INDIANAPOLIS — Former Montana State standout player and head coach Danny Sprinkle has found instant success with Utah State in his first season at the helm in Logan, Utah. He's led the Aggies to an outright Mountain West Conference regular-season title and looks to continue that success into the NCAA tournament.
In tandem, Montana State instantly built on the legacy and culture Sprinkle left this season by earning its third-straight Big Sky Conference tournament title and making another NCAA tournament appearance.
Sprinkle reflected on his time with Montana State, both playing and coaching, in his press conference on Thursday afternoon.
"I’m not here without Montana State," Sprinkle reflected. "... I’m not. They raised me, and I’m here today because of that."
Sprinkle accepted the head coaching position at Utah State this past offseason and left a head coaching tenure at Montana State with back-to-back conference tournament titles and NCAA tournament appearances.
First-year Montana State coach Matt Logie picked up right where Sprinkle left off this season, and Sprinkle couldn’t be prouder of his alma mater.
"Super proud of Coach Logie and the players. As somebody that wore that Bobcat jersey, I take an immense pride in that, and it’s awesome to watch that on TV last night and everybody talking about Montana State," Sprinkle said, referring to the Bobcats' First Four game in Dayton, Ohio, against Grambling State on Wednesday night, which