The universe has been against Washington State basketball in a number of ways in recent years. Back in 2024, the Cougars reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in over a decade just to see Kyle Smith depart for Stanford while the Pac-12 departures left them behind. Last season Washington State finished just 12-20, settling for 8th place in the WCC, but they’re back in the newly reconstructed Pac-12 and hoping to make a statement.
What’s immediately clear is how little last season will affect this new team. The Cougars spent the offseason watching key pieces like Ace Glass, ND Okafor, Rihards Vavers, and Eemeli Yalaho find new homes in the transfer portal, with each of them landing at more prominent programs. As a result, almost zero returning minutes are back, with Dio Blakely averaging less than a point as a freshman as the only notable returner.
New blood in Pullman
There’s clearly an influx of new players in Pullman, though today we’re focusing on the transfer portal additions. Their crew of new guards each possesses power conference experience, getting RJ Jones from TCU and Jaylen Harrell from Providence among others. Fraser Roxburgh was a double-digit scorer at Manhattan and is one of several forward additions, including the more highly-touted Tyler Kropp from Northwestern and Ladji Dembele out of UNLV.
We could go in any direction with today’s focus but we’re looking at Sebastian Akins for a few reasons. He’s a 6-2 guard from Concord, North Carolina who began his collegiate career with decent production as a freshman at Denver, averaging 12.7 points per game largely off the bench for the Pioneers. Last season Akins was at Wake Forest and had a much smaller role, averaging just 5.3 points a game with less impressive shooting figures.
Going to be a fun look
Seeing as how nearly every face on this roster is new and it’s hard to see how Riley puts it all together, we’re focusing on Akins for two primary reasons. First off, he’s shown in the past that he can be a prolific backcourt weapon and the Cougars will certainly need leadership and playmaking ability among their new guards. Secondly, Washington State has brought a lot of potential, but Akins is one of those pieces that have at least shown that he can play great ball and also hold his own at times in a power conference.
Say what you want about the new Pac-12, but this will certainly be a tougher season for Akins than that freshman year at Denver. We don’t know yet how this lineup will pan out and which combinations will work, but it’s easy to see Akins getting plenty of run. If Washington State is going to make any kind of impact in this new Pac-12, they’ll need him to bounce back into a productive weapon. It’ll be interesting to see if it’s him or someone else like Jones or Jamari Phillips making that leap forward.
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