Without Washington and Baker, Dayton has 10 scholarship players on the roster, eight of whom are healthy. Kobe Elvis and Malachi Smith remain sidelined indefinitely with injuries.
Washington, one of four players in Dayton’s 2021 recruiting class, the highest-ranked class in school history, was suspended at the start of the season and then was suspended again for a violation of team rules after what coach Anthony Grant called “a setback.”
Washington appeared in two games this season. He played one minute against Western Michigan on Nov. 30 and 16 against Virginia Tech on Dec. 7.
Washington appeared in 11 games as a freshman, playing a total of 63 minutes. He saw his most significant action at the end of the season in the NIT, playing 12 minutes against Toledo and 16 minutes against Vanderbilt.
During the NIT last season, Washington talked about his desire to stay at Dayton even though he wasn’t getting the playing time of the other freshmen in his class: DaRon Holmes II and Malachi Smith, both of whom started as freshmen.
“I want to stay,” he said. “I’m not going to lie. I want to stay.”
Washington’s thinking didn’t change after the season.
“I love it here,” he said last summer. “The coaches told me to just be ready and trust the process.”
Washington ranked 101st in the class of 2021, according to Rivals.com. He committed to Dayton in October 2020, days after Holmes picked Dayton.
Holmes and Smith are the only remaining members of the 2021 class on the UD roster. Lynn Greer III transferred to Saint Joseph’s at midseason a year ago.
Washington will become the 10th player recruited and signed by Grant and his staff who have transferred from the program. The others are: Baker; Frankie Policelli (Stony Brook); Jhery Matos (Charlotte); Luke Frazier (Ohio/John Carroll); Dwayne Cohill (Youngstown State); Rodney Chatman (Vanderbilt); Lynn Greer III (Saint Joseph’s); Moulaye Sissoko (North Texas); and Elijah Weaver (Chicago State).
That number doesn’t include players recruited during the Archie Miller era who left the program during Grant’s tenure: Xeyrius Williams (Akron); John Crosby (Delaware State); Jordan Davis (Middle Tennessee/Jacksonville); Jordan Pierce (Odessa/Middle Tennessee State); and Kostas Antetokounmpo and Matej Svoboda, who both left to pursue professional opportunities.
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