Inside The Huskies

Husky Basketball Contacts Two-Time Oklahoma Player of Year

Jalen Montonati is a 5-star prospect and the son of a former Oklahoma State player.
Dan Raley|
Jalen Montonati has heard from Danny Sprinkle's recruiters.
Jalen Montonati has heard from Danny Sprinkle's recruiters. | Mokan

Continuing to aim high for basketball talent, Danny Sprinkle's University of Washington recruiters have made contact with 5-star forward Jalen Montonati, a two-time Oklahoma Gatorade Player of the Year and a 5-star prospect.

The hard part is getting to the front of the line and arranging a serious sitdown with the ultra-smooth 6-foot-7 player from Owasso, which is north of Tulsa.

Another issue is the college teams in the region -- Arkansas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, SMU and Texas -- have been putting a full-court press on this kid to keep him from leaving the Central time zone.

Oklahoma State, in particular.

Montonati's father, Brian, was a starting 6-foot-8 forward for the Cowboys' 27-7 team that advanced to the 2000 NCAA Tournament's Elite Eight, where they lost to eventual national runner-up Florida. He later played overseas.

The older Montonati had been his son's coach at Owasso High School until the family put the young prodigy in MOKAN, a basketball-oriented academy in Overland Park, Kansas.

Jalen Montonati averaged 22.3 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists per game this past season for a 25-5 Owasso team.

A gifted second-generation player in his family, Montonati is considered the nation's No. 14 player in the class of 2026, according to ESPN.

The Huskies still have couple of scholarship spots to play with after losing 6-foot-10 forward Niko Bundalo, an Ohio 4-star product who signed with the Huskies but recently asked for his scholarship release for reasons not made public.

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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