Washington Huskies Add Second Transfer, ex-Gonzaga G Venters

Washington Huskies coach Danny Sprinkle acquired another transfer portal addition on Wednesday night from former Gonzaga guard Steele Venters.

The 6-foot-7 native from Ellensburg, Washington, joins ex-Davidson guard Parker Friedrichsen as the second portal addition this offseason, giving Sprinkle another experienced backcourt piece to add to the Huskies' 2026-27 roster.

Venters began his college basketball career at Eastern Washington University from 2019-23, earning First Team All-Big Sky honors as a sophomore, averaging 15.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game to help guide the Eagles to a 23-11 overall record in 2022-23.

However, after back-to-back double-digit scoring seasons in the Big Sky Conference, Venters redshirted the next two seasons due to injury before playing 27 games this past season for coach Mark Few's Bulldogs. He started 10 games and helped GU win in each game he started, averaging 6 points and providing serviceable defense and offensive distribution as a bona fide sixth man.

Venters and Freidrichsen give Sprinkle a pair of veteran guards to add to his 2026-27 roster, which only sees one starting guard on the team in junior Wesley Yates III, who averaged 12.7 points—third on the team behind freshman forward Hannes Steinbach and sophomore guard Zoom Diallo, neither of whom will be back for UW next season—and shot 31.2 percent from behind the arc in his first full season as a starter after transferring back to the school following one season at USC in 2024-25.

With added length at 6-foot-7, Venters offers an additional defensive bonus that the Huskies sorely lacked this past season, both before and after injuries began to mount, which led to only seven players being healthy at the end of the year and ultimately played a key role in UW opting out of postseason play.

Hours before Venters announced his transfer to UW, former starting guard Zoom Diallo announced his transfer to Kentucky, which could open the door for more minutes under Sprinkle depending on who else the staff adds in the portal with five returning scholarship players sophomore Jasir Rencher, sophomore forward Nikola Dzepina, junior center Lathan Sommerville, senior center/forward Mady Traore and Yates III, plus walk-on sophomore guard Brandon Roy Jr.

With Venters and Freidrichsen on board, UW has eight potential scholarship spots still available to fill ahead of next season, should Sprinkle opt to use all 15 slots.