Northwest Notes April 22, 2025
WSU men sign Boise State transfer big man Ugbo
PULLMAN —Emmanuel Ugbo, a sophomore forward from Barendrecht, The Netherlands signed a financial aid agreement with Washington State men’s basketball to compete for the Cougs in the 2025-26 season.
Ugbo, a forward transfer from Boise State, played 36 games for the Broncos, including a starting role for 12 games in the middle of his 2024-25 freshman season. Ugbo, who enrolled at BSU in spring 2024, played his first season with the Broncos this year, averaging 3.1 points per game and 2.3 rebounds per game in 10.0 minutes per game.
In his one season at BSU, Ugbo shot 48.2% from the floor, 78.8% from the free throw line, and delivered a career-high 17 points against New Mexico. On six occasions, he grabbed five or more rebounds and finished fourth on the team with 13 blocks, despite playing the fourth fewest minutes of any Bronco.
The Dutchman, born in The Netherlands to Nigerian immigrants, began his career in Europe and appeared in 23 games for Porsche BBA, a professional team in Ludwigsburg, Germany. In 2022-23, Ugbo averaged 14.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 40% from the field to go along with 14 blocks and 28 steals. He scored in double figures in 18 games during the season, including five 20-point games.
Ugbo also earned time with the Dutch National Team, averaging 6.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game for the U20 Netherlands national team at the 2022 FIBA European Championships.
Ugbo is the second signee to the Cougars' men’s basketball program from the transfer portal since the offseason began, joining junior transfer Jerone Morton from Morehead State.
Boise State football signs Eastern Washington transfer Ganter Jr.
BOISE — Boise State has announced the signing of transfer defensive back Derek Ganter Jr., who spent two seasons at Eastern Washington.
Ganter will join as a redshirt sophomore after being named to the Phil Steele Freshman All-America first team and All-Big Sky second team in 2024.
Ganter led the Eagles with 95 total tackles last season, including 55 solo stops. No other player on the roster had more than 60 total tackles or 25 solo tackles. He also notched 3.5 TFLs and a solo sack while adding four pass breakups, a quarterback hurry and a forced fumble. In the five games he played against teams ranked No. 20 or higher, the redshirt freshman tallied 53 tackles.
Eastern Washington is scheduled to play at Boise State in Week 2, on Sept. 6.
A native of Pasadena, Calif., Ganter also earned FCS All-Freshman honors from Football Central and Stats Perform. He was a finalist for the Jerry Rice Award, given to the top freshman in the FCS. As a true freshman, Ganter saw action in four games, starting three. He recorded 12 tackles and two pass breakups.
Ganter is a product of Arcadia (Calif.) High, where he lettered four times in football and three in basketball. He was a two-time All-Pacific League first team selection. Ganter was a two-way standout, recording 2,020 yards from scrimmage and 28 touchdowns while making 56 tackles.