Battle Transfers to Montana State, Third Husky to Find New Home

RaeQuan Battle, one of six players to leave the University of Washington basketball team since the season ended, became the third to find a new home, choosing to play next for Montana State.

On Sunday, the 6-foot-5 sophomore guard from Tulalip, Washington, who is a member of the Tulalip tribe, announced his decision on social media.

He joins a Big Sky team that recently finished 13-10 and has been coached for seasons by former Bobcats player Danny Sprinkle.

Of the six UW players who transferred, guard Erik Stevenson disclosed earlier Sunday that he will play for South Carolina while guard Nate Pryor earlier committed to New Mexico State.

After an encouraging freshman year at the UW, Battle really regressed this past season with coach Mike Hopkins, barely playing over the final two months for a 5-21 team.

Battle appeared in 14 games for the Huskies and started one. His season high point was a 19-point performance against Oregon in a 74-71 loss at home in December.

Yet he often played out of control and couldn't hit his long-range shot, connecting on a miserable 25.6 percent from the field and 20.4 percent from 3-point range.

More than any Husky player from this pasts team, Battle's situation begged the question of whether players are being properly developed by the current coaching regime.

Joining Montana State, which has one other Washington state player in 6-foot-8 freshman forward Tyler Patterson from Snoqualmie, Battle will have three seasons of eligibility remaining.

Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven

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