Former USC point guard Desmond Claude, the top available player in the college basketball transfer portal, committed to Washington, according to Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. Claude was the only prospect inside the portal’s top 150 players to enter the weekend uncommitted, and he found a landing spot inside the Big Ten as the latest addition to a strong Washington transfer class that now includes six blue-chippers.
Claude commanded attention from many when he entered the portal April 22, and he trimmed his options to the trio of Alabama, Washington and Gonzaga ahead of his decision to join the Huskies. He is the No. 9-ranked point guard and No. 31 overall player in the 2025 transfer cycle.
The offseason move from one Big Ten program to another marks the second time in as many years Claude hit the portal. He opened his career with two years at Xavier and shined as the Big East’s Most Improved Player as a sophomore, and he parlayed that success into an opportunity at USC, where he secured an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention selection.
Claude was an instant success with the Trojans as he paced Eric Musselman’s inaugural USC squad in scoring with 15.8 points per game. He cracked the 30-point threshold twice and posted a double-double against Washington with 25 points and a career-best 11 assists. The New Haven, Conn. native ranked 12th in the Big Ten in scoring during his first year on the West Coast.
Second-year Washington coach Danny Sprinkle is on a tear this offseason as he constructed a highly touted recruiting class. Claude is the second USC transfer to join the roster and stands close behind class headliner Wesley Yates III in the haul. The Huskies lost seven players to the portal but replaced them with an equal number of incoming prospects, six of whom hold four-star ratings.
The first year in the Big Ten was a difficult one for Sprinkle and the Huskies, who finished in last place by a two-game margin with their 4-16 conference record and 13-18 overall mark. Claude’s USC squad was only slightly better at 7-13 in league action. The needle points upward in Seattle, though, with the recruiting surge and Sprinkle’s background as a prolific leader and two-time conference Coach of the Year (Big Sky and Mountain West).
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