- Hoop dreams are fading, and the Huskies just lost the Apple Cup fight
SEATTLE – The hoops version of the Apple Cup is unrecognizable these days.
Washington and Washington State have been playing against each other since 1910 and have matched up in 301 games, which is one of the oldest and most played series in men’s college basketball.
In front of 7,011 fans at Alaska Airlines Arena, the two teams met once again Sunday afternoon, and the Huskies lost 84-80 in an exhibition in a rivalry that used to mean something.
“Rivalries in college basketball, it’s tough,” said former UW star Isaiah Thomas who watched from stands below his No. 2 jersey, which hangs in the rafters. “It’s a different time, day and age.”
The 37-year-old Thomas talked to the Huskies before the game and tried to explain the importance of the UW-WSU rivalry to a team comprised of 12 newcomers born outside of the state, including five international players.
“It’s just human nature if you’re not from here to be a little clueless about the Apple Cup and what that really means,” Thomas said. “All these games probably feel the same, but just reminding them that it’s not about you the individual. It’s about the program, the city and the state rivalry.
“You just understand it more and more the longer you’re here. My job is to show them that it does mean something no matter if it’s a game that counts or not.”
Did they receive the message?
“If we win, they did,” Thomas said smiling at halftime. “If we lose, they didn’t.”
None of the current Cougars played in last year’s 81-69 loss while Wesley Yates III, Lathan Sommerville and Jasir Rencher suited up for the Huskies.
“I’ve coached two of their guys more than either of us have coached an entire team,” WSU coach David Riley said referring to UW’s Steele Venters and LeJuan Watts. “It’s a weird deal.”
Riley coached Venters at Eastern Washington and led Watts at EWU and at WSU.
“This is always a fun game, but I’ve never won so maybe it’s me,” Watts said smiling, referring to his 0-2 Apple Cup record, including an 89-73 WSU loss on Dec. 18, 2024, when he tallied 15 point, eight rebounds and three assists. “There’s no little brother thing (at Washington). That’s kind of what it was on the other side, just being the underdog.
“It’s a lot more drive and motivation if you’re Wazzu. I mean, you don’t have anything to lose.”
Despite a game-high 28 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field from Watts, Lathan Sommerville scoring 19 points and Nikola Dzepina adding 16 points and 12 rebounds, Washington lost control midway in the second half.
The Huskies led 50-43 when the Cougars took control for good with a 13-2 run to go up 56-52 following an alley-oop dunk from Ronnie Harrison, who finished with a team-high 23 points.
Washington State went up 79-71 with 46 seconds left when Washington made one last push and cut its deficit to 81-78 following Venters’ 3-pointer with 15 seconds left.
After WSU guard Casey Jones missed a couple of free throws, the Huskies had a chance to tie but Watts’ 3-point attempt was deflected and fell short.
When it was over, Riley admitted he’s not sure if the series will continue.
“I hope we can get them on the schedule for a real game next year,” he said. “We’re taking this thing day by day. There’s a lot going on. There’s a lot of changes in college basketball, so hopefully we can make it happen next year.”
The Cougars have ceded the fate of the Apple Cup to the Huskies because they’re struggling to remain financially viable even in the Pac-12.
Among its 16 nonconference matchups on the 2026-27 schedule, Washington State plays just five in Pullman and nine on the road against High Point, Duquesne, Hawaii, Duke, Murray State, Southern Illinois, Weber State, UNLV, Seattle U, Eastern Washington and LSU.
“Home games against lesser teams usually cost a lot of money, and we’re in a spot now where it’s like we’d rather spend some of that on our roster,” Riley said. “We’re in a tough spot. It’s hard to find home-and-home (deals), especially in Pullman. So, we’re going on the road a lot and that’s part of the deal where we’re just, we’re going to play anyone anywhere at any time. We have a hard schedule, and we’ll be hardened by the time conference play hits.”
UW coach Danny Sprinkle, who begins his third season with the Huskies, knows canceling series with traditional rivals Gonzaga, Seattle U and potentially Washington State, is unpopular with UW fans.
