USF Transfer Ryan Beasley Gives UW Basketball Veteran Floor General

With the addition of former San Francisco junior Ryan Beasley on Monday morning, the Washington Huskies secured their starting point guard for the 2026-27 season.

The 5-foot-10 veteran made 31 starts for the Dons and led the team, averaging 13.6 points and 4 assists per game, a clip that when paired with two other experienced guards—Davidson transfer Parker Friedrichsen and ex-Gonzaga wing Steele Venters—should give coach Danny Sprinkle confidence knowing the trio has 147 combined career starts.

Beasley made an official visit to UW this past weekend before he officially announced his move, which gives the Huskies four scholarship guards—returning starter Wesley Yates III being the other while sophomore Jasir Rencher could play on the wing—and three front-court options in forward Nikola Dzepina, and centers Mady Traore and Lathan Sommerville, for next season.

What differentiates Beasley from other UW point guards Danny Sprinkle has had in his first two seasons in Seattle is his consistency, both in availability and effectiveness, scoring in 57-of-60 games as a sophomore and junior with 35 starts and 60 appearances combined between 2024-26.

Since Sprinkle took the job at UW, only Zoom Diallo—who recently transferred to Kentucky—and Yates have made at least ten or more appearances and combined for the same number of games that Beasley had himself, both of which are fewer than freshman guard JJ Mandaquit's seven games without a made basket this past season.

With a dependable floor general like Beasley the need for him to be a consistent, dependable 3-point shooter is offset with the additions of Freidrichsen and Venters, one of which is expected to fill a contributing role while the other is likely to be featured more as a starter, though with only a handful of players on the roster every position is expected to have competition going into the 2026-27 season.

Given that Beasley is a ball-dominant guard, comfortable bringing the ball up the floor and distributing while also being a true point guard and facilitator, there could be more of a three-guard lineup with the San Francisco guard playing the one, Yates III playing the two guard position and one of Freidrichsen or Venters playing the wing and one of Sommerville or Dzepina, or another portal addition, playing the four with the ex-Rutgers reserve playing at center.