash., Sprinkle played four seasons at Montana State, where he was named All-Big Sky.
"It was going to take something special for me to leave Logan, and the University of Washington was it," Sprinkle said, via a statement provided by Washington. "The university means a great deal to our family and I am excited to return to my home state."
Sprinkle took over a Utah State program that previously made the NCAA tournament in 2023 under Ryan Odom, who left to take the head coaching job at VCU. Sprinkle led the Aggies to a 28-7 record, first-place finish in the Mountain West and an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament. Their win over TCU was the program's first in the NCAA tournament since 2011.
Sprinkle replaces Mike Hopkins, who was fired in March after seven seasons on the job. The Huskies finished ninth place in the Pac-12 this season with a 17-15 (9-11 Pac 12) record. Washington missed the NCAA tournament for a fifth consecutive season.
The Huskies made one NCAA tournament in Hopkins' seven seasons, advancing to the second round in 2019 as a No. 9 seed. Washington's previous NCAA tournament appearance was in 2011.
