WSU and UW men’s basketball teams to start next season in Seattle with new home-and-away series

PULLMAN – Washington State and Washington may no longer be in the same league, but their men’s basketball series is not over yet.

According to a press release issued Wednesday, the Cougars and Huskies have agreed to a non-conference home-and-away series beginning Dec. 18 at Alaska Airlines Arena in Seattle, with the second game of the 2025-26 season to be played in Pullman.

For WSU, which will compete next season as a member of the West Coast Conference and join Oregon State in trying to rebuild the Pac-12 Conference, this is a chance to get revenge on the Big Ten-bound Huskies, who ended their 2024 regular season with a loss in Pullman. The Cougs defeated the Huskies in an overtime thriller in their first meeting of the season in Seattle.

It will also be an opportunity for one of WSU’s newest additions, point guard Nate Calmese, to play his former UW team. Calmese began his career at Lamar before playing at Washington last year.

WSU and UW will start the season with new head coaches.

Former Eastern Washington coach David Riley has replaced former WSU coach Kyle Smith.

Former Utah State head coach Danny Sprinkle has filled the void left by Mike Hopkins, who was fired from UW toward the end of last season.

Washington State’s 2024-25 schedule has not yet been finalized, but the program knows its WCC pairings. WSU will play two games against Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Pepperdine, Portland, Pacific and San Diego. The Cougs will have just one game against OSU — which is scheduled for Corvallis — and will play their only game against Loyola Marymount in Pullman.

WSU and Oregon State can win conference championships and automatically qualify for the NCAA tournament.