Huskies Add Gonzaga Transfer Steele Venters
April 22, 2026 | Men's Basketball
SEATTLE – Washington has made its second addition through the transfer portal, with head coach Danny Sprinkle announcing the signing of Gonzaga transfer Steele Venters.
A two-time All-Big Sky honoree at Eastern Washington, Venters has spent the past three seasons with the Bulldogs, appearing in 27 games in 2025-26 after sitting out the previous two seasons due to injury.
"Obviously, Steele's had some injuries but he was healthy this past year," Sprinkle said. "Coming off of the two injuries that he had is not easy and for him to still be able to start almost half the games on a really good Gonzaga team, it shows how he rebounded. Now, it's getting back to his form at Eastern Washington for his senior year. I saw it first-hand when I was at Montana State.
"He's an elite shooter and you always have to be aware of him. He has great size at 6-7, maybe even close to 6-8. He gets his shot off extremely fast. He's one of those guys that you see in the Big Ten at schools like Illinois and Wisconsin and Iowa and places like that. We need him to get back to his form at Eastern Washington, playing with confidence and knocking down threes at a high level."
This past season, Venters averaged 5.0 points in just over 15 minutes a game for Gonzaga, making 10 starts and shooting 38.6 percent from the field, 36.7 percent from behind the arc and 83.3 percent from the line.
The Ellensburg, Washington, native featured heavily for the Zags during an eight game stretch in November and December in which Gonzaga faced six Power Four opponents, with Venters scoring in double figures five times.
The 67 forward tallied 12 points on four made threes in a win over No. 8 Alabama, following up with a season-high 14 points on 4-of-7 from behind downtown against Maryland. Venters also matched his season-high with 14 points versus Oregon, making 4-of-5 threes.
Prior to Gonzaga, Venters rose from a walk on at Eastern Washington to the Big Sky's Most Valuable Player in 2022-23. As a junior, Venters averaged 15.3 points per game, posting a .457 shooting percentage, .371 from three with the Big Sky's third-most made three pointers.
The Ellensburg HS product scored 20-plus points eight times during the 2022-23 season, including a career-best 33 points vs. North Dakota State on 14-of-19 from the field. Venters also dropped 27 points with four three pointers made in EWU's NIT win at Washington State.
As a sophomore, Venters earned Second Team All-Big Sky honors, leading the Eagles at 16.7 points per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the floor, including 43.4 percent from downtown, and adding 3.9 rebounds per game.
Venters scored 20 or more points 11 times for EWU in 2021-22, shooting 50.0 percent or better from three point range 15 times. Venters scored a season-high 29 points with six mae threes against Southern Utah and followed up with 23 points and five triples at then-Pac-12 opponent Colorado.
Venters started as a walk on at EWU in 2020-21, appearing in 17 games off the bench, averaging 9.6 minutes, 3.6 points while shooting 42.3 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from three in limited minutes.
An all-state honoree at Ellensburg High School, Venters scored more than 1,200 points during his career for the Bulldogs, averaging 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists per game as a senior to lead EHS to its first conference title in more than 15 years.
For news, scores, highlights and more, download the Go Huskies app on your mobile device. Follow @UW_MBB on Instagram, X, Threads, Facebook and TikTok and subscribe to UW Athletics on YouTube for the latest on the Dawgs.
A two-time All-Big Sky honoree at Eastern Washington, Venters has spent the past three seasons with the Bulldogs, appearing in 27 games in 2025-26 after sitting out the previous two seasons due to injury.
"Obviously, Steele's had some injuries but he was healthy this past year," Sprinkle said. "Coming off of the two injuries that he had is not easy and for him to still be able to start almost half the games on a really good Gonzaga team, it shows how he rebounded. Now, it's getting back to his form at Eastern Washington for his senior year. I saw it first-hand when I was at Montana State.
"He's an elite shooter and you always have to be aware of him. He has great size at 6-7, maybe even close to 6-8. He gets his shot off extremely fast. He's one of those guys that you see in the Big Ten at schools like Illinois and Wisconsin and Iowa and places like that. We need him to get back to his form at Eastern Washington, playing with confidence and knocking down threes at a high level."
This past season, Venters averaged 5.0 points in just over 15 minutes a game for Gonzaga, making 10 starts and shooting 38.6 percent from the field, 36.7 percent from behind the arc and 83.3 percent from the line.
The Ellensburg, Washington, native featured heavily for the Zags during an eight game stretch in November and December in which Gonzaga faced six Power Four opponents, with Venters scoring in double figures five times.
The 67 forward tallied 12 points on four made threes in a win over No. 8 Alabama, following up with a season-high 14 points on 4-of-7 from behind downtown against Maryland. Venters also matched his season-high with 14 points versus Oregon, making 4-of-5 threes.
Prior to Gonzaga, Venters rose from a walk on at Eastern Washington to the Big Sky's Most Valuable Player in 2022-23. As a junior, Venters averaged 15.3 points per game, posting a .457 shooting percentage, .371 from three with the Big Sky's third-most made three pointers.
The Ellensburg HS product scored 20-plus points eight times during the 2022-23 season, including a career-best 33 points vs. North Dakota State on 14-of-19 from the field. Venters also dropped 27 points with four three pointers made in EWU's NIT win at Washington State.
As a sophomore, Venters earned Second Team All-Big Sky honors, leading the Eagles at 16.7 points per game while shooting 45.6 percent from the floor, including 43.4 percent from downtown, and adding 3.9 rebounds per game.
Venters scored 20 or more points 11 times for EWU in 2021-22, shooting 50.0 percent or better from three point range 15 times. Venters scored a season-high 29 points with six mae threes against Southern Utah and followed up with 23 points and five triples at then-Pac-12 opponent Colorado.
Venters started as a walk on at EWU in 2020-21, appearing in 17 games off the bench, averaging 9.6 minutes, 3.6 points while shooting 42.3 percent from the field and 41.4 percent from three in limited minutes.
An all-state honoree at Ellensburg High School, Venters scored more than 1,200 points during his career for the Bulldogs, averaging 23 points, eight rebounds and five assists per game as a senior to lead EHS to its first conference title in more than 15 years.
For news, scores, highlights and more, download the Go Huskies app on your mobile device. Follow @UW_MBB on Instagram, X, Threads, Facebook and TikTok and subscribe to UW Athletics on YouTube for the latest on the Dawgs.
Steinbach GOT IT 🗑️😮💨
Thursday, March 12
DAWGS 🔥
Thursday, March 12
We'll take this one 💨
Thursday, March 12
Steinbach ➕ Peterson 3️⃣🔥
Thursday, March 12
