Danny Sprinkle is in the process of rebuilding his team out of the transfer portal. There have been notable losses to the portal, such as Zoom Diallo. There's also been the obvious Hannes Steinbach departure for the NBA. Yet, another player jumping both feet into the NBA Draft is a bit of a surprise: Bryson Tucker.
This is no slam against Tucker; he's immensely talented and has NBA ability. He's a former five-star recruit who was even recruited to play at Indiana to start his career. He's got incredible bounce, he can basically make any dunk, putback, and rebound, even though he's only listed at 6'7". He had the ability to get Hec Ed on its feet with some mind-bending dunks.
It's surprising because he's only played two seasons in college, he's only a sophomore and in those two seasons, his stats haven't exactly popped off the page. He didn't end up winning the starting job at Indiana, transferred to Washington and averaged 5.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, in 21 games.
Washington sophomore forward Bryson Tucker is declaring for the 2026 NBA Draft
— Lars Hanson (@LarsHanson) April 7, 2026
Tucker, a former five-star recruit, began his career at Indiana before transferring to UW prior to season. Averaged 5.7 PPG & 3.9 RPG in 14 starts (21 games) pic.twitter.com/aVqzvlSa7i
Bryson Tucker with a surprise pivot to the NBA over returning to Washington
Related: Danny Sprinkle may have the inside lane for a top transfer thanks to Jedd Fisch
It will be interesting to see how his pre-draft workouts and NBA evaluations go. He clearly has NBA-level athleticism and ability, but hasn't quite reached it yet in college. And nowadays, more and more players like Tucker are opting to stay in college for the guaranteed money over the risk in the NBA Draft.
However, good for him, for chasing his dreams and "shooting his shot." Tucker sees an opportunity, and he's chasing it down; that's huge for any person, much less a player with goals at the highest levels.
It does continue to put Sprinkle in a weird spot. There are only seven players currently on the roster for next season, and many of the most trusted and talented players are gone. Sprinkle will have to find success in the portal again. Hopefully, this time, keeping the roster healthy and seeing what it can actually be in the Big Ten and the NCAA.