Color Scheme

Subscribe now
Eastern Washington University Basketball

Eastern Washington sophomores Mason Williams, Sebastian Hartmann enter transfer portal

EWU’s Mason Williams entered the transfer portal Monday after averaging 13.9 points and 2.4 assists a game. (James Snook/For The Spokesman-Review)
By Dan Thompson The Spokesman-Review

Mason Williams, Sebastian Hartmann and Nic McClain, three of the six holdovers from the previous men’s basketball coaching staff at Eastern Washington, have chosen to enter the transfer portal.

The portal officially opened on Monday, when at least a dozen Big Sky players announced their intentions to transfer, according to Verbalcommits.com and various social media posts. Both Williams and Hartmann confirmed their intentions via text message to The Spokesman-Review.

Last season, when the Eagles finished eighth in the Big Sky and with a 10-22 overall record, the sophomore Williams was their second-leading scorer at 13.9 points per game and made a team-high 39 (of 113) 3-point attempts. He started 22 of 27 games and averaged 28.1 minutes per game, third-most on the team.

Hartmann’s departure means the Eagles will not return one of their steadiest players. Second on the team in minutes per game (29.2), the 6-foot-6 sophomore guard averaged 9.3 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals.

McClain, a redshirt junior, was the team’s third-leading scorer (10.6 points per game) and, like Williams, was one of the team’s primary ball handlers. He led the Eagles with 114 assists, almost twice as many as Williams, who had the next most with 65.

Hartmann, Williams and McClain stayed on at Eastern after Dan Monson was named head coach following the 2023-24 season, when David Riley left Eastern to become Washington State’s head coach.

At the time, four Eagles players – Cedric Coward, Ethan Price, Dane Erikstrup and LeJuan Watts – followed Riley to Pullman.

Among the most notable Big Sky players to announce his intention to transfer is Northern Colorado junior Langston Reynolds, a first-team all-league player whose 16 points per game ranked sixth in the conference.

Junior Tyler Mrus and senior Julius Mims – starters all season for the Idaho Vandals – also entered the transfer portal, as did sophomore Takai Hardy. Mrus was Idaho’s fourth-leading scorer (9.7 points per game), while Mims averaged 8.6 points per game, sixth on the team.

Hardy averaged 8.5 minutes per game in a reserve role.