Inside The Huskies

Ex-Husky Jase Butler Finds Rebound Team in Colorado State

The freshman guard was the first Danny Sprinkle player to enter the transfer portal when the season ended.
Dan Raley|
Jase Butler lets fly with a 3-pointer in front of the UW bench.
Jase Butler lets fly with a 3-pointer in front of the UW bench. | Skylar Lin Visuals

Jase Butler might turn out to be a fairly decent college basketball player someday.

Yet the freshman shooting guard's pressing dilemma in Montlake was this -- Danny Sprinkle's concentrated University of Washington rebuilding effort couldn't wait for him to get comfortable.

Three weeks after becoming the first Husky to enter the transfer portal, the 6-foot-4 Butler committed to Colorado State, according to multiple outlets, joining a team that previously recruited him.

He also played against the Rams in his fifth college game, pulling six minutes and going scoreless last November in the UW's 73-67 victory in Palm Springs.

During this past season, Sprinkle described Butler as one of his hardest-working players, always trying to do things right. He had a smooth left-handed jumper.

However, he never made anything happen in his 18 game appearances. Unlike fellow UW freshman guard Zoom Diallo, Butler struggled to put the ball in the basket.

His high game was 8 points in his college debut against Nevada. He went scoreless in 11 outings. He shot just 25 percent, 28.6 from 3-point range. He didn't score again when the calendar turned over to 2025.

In comparison, the 6-foot-4 Diallo became a 22-game starter and 11.1-point scorer for the Huskies.

From San Anselmo, California, Butler originally committed to Illinois when playing for the Branson School. Yet he changed his mind and along with Diallo became Sprinkle's first two high school recruits at Washington.

He'll play for a Colorado State team that has a new coach in Ali Farokmanesh, formerly a Rams assistant for Niko Medved, now at Minnesota. He will try to get untracked with a group that captured the Mountain West Tournament and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

To get the latest UW football and basketball news, go to si.com/college/washington

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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