Washington Huskies men land Gonzaga's Steele Venters in transfer portal
The Washington men's basketball team and coach Danny Sprinkle landed their second transfer when Gonzaga forward Steele Venters committed to the Huskies on Wednesday night.
https://twitter.com/SteeleV24/status/2044616233849585915
The 6-foot-7 forward from Ellensburg, Wash. averaged 5.0 points, 1.3 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 15.0 minutes while starting nine of 27 games during the 2025-26 season. He shot 38.6% from the field and 36.7% on three-pointers.
It was relatively modest comeback for Venters, who fell out of the rotation late in the season and didn't play in the final five games for the Bulldogs who finished 31-4 in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
After a four-year stint at Eastern Washington, Venters transferred to Gonzaga in 2023 and sat out the 2023-34 season after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament days before the season opener.
Misfortune struck Venters again when he tore his Achilles tendon during in the offseason and missed the 2024-25 season.
Three years ago, Venters was considered an NBA draft prospect when he won the Big Sky most valuable player award as a redshirt junior during the 2022-23 season at Eastern Washington. He averaged 15.3 points while shooting 45.7% from the field and 37.1% from 3-point range.
As a redshirt sophomore, Venters averaged 16.7 points with shooting splits of 45.6% from the floor and a career high 43.4% on three-pointers.
He redshirted his freshman season in 2019-20 with the Eagles.
Venters needs an NCAA medical waiver to play a fifth year next season.
On Sunday, Washington landed Davidson transfer Parker Friedrichsen. The Huskies have seven scholarship players on the roster including Wesley Yates III, Lathan Sommerville, Jasir Rencher, Nikola Dzepina and Mady Traore.
NCAA Division I teams can carry 15 on the roster and the transfer portal closes Tuesday.
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