Washington Husky Mens’ Basketball received some welcomed news Friday when 7-1, 250-pound center Braxton Meah announced on social media that he will be in purple and gold for one more year.  The junior had a breakout season as Mike Hopkins’ enforcer in the paint.  His defensive efforts were rewarded by being named to the Pac-12 All-Defense team.  His return comes 4 days after being named a sleeper draft pick by one NBA analyst.

Meah transferred to UW from Fresno State before this season. At FSU he averaged 2.2 points, and 2.2 rebounds in 32 games. For the Huskies, he scored in double-digits in 14 games. He averaged 8.8 points on the season shooting a conference-leading 70-percent from the field and had a season-high of 21 points against Stanford in January.

His impact may have been greatest in the paint as he averaged 1.6 blocks a game, including 3 games with 5 or more blocks. He recorded his first career double-double against Colorado this past January.

The FSU began the season sharing minutes with Oregon-transfer Franck Kepnanag who was lost for the season in the 8th game of the season. In taking over the center duties Meah grew as a player, especially as a defender. His points per game and rebounds per game steadily increased throughout the season.

Meah is the first-known starter to announce his return. After the first-round loss in the Pac-12 Tournament to Colorado, Hopkins stated that the Huskies will be looking to add players from the transfer portal.