Washington guard Wesley Yates III enters transfer portal

Washington shooting guard Wesley Yates III announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal on Tuesday.

Less than a week after new Washington Huskies basketball coach Danny Sprinkle secured his first commitment, he’s suffered his first potential loss.

Freshman guard Wesley Yates III announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal on Tuesday, saying in a statement that he plans to explore other opportunities while leaving the door open at Washington.

Yates missed his freshman season with a lower leg injury that he re-aggravated midway through the season, preventing Huskies fans from seeing the top 50 prospect in action in Mike Hopkins’ final season as head coach.

The four-star recruit and cousin of former Washington assistant coach Quincy Pondexter was the No. 5 shooting guard in the class of 2023 according to the 247 Sports composite rankings coming out of Beaumont United High School in Texas.

Yates was recruited heavily by Auburn, LSU, Stanford, and Texas before committing to Hopkins as the headliner of Washington’s 39th ranked recruiting class of 2023.

With Paul Mulcahy out of eligibility and Koren Johnson also in the portal, Washington is on track to lose the majority of their minutes at shooting guard from a season ago.

Rice transfer Mekhi Mason, a Conference USA All-Freshman team selection, could be the man to step into those minutes. Johnson included Washington in his top five schools in late March, so it remains possible that he returns as well.