Danny Sprinkle (born October 12, 1976) is an American college basketball coach, and is the head coach at University of Washington. He was previously the head coach at his alma mater, Montana State University, and Utah State University.[1][2]

Danny Sprinkle
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamWashington
ConferenceBig Ten
Record0–0 (–)
Biographical details
Born (1976-10-12) October 12, 1976 (age 48)
Pullman, Washington, U.S.
Playing career
1995–1999Montana State
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2000–2006Cal State Northridge (assistant)
2006–2008Montana State (assistant)
2008–2013Cal State Northridge (assistant)
2013–2019Cal State Fullerton (assistant)
2019–2023Montana State
2023–2024Utah State
2024–presentWashington
Head coaching record
Overall109–50 (.686)
Tournaments1–3 (NCAA Division I)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Awards
  • MWC Coach of the Year (2024)
  • Big Sky Coach of the Year (2022)

Playing career

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A two-time all-state selection in Montana at Helena High School, Sprinkle played college basketball at Montana State in Bozeman, where he was conference freshman of the year in 1996, and earned all-league honors in 1997. He graduated as the school's seventh-all-time-leading scorer.[2][3]

Coaching career

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Sprinkle's first coaching job came in 2000 as an assistant at Cal State Northridge, where he stayed for six seasons.[4] He returned to Montana State for a two-year stint as an assistant under new head coach Brad Huse, then went back to Northridge in 2008 for five seasons. Sprinkle joined Dedrique Taylor's staff at Cal State Fullerton in 2013, and was part of the Titans' NCAA tournament squad in 2018.[5]

On April 4, 2019, Sprinkle was hired at his alma mater, succeeding Brian Fish and becoming the 23rd head coach of the men's program at Montana State.[2][6]

Sprinkle led his team to a 16–15 record for the 2019–20 season and a #5 seed in the Big Sky tournament before it was shut down for the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2020–21 shortened season saw Sprinkle lead the cats to knock off #1 seeded Southern Utah and advance to the Big Sky championship game, losing to Eastern Washington. Sprinkle successfully brought back his three COVID-eligible seniors for the 2021–22 campaign, culminating in a school-record 27 wins and the first trip to the NCAA tournament for the Cats since Sprinkle's freshman season. Sprinkle's final season in Bozeman saw him bringing Montana State to back-to-back NCAA tournaments for the first time in program history.

After four seasons at Montana State, he was hired by Utah State to be their new head coach on April 7, 2023, succeeding Ryan Odom.[7]

On March 25, 2024, Sprinkle was hired by Washington to replace Mike Hopkins.[8]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Montana State Bobcats (Big Sky Conference) (2019–2023)
2019–20 Montana State 16–15 10–10 T–5th
2020–21 Montana State 13–10 8–6 T–4th
2021–22 Montana State 27–8 16–4 1st NCAA Division I Round of 64
2022–23 Montana State 25–10 15–3 2nd NCAA Division I Round of 64
Montana State: 81–43 (.653) 49–23 (.681)
Utah State Aggies (Mountain West Conference) (2023–2024)
2023–24 Utah State 28–7 14–4 1st NCAA Division I Round of 32
Utah State: 28–7 (.800) 14–4 (.778)
Washington Huskies (Big Ten Conference) (2024–present)
2024–25 Washington 0–0 0–0
Washington: 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–)
Total: 109–50 (.686)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ "Danny Sprinkle - Men's Basketball Coach". Montana State University Athletics.
  2. ^ a b c "Danny Sprinkle Selected to Lead Montana State Men's Basketball Program". Montana State University Athletics.
  3. ^ "Danny Sprinkle College Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  4. ^ "Player Bio: Danny Sprinkle - CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE OFFICIAL ATHLETIC SITE". gomatadors.cstv.com.
  5. ^ "Cal State Fullerton Athletics". Cal State Fullerton Athletics.
  6. ^ "Updated: Sprinkle named new Bobcat men's basketball coach". Great Falls Tribune.
  7. ^ "Danny Sprinkle Named Head Men's Basketball Coach at Utah State". UrahStateAggies.com.
  8. ^ Thamel, Pete and Borzello, Jeff (2024-03-25). "Utah State's Danny Sprinkle accepts Washington hoops job". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
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