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Inside The Huskies

Kepnang Latest Husky To Exit For Transfer Portal

The big man leaves Montlake after fours injury-filled seasons.
Dan Raley|
Franck Kepnang lets his emotions out against Oregon, his old team.
Franck Kepnang lets his emotions out against Oregon, his old team. | Dave Sizer photo

For those who thought they might never see the day that Franck Kepnang would say farewell to the University of Washington basketball program, it appears that time has come.

The 6-foot-11 pound center from Cameroon apparently will forsake a fifth season with the Huskies in order to enter the transfer portal and play his seventh college year acquired through a medical waiver elsewhere, according to On3.

Thus a forgettable second season for UW coach Danny Sprinkle continues to disintegrate before his eyes with the ultra loyal Kepnang becoming the sixth player to enter the transfer portal during this cycle.

He follows guards Zoom Diallo, JJ Mandaquit, Courtland Muldrew and Desmond Claude, plus forward Christian Nitu, out the door.

Overall, the Huskies have lost seven players with forward Bryson Tucker declaring his intentions to make himself available for the NBA Draft.

Franck Kepnang was an intimidating UW dunker.
Franck Kepnang was an intimidating UW dunker. | Dave Sizer photo

An eighth player, forward Hannes Steinbach, is expected to enter the draft, as well, but has not revealed his plans just yet.

Minus two graduating seniors, the UW appears to be down to just five scholarship returnees in guard Wesley Yates III, forward Lathan Somerville, forward Nikola Dzepina, swingman Jasir Rencher and center Mady Traore.

Traore didn't play last season because of a foot injury and Rencher had his freshman year end early because of heart issues that required a medical procedure.

The oft-injured Kepnang leaves after being unable to finish three of his four UW seasons, including this past one, because of chronic knee injuries.

He appeared in 59 games and started 41 times for Mike Hopkins- and Sprinkle-coached teams, averaging 7.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and nearly 2 blocks per game.

After two seasons at Oregon, Kepnang transferred in, played eight games in the 2022-23 season and was lost to a knee injury.

Franck Kepnang wipes up a wet spot on the floor.
Franck Kepnang wipes up a wet spot on the floor. | Skylar Lin Visuals

The following year, he played in 10 games and suffered another season-ending knee injury, done before Christmas once more.

For the 2024-25 season, Kepnang was hurt in the second game, missed 19 and returned to play in a dozen games.

The big man seemed to hold up well this past season, but missed the final six games as wear and tear caught up to him.

Kepnang was an explosive player around the rim, intimidating as a dunker and a shot-blocker, and he could drop in a soft one-hander at times.

Yet he had noticeably bad hands to the point his teammates couldn't continually feed him inside without him fumbling the ball, so he brings limitations wherever he ends up.

His best attribute, however,might be that he was an exceptionally good teammate in encouraging his fellow players either while in or out of uniform.

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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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