Seattle U Is Flying Under the Radar…and Winning Big
Seattle U has quietly become one of the most overlooked teams in college basketball. With their stout defense, can they compete with Gonzaga and Saint Mary's?
🚨 Seattle U is winning, and the defensive numbers say it might be real.
Seattle U has quietly become one of the most overlooked teams in college basketball, sitting at 11–2 with power-conference wins over Washington and Stanford. Ranked 110th in KenPom, the Redhawks have handled most Division I opponents with ease, winning by an average of double digits outside of two narrow losses to Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara. The question now is whether this start is a fluke, or the sign of a team that can legitimately compete near the top of the West Coast Conference.
The Redhawks are driven by a balanced core led by Brayden Maldonado, Will Heimbrodt, and Junseok Yeo, with Maleek Arington quietly serving as the facilitator. Maldonado has been incredible on offense while ranking second nationally in free-throw percentage, Heimbrodt anchors the defense as one of the nation’s top shot blockers, and Yeo has flourished in an expanded role after transferring from Gonzaga. As a team, Seattle U leans heavily into its defensive identity, ranking top-60 nationally in defensive efficiency and excelling at forcing turnovers and contesting shots. They don’t crash the offensive glass, but that’s by design, allowing them to get set defensively and suffocate opponents. With early WCC matchups against San Francisco, Washington State, Gonzaga, and Saint Mary’s looming, Seattle U’s defense will quickly tell us whether this under-the-radar start can translate into real contention.
👉 Watch the full video to see what the numbers say about Seattle U’s hot start.