The Washington Huskies’ exodus to Los Angeles began Thursday, with UW freshman Wesley Yates III announcing his transfer to USC.
Yates, a 6-foot-4 guard who redshirted and sat out last season due to a foot ailment, follows his cousin Quincy Pondexter and Will Conroy, both former UW assistants, to Los Angeles.
The Huskies had high expectations for Yates, a four-star prospect who was ranked 37th nationally by ESPN last season. The Beaumont, Texas native first chose the University of Washington over Gonzaga, Stanford, Baylor, Memphis, Auburn, Texas, Arkansas, and Houston.
However, he sustained a foot injury last summer that ended his first season at Montlake, and Washington’s coaching change drove his move.
After the Huskies fired coach Mike Hopkins, Yates persuaded school administration to offer Conroy the job before UW selected Danny Sprinkle.
Two weeks later, Yates entered the gateway.
In recent weeks, he was linked to both Louisville and Oklahoma State. When Pondexter and Conroy joined Eric Musselman’s staff at USC, the Trojans jumped to the top of his list.
Yates is the fourth Husky from the 2023-24 team to transfer, following Koren Johnson (Louisville), Braxton Meah (Nebraska), and Nate Calmese (Washington State).
Sprinkle, who added ten newcomers, kept Franck Kepnang, Wilhelm Breidenbach, and Christian King.
