Washington hired Utah State’s Danny Sprinkle to be the new head coach of the Huskies on Monday.
Sprinkle replaces Mike Hopkins, who was fired earlier this month with one year remaining on his contract.
“Simply put, Coach Sprinkle is a winner,” Washington interim athletic director Erin O’Connell said in a news release. “He won as a high school player, as a collegiate student-athlete, as an assistant coach, and then at both stops as a head coach, including the recent regular season conference championship at Utah State.
“But beyond his coaching acumen is his ability to connect with student-athletes, develop them into outstanding young men and basketball players and embrace the community around him. Coach is exactly what our program needs at this moment in time and we are thrilled to have him take the reins of our men’s basketball program.”
Sprinkle, 47, is on the move less than 24 hours after Utah State was eliminated from the NCAA Tournament by top-seeded Purdue.
Sprinkle leaves Utah State after just one season. He went 81-43 in four seasons at his alma mater Montana State before leaving to join the Aggies in April 2023. He has qualified for three consecutive NCAA tournaments, his final two seasons at Montana State and this year.
“It was going to take something special for me to leave Logan, and the University of Washington was it,” said Sprinkle, a native of Pullman, Wash. “The university means a great deal to our family and I am excited to return to my home state. With a strong commitment to excellence and incredible fan support, we will recruit exceptional young men who will take pride in wearing the purple and gold, who will win championships and who will leave UW with an impressive degree. I am excited to get started and to be a part of such a special place.”
Hopkins went 118-106 record in his seven seasons at Washington, leading the Huskies to just one NCAA berth.
The Huskies are joining the Big Ten Conference for the 2024-25 season.
Utah State got walloped by Purdue, 106-67 on Sunday. The eighth-seeded Aggies opened with a win over No. 9 TCU on Friday in the first round of the Midwest Region.
–Field Level Media
