Washington basketball adds highly-ranked wing in transfer portal

Danny Sprinkle and the Washington Huskies picked up a pledge from one of the top-ranked players in the transfer portal on Wednesday morning in former Texas Tech forward LeJuan Watts.

Ranked as the No. 59 overall prospect and No. 7 small forward available in the portal by 247Sports, the 6-foot-6, 225-pound senior should bring the veteran experience and scoring presence that Sprinkle is looking for on the wing. After playing in 33 games for the Red Raiders last season with 28 starts, where he averaged 11.8 points, 6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game, he'll return to the Evergreen State, where he's spent the majority of his college career.

Watts, whose brother DeSean plays defensive tackle for Jedd Fisch and the football team, began his career at Eastern Washington in the 2023-24 season, before he transferred to Washington State for the 2024-25 campaign, where he averaged career-highs in points (13.7), rebounds (6.7), assists (4.4), and steals (1.1).

Now, he should slot into Sprinkle's starting rotation immediately next to junior guard Wesley Yates as the Huskies continue to figure out their lineup following another overhaul through the transfer portal. The most interesting piece of Watts' game is whether or not he'll be able to even out his touch from three-point range.

After converting on 40.5 percent of his attempts at Eastern Washington and 42.2 percent with the Cougars, he connected on just 32.1 percent from deep during his one year with the Red Raiders. If he can find that range, Watts looks like he could be a valuable three-level scorer who can space the floor for Sprinkle's offense, while he also possesses the desired size and physicality to get to the basket and be a reliable rebounder.

Watts becomes the fourth transfer portal acquisition for the Huskies this offseason, joining Davidson guard Parker Friedrichsen, Gonzaga guard Steele Venters, and San Francisco guard Ryan Beasley.

This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: Washington Huskies add highly-ranked wing in transfer portal