Utah State’s Danny Sprinkle officially named as Washington’s new head coach
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Utah State head coach Danny Sprinkle will be leaving Logan to take the same position at Washington, the University announced Monday.
Sprinkle posted a 28-8 record in his only season with the Aggies, winning the Mountain West regular-season title outright and advancing to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001.
“Simply put, Coach Sprinkle is a winner. He won as a high school player, as a collegiate student-athlete, as an assistant coach, and then at both stops as a head coach, including the recent regular-season conference championship at Utah State.”
Washington interim athletic director Erin O’Connell
Utah State’s success proved even more remarkable considering the program did not return a single point from last year’s team, making Sprinkle a leading candidate for National Coach of the Year honors and a hot name on the coaching market, resulting in the move to Washington.
“Simply put, Coach Sprinkle is a winner,” said Washington interim athletic director Erin O’Connell in a statement. “He won as a high school player, as a collegiate student-athlete, as an assistant coach, and then at both stops as a head coach, including the recent regular-season conference championship at Utah State.
“But beyond his coaching acumen is his ability to connect with student-athletes, develop them into outstanding young men and basketball players and embrace the community around him. Coach is exactly what our program needs at this moment in time and we are thrilled to have him take the reins of our men’s basketball program.”
In this year’s March Madness action, Sprinkle’s No. 8-seeded Aggies defeated TCU 88-72 Friday night before falling to No. 1 seed Purdue Sunday.
Prior to Utah State, Sprinkle spent four seasons at his alma mater of Montana State, going 81-43 with a pair of Big Sky championships and NCAA Tournament berths.
“I want to express my sincere gratitude to President Cauce and the athletic department leadership for entrusting me to lead the men’s basketball program at this world-class institution,” Sprinkle said in a statement. “It was going to take something special for me to leave Logan, and the University of Washington was it. The university means a great deal to our family and I am excited to return to my home state.
Sprinkle continued, “With a strong commitment to excellence and incredible fan support, we will recruit exceptional young men who will take pride in wearing the purple and gold, who will win championships and who will leave UW with an impressive degree. I am excited to get started and to be a part of such a special place.”
Sprinkle will take over a Washington team that finished 17-15 this past year and has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2019. He replaces Mike Hopkins, who went 118-106 over seven seasons.
With Sprinkle’s departure, Utah State will look to hire its fourth new head coach in the past five years. Craig Smith left the Aggies in 2021 to take the head job at Utah, while Ryan Odom bolted a year ago for VCU.
