How Former UW Basketball Players Are Faring Elsewhere

They should have stayed in Montake.

Of 11 former University of Washington basketball players suiting up elsewhere this season, just one is a full-time starter while nearly everyone else has seen their minutes and points dramatically plummet away from the Huskies.

Only Nate Calmese, now with Wake Forest, is a steady first-teamer, opening all 21 games for his 11-10 ACC team.

However, he's just the fourth-leading scorer for the Demon Deacons at 10.4 points per game with a high of 28 in an 87-84 loss to North Carolina.

Previously, Calmese was a 17.6 scorer at Lamar as the 2023 Southland Freshman of the Year, a 4.1 point-producer for the UW two years ago and a 15.2 scorer at Washington State last season.

Otherwise, the drop in performance and participation have been a little disconcerting for most involved.

Koren Johnson's career has nosedived in his two seasons since laving the UW, first for Louisville and now for Mississippi. A year ago, he played just two games before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury for his ACC team.

Moving to Ole Miss, the 6-foot-1 sophomore guard still hasn't returned to form, appearing in 15 games as a sub and averaging just 2 points per game while averaging 8.4 minutes an outing for an 11-9 team.

Playing with Calmese at Wake Forest is 6-foot-5 senior guard Mekei Mason, who started the first nine games for his 11-10 ACC team before heading for the bench for the past dozen outings.

Mason currently averages 7.2 points per outing, down from 9.9 at the UW in 2025, where he was a 20-game starter.

Vanderbilt's Tyler Harris, the former Husky, looks for a shot against Texas. | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

Tyler Harris, a 6-foot-7 junior forward, has gone from a 27-game starter and 11.8 scorer for the Huskies last season to just two starts in 21 games and a 7.1 scoring average for 18-3 Vanderbilt.

Harris has scored only in single digits for his SEC team in each of the past eight games. His role barely resembles what he did for coach Danny Sprinkle.

Wilhelm Breidenbach transferred to Grand Canyon and the 6-foot-10 senior in the black-rimmed glasses averages just 2.9 points per game while starting four of 21 games for the 14-7 Antelopes.

Grand Canyon's Wilhelm Breidenbach, the former Husky, battles for rebound position. | Rob Schumacher/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Last season, he was a 17-game starter and 4.5 point-producer for the Huskies.

Dominique Diomande arrived at midseason from France to join Sprinkle's UW team and didn't get into a game. He's now at BYU and his progress has been negligable.

The 6-foot-7 redshirt freshman has appeared in 14 games, all in a reserve role for a 17-3 team. He averages 2.1 points per game and 6 minutes per outing.

KC Ibekwe, a 6-foot-11, 285-pound senior big man, now plays for Pacific in the West Coast Conference and has appeared in 23 games as a reserve and averages 3.8 points and 1.7 rebounds for a 15-8 team, averaging 8.8 minutes.

Last season in 12 games at the UW, Ibekwe averaged 1.6 points and 1.1 rebounds in 5.6 minutes an outing.

Samuel Ariyibi, a 6-foot-8 senior, has played for Utah Tech the past two seasons and now answers to the first name of "Tobi," and he's seen his role decrease from to year with his new team.

Utah Tech's Samuel Ariyibi, the former Husky, goes for a shot against Utah. | Rob Gray-Imagn Images

After averaging 7.8 points per game and starting 18 games in 2025. Ariyibi has opened just one game and averages 2 points an outing this sesaon for a 12-11 team. He appeared in just six UW games over three seasons.

Someone scoring a lot more after leaving the UW is 6-foot-8 sophomore forward Christian King who averages 12.7 points per outing while starting 9 of 18 games for a 13-9 Montana State team.

Last season, King appeared in 20 UW games and averaged 2.5 points per game.

Colorado State guard Jase Butler, formerly of the UW, goes up against a pair of Utah State defenders. | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Also experiencing an uptick is 6-foot-4 sophomore swingman Jase Butler, who averages 7.6 ppg while starting four of 20 games for 12-9 Colorado State.

Butler appeared in 18 games and averaged 1.9 points last season for the UW.

Finally, 6-foot-7 senior forward Tyler Linhardt has experienced a career revival at idaho for two seasons, averaging 8.2 and 8.8 points an outing while starting seven of 56 games. He played in just three UW games and scored 6 points in 2023.

However, Linhardt hasn't played this season. He's still on the roster and presumably is injured.

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