Washington has turned to the international market to restock their frontcourt.
Head coach Danny Sprinkle’s staff got Hannes Steinbach (Germany) and Nikola Dzepina (Serbia) to Montlake last season, thanks in large part to assistant coach Andy Hill, according to Sprinkle. With Steinbach off to the NBA Draft and Franck Kepnang to the transfer portal, however, the Huskies needed to tap into their efforts abroad to land Wíni Braga, a 6-foot-9 Brazilian forward who committed to Washington on Tuesday.
NEWS: Wíni Braga has committed to Washington, Miško Ražnatović and Dragan Jankovski told DraftExpress.
The 6’9, 21-year-old power forward is averaging 10.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 19 1/2 minutes per game in the Brazilian NBB for 29-9 Minas. pic.twitter.com/76IZ4btDhj
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) May 5, 2026
Braga is averaging 10.1 points, 6 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks in 19.7 minutes per game for Minas, the third-best team in the Brazilian NBB. Minas is currently down 1-0 to Corinthians in the NBB quarterfinals, with Game 2 scheduled for Thursday. Braga had 7 points, 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks in 22 minutes against Corinthians in Game 1 on Monday.
Braga, who was one of the NBB’s breakout players in 2024-25, turned down offers from Texas and UConn to return to Minas in 2025-26. He chose Washington over offers from Georgetown and Kentucky, according to Brazilian journalist Arthur Salazar.
Braga’s highlights feature plenty of blocks, which will be a welcome sight for Huskies fans after losing Kepnang to the portal. He frequently looks like the biggest player on the court in Brazil, so adjusting to NCAA size will likely be one of Washington’s first points of emphasis when he arrives on campus. His bounce will help, however – he springs off the floor effortlessly and shows good awareness of when to leave his feet on both ends of the floor.
Wini Silva (2.05m/2005) tem ofertas de Georgetown e Kentucky (info: @intlmixtapes), além de várias outras High Major e Mid Major a serem anunciadas.
Na última temporada, foi o Destaque Jovem do NBB e contou com ofertas de Texas e UConn. Nesse ano, é o #8 no NBB em EF por MIN e… pic.twitter.com/sKxRRUcitG
— Arthur Salazar (@tabeladode3) April 26, 2026
Braga debuted for the Brazilian national team in November during the FIBA Basketball World Cup Americas Qualifiers, averaging 8 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1 block in 13.5 minutes per game across three contests against Chile, Venezuela, and Colombia.
He joins a frontcourt that returns Dzepina and junior Lathan Sommerville. Washington will also get a look at French center Mady Traore for the first time after he missed all of 2025-26 with a foot injury.
The Huskies now have eleven players on the roster with Wesley Yates III, Sommerville, Traore, Dzepina, forward Jasir Rencher, and walk-on guard Brandon Roy Jr. returning, and transfers Parker Friedrichsen, Steele Venters, Ryan Beasley, and LeJuan Watts joining Braga amongst the newcomers to Montlake. Washington will likely add two more players to fill out the roster prior to summer conditioning workouts.
This article originally appeared on Huskies Wire: UW men’s basketball gets commitment from ascending Brazilian forward
