It has been a tumultuous few months on Montlake for the Washington Huskies, with coaching changes in both football and men’s basketball, as well as looking for its second athletic director in six months. However, there is now just one opening to fill.
It has long been rumored that Utah State head coach Danny Sprinkle was the Washington’s top target to replace Mike Hopkins. First reported by Inside the Huskies’ Dan Raley, Sprinkle and the Huskies have agreed to terms to bring him to Seattle, which was confirmed by multiple outlets on Monday morning.
The former Montana State basketball standout and later head coach has had a lot of success with both the Bobcats and Aggies, leading his teams to three consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament.
Sprinkle started his coaching career in 2000 as an assistant coach at Cal State Northridge, spending six years with the Matadors. He then returned to his alma mater, Montana State, as an assistant to head coach Brad Huse for two seasons before returning to CSUN for the next five.
With the https://t.co/8b8GyCsYg8 network down for a day, that hasn't stopped multiple people close to the UW basketball program from reaching out to say Danny Sprinkle will become the next Husky coach once his Utah State NCAA run ends. Apparently ex-AD Troy Dannen got this done. pic.twitter.com/KAgWOYgk2q
— Dan Raley (@DanRaley1) March 23, 2024
In 2013 he joined the staff at Cal State Fullerton until once again returning to Montana State as the head coach in 2019 replacing Brian Fish. During his four years in Bozeman, he led the Bobcats to an 81-43 record and brought his team to the NCAA Tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time in school history.
In 2023, he left for the head coaching job at Utah State and found great success with the Aggies, going 28-7 on the season and claiming the top spot in the Mountain West Conference, earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament before losing to top-seeded Purdue 106-67 in the second round.
Sprinkle also has roots in Washington, as he was born in Pullman and his father, Bill, played safety on Montlake from 1964-68.