Two former UW Husky men’s basketball players find new homes as Tyler Linhardt lands at Idaho

SEATTLE – Cole Bajema is leaving Washington, but the Huskies haven’t seen the last of the senior forward who will finish a well-traveled collegiate career at Pac-12 rival Utah next season.

Meanwhile, former UW freshman forward Tyler Linhardt is also moving on and will stay in the Pacific Northwest to play for the Idaho Vandals.

And Jackson Grant, who spent the past two years at Washington before transferring to Montana State on April 5 reopened his commitment last week after Bobcats coach Danny Sprinkle left for Utah State.

The former Huskies comprise three of seven players from UW’s 2022-23 roster who entered the NCAA transfer portal, including freshman guard Keyon Menifield, who signed with Arkansas.

Noah Williams, PJ Fuller II and Langston Wilson have yet to find a new home.

During his three-year stint at Washington, Bajema averaged 6.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 0.4 assists while starting 31 of 87 games. He shot 37.1% from the field, including 35.5% on 3-pointers.

This season, the 6-foot-7 long-range shooter averaged career highs in scoring (8.8 points per game) and rebounds (4.2) and started 30 of 31 games.

As a fourth-year junior during the 2021-22 season, Bajema had one of the best games of his career at Utah when he scored 15 points – three fewer than his personal best – while converting 5 of 8 3-pointers in 21 minutes off the bench to lead UW to a 74-68 win at Huntsman Center.

The Lynden, Washington, native, who starred at Lynden Christian School, began his collegiate career at Michigan where he played nine games as a freshman.

Linhardt, who starred at King’s High in Seattle and played his senior season at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio, had difficulty cracking the UW rotation last season as a true freshman.

The 6-7 wing appeared in three games and totaled six points, four rebounds and 15 minutes while converting 2 of 4 shots from the field.

The NCAA granted players impacted by the COVID pandemic in 2020-21 an extra year and they are immediately eligible.

Washington replenished a depleted roster with four newcomers, including transfers Moses Wood, Anthony Holland and incoming freshmen Wesley Yates III and Christian King.

The Huskies have nine players and still have several vacancies to fill.