Husky men’s coach Danny Sprinkle gets first player in Mekhi Mason from Rice

New Washington Huskies men’s basketball coach Danny Sprinkle landed his first player in Mekhi Mason who is leaving Rice and joining UW next season.

On Wednesday morning, Mason posted a picture on his account on the social-media platform X of him standing next to Sprinkle wearing a No. 2 purple UW jersey. In another photo, Mason is posing in Husky gear under a caption that reads: Committed.

Mason, a 6-foot-5 sophomore guard, initially told 24/7 High School Hoops and On3.com he plans to play at Washington.

The Gilbert, Ariz., native began his collegiate career at Rice where he averaged 11.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 29.8 minutes while starting in all 67 of the games he played the past two seasons.

He shot 40.9% from the field, including 35.7% on three-pointers and 67.3% on free throws.

Last season, Mason averaged 14 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.4 assists for Rice, which finished 11-21 and fired Owls coach Scott Pera on March 14.

According to On3, Mason is considered a four-star transfer prospect who ranked No. 94 nationally in the portal.

Washington’s roster is in flux, which has become typical for college basketball teams during this time. The transfer window opened March 18 and closes May 1.

Calmese in the portal

Last year, the Huskies knew what they were getting when they secured high-scoring Lamar transfer Nate Calmese, who was the second-leading freshman scorer in the nation during the 2022-23 season while averaging 17.6 points and shooting 48.1% from the field.

In his first game at UW, he scored 13 points while connecting on 5 of 7 shots off the bench and two games later tallied 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting.

No one doubted Calmese’s scoring prowess, which was evident during a season-high 15-point performance against No. 4 Arizona.

Somewhat inexplicably, he played just 16 games this season and never found a viable role in former UW coach Mike Hopkins’ eight-man rotation, which was contributed to the 6-2 guard’s defensive struggles.

Calmese is on the move once again and announced on his X account that he entered the transfer portal.

He’s the second UW player to enter the portal following sophomore guard Koren Johnson, who told On3.com he’s considering transferring to Oregon, UCLA, Indiana and Florida. He also said he could return to UW.

Six Huskies have eligibility remaining including: Franck Kepnang, Braxton Meah, Wilhelm Breidenbach, Wesley Yates III, Christian King and Samuel Ariyibi.

Per NCAA rules, teams are allowed 13 scholarship players.

Note

Four-star guard Casmir Chavis, who signed with the Huskies last November, decommitted from Washington and has been released from his national letter of intent. The Brooklyn Park, Minn. prospect picked UW over West Virginia, Georgia and Arizona State.