Washington Huskies' Hannes Steinbach entering NBA draft, report says

Add Hannes Steinbach to the long list of one-and-done phenoms who starred with the Washington men's basketball team and left the Huskies for the pros after a brilliant season that didn't consistently equate to team success.

The 6-foot-10 All-Big Ten freshman forward is entering the NBA draft, according to Jonathan Givony at Draft Express.

The 19-year-old Steinbach averaged 18.5 points while shooting 57.7% from the field, 34% on three-pointers and 75.9% on free throws this season. He scored at least 20 points in 16 of 30 games, including a career-high 29 against UCLA on Dec. 13, 2025.

However, his superpower is rebounding.

Steinbach led Division I players with an 11.8 rebounding average and his 353 total rebounds rank seventh on UW's all-time single-season list.

"He just has an innate ability to rebound the ball, and his feel for the game is just tremendous," coach Danny Sprinkle said. "We knew he was going to be good, but did we know he was going to play like he did as a freshman? Like nobody could have seen that. We thought we'd have him for at least two years."

Last year, Washington signed Steinbach, a Würzburg, Germany, native, amid relatively little fanfare. At the time he was considered a one of the top European prospects in his age group while averaging 7.1 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Wurzburg Baskets in the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL).

Steinbach's reputation grew last summer while leading Germany to a silver medal at the FIBA U19 World Cup while averaging 17.4 points, 13.0 rebounds and 1.3 blocks.

Steinbach was an immediate hit at Washington. He connected on 9 of 11 shots for a game-high 21 points and added seven rebounds and six assists in a 94-50 romp against Arkansas Pine-Bluff in the regular-season opener.

"He just got better and better and better, which is hard for a true freshman, and especially with the way the season played out and with injuries all over the place," Sprinkle said. "He sprained his ankle pretty bad too in that Washington State game and missed two-and-a-half weeks. He wanted to come back earlier."

In his final home game at Alaska Airlines Arena, Steinbach put on a show while tallying 22 points and a career-high 24 rebounds to lead Washington to a 91-72 win against USC.

A week later, his collegiate career ended after scoring 25 points and collecting 16 rebounds for his Big Ten freshman record-setting 22 double-doubles in an 85-82 loss to Wisconsin in the second round of the Big Ten tournament.

Steinbach is expected to be selected in the first round of the NBA draft and is projected to be the first UW player taken since former freshman phenoms Isaiah Stewart and Jaden McDaniels were chosen in 2020.

Washington's freshman standouts who were taken in the draft include Markelle Fultz (2017), Dejounte Murray (2016), Marquese Chriss (2016) and Tony Wroten Jr. (2012).

Steinbach is the 10th player to depart a UW team that finished 16-17.

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