However, he has his reasons.
“I know I’ll get killed for not playing (the Cougars) this year, but with our schedule, I have to do what’s best for Washington basketball,” Sprinkle said. “Fitting them in at a certain time, it was hard with us going to the Maui and playing BYU and two other terrific teams. Already having Baylor coming here, going to Utah, and then a lot of people around here forget you’re playing 20 Big Ten games … and probably 18 of them are Quad 1 games against the hardest teams in the country. So, that takes a toll on you.”
Riley, who is close friends with Sprinkle, understands.
“I’ve known Danny a long time,” he said. “There’s only a couple friends I’ve got in this business and he’s one of them. … He’s a good coach, great guy and he has to do what’s best for his team.”
Still, he wants the Apple Cup to continue.
“Whatever they tell us, we’ll go play the game,” Riley said. “We’ll find a way to make it work because it’s important to me. It’s important to our fans. It’s a great game, and it’s worth preserving.”
- Cougs and Redhawks to clash at Climate Pledge in December doubleheader
PULLMAN – Chalk up another game on Washington State’s nonconference hoops schedule.
The Cougars will meet Seattle University on Dec. 19 at the Seattle Holiday Classic, according to a Monday news release, set for Climate Pledge Arena. It’s part of a doubleheader showcase, which will also pit University of Washington against Baylor.
“We’re looking forward to getting back to Seattle and bringing Cougar basketball to the thousands of WSU alumni in western Washington,” WSU coach David Riley said in the release. “I believe playing the other Division-I teams in the state is an important part of developing the game and honoring its history in the Pacific Northwest. We look forward to facing the Redhawks at Climate Pledge Arena and welcoming Coug fans to the Seattle Holiday Classic.”
It’ll be the third meeting in the last two seasons for WSU and Seattle U, which split last season’s series, then a West Coast Conference matchup. The Redhawks earned a 69-55 win in Seattle, and the Cougars followed with a 70-58 victory about a month later in Pullman.
It also represents another chance for each head coach to match wits. Riley and Seattle U coach Chris Victor were both assistant coaches at Eastern Washington from 2015-17. In fact, both head coaches ran the same first play during their first matchup last season in Seattle.
“The same exact first set, a Spain action,” Riley said after that game. “Just totally random. I thought it was funny. We worked together for a couple years at Eastern. He’s a great person. Every once in awhile, you can have some fun in these games.”
WSU’s next roster includes 13 newcomers: Mohamed Sankhe (France), East Texas A&M transfer forward Ronnie Harrison, Northwestern transfer forward Tyler Kropp, Providence transfer wing Jaylen Harrell, Central Missouri (DII) transfer guard Lazerek Houston, TCU transfer guard RJ Jones, Wake Forest transfer guard Sebastian Akins, Sancho Moraga (Spain), Roman Stathis (Australia), Manhattan transfer forward Fraser Roxburgh, UNLV transfer forward Ladji Dembele, Eastern Washington transfer wing Casey Jones (who was previously on a two-year church mission), Oregon transfer guard Jamari Phillips and freshman forward Brayden Kyman.
Here is WSU’s known nonconference slate.
• At Washington (exh.), TBA.
• Vs. Davidson, TBA.
• Vs. Duke (Palm Springs), Nov. 21.
• Vs. Idaho, Nov. 27.
• At Murray State, Nov. 30.
• Vs. North Dakota State, Dec. 6.
• At Seattle U, Dec. 19
• Vs. EWU (Spokane), Dec. 22.
• At LSU, Dec. 28.
- After 108 years, Cougs-Huskies hoops goes exhibition only
PULLMAN – One of the country’s longest college basketball series will not continue this upcoming season.
Washington State and rival Washington are not expected to play a regular-season game this year, according to a source familiar with the situation, putting one of the NCAA’s longest running rivalries on pause at least for one season. Instead, the Cougars and Huskies are set to play an exhibition game in Seattle in October.
WSU was open to playing UW this season, according to a source, but talks between the sides fell through. That means for the first time since 1917, the rivals won’t play each other, ending a streak of 301 games.
When WSU coach David Riley and UW coach Danny Sprinkle took their respective jobs in spring 2024, not long after the traditional Pac-12 collapsed, they agreed to a two-year extension of the series, with one game in Seattle and one in Pullman, both UW wins. It appears that a further extension is not in the cards, at least not this year.
Over the years, the coaches have shared some differing opinions on the series’ importance. Before the first game of the extension, which became an 89-73 Washington win in December 2024, Riley said he’d like to keep as many Washington-based teams on his schedule, including the Huskies.
“I think that’s something that we’ve done with all these Northwest teams, is to make sure that we’re doing right by what I think is good for college basketball and playing these local teams,” said Riley, who was born in Seattle but grew up in the Bay Area. “I think this is just a heck of a game.”
Around the same time, Sprinkle seemed to disagree.
“It’s a rivalry,” he said. “It wasn’t that important to me to keep it on the schedule. It’s important to a lot of other people. They’ve always been good. It’s gonna be a really tough game.”
But since then, Sprinkle has also indicated he would like to continue the rivalry in some form.
“If it’s best for our program? Yeah, if it’s not, then no,” Sprinkle said about playing WSU, according to the Seattle Times. “I have to make decisions for UW basketball, and if it is, then great. If it’s not, if it doesn’t benefit us, then (no).
“I love the rivalry. I love being 2-0 in the rivalry, too. And I’m not taking a shot. I think Coach Riley does a great job. They’re fun games.”
This season, the game would have been a fascinating one. This spring, the Huskies used the transfer portal to land two players who started their careers under Riley: LeJuan Watts and Steele Venters, centerpieces on Riley’s best Eastern Washington teams. Watts played 2024-25 for Riley at WSU before transferring to Texas Tech, while Venters followed three seasons at EWU with a transfer to Gonzaga, where he played sparingly the past two seasons due to injuries.
Here is WSU’s known nonconference slate.
• At Washington (exhibition), date TBA.
• Vs. Davidson, date TBA.
• Vs. Duke (Palm Springs), Nov. 21.
• Vs. Idaho, Nov. 27.
• At Murray State, Nov. 30.
• Vs. North Dakota State, Dec. 6.
• Vs. Eastern Washington (Spokane), Dec. 22.
• At LSU, Dec. 28.
WSU makes new hire in athletics front office
The Cougars are hiring a new executive senior associate director of athletics, according to a Friday release: Tyler Mariucci, who is coming over from Fresno State, one of the new schools in the rebuilt Pac-12. He will oversee the Cougar Athletic Fund and the ticket office.
In his previous three years in a similar role with the Bulldogs, Mariucci oversaw all athletic fundraising efforts and ticketing operations, leading three consecutive record-breaking fundraising years that generated over $35 million in support, according to the release, including $14.5 million in the 2025-26 fiscal year.
“Tyler has a strong track record of growing revenue and building relationships,” WSU athletic director Jon Haarlow said via release. “His experience overseeing fundraising and ticket operations makes him a tremendous addition to our team. Tyler will play an important role in strengthening support for Cougar Athletics and enhancing the experience for our donors and fans.”
Mariucci’s biggest achievements have centered around fundraising – maybe the biggest issue facing WSU president Betsy Cantwell and the university at the moment. According to the Bulldogs, he has played a key role in driving back-to-back record-breaking fundraising years, generating more than $21 million in support. That includes an all-time high in seven-figure gifts directed toward strategic initiatives and capital projects. Overall fundraising has increased nearly 40%, per the school.
On top of that, Mariucci knows what it takes to help a program succeed in a new landscape. His last job was at Cal Baptist, which began its first season at the Division I level in 2022. That season, CBU earned several team and individual championships and NCAA berths. Mariucci helped generate more than $2M in fundraising, the highest annual total in program history, while also locking down multiple $1M-plus gifts across his time at CBU.
He helped CBU transition to Division I. He then helped Fresno State transition to the Pac-12. He also has years of prior experience, including administrative jobs at Maryland and San Diego and San Diego State.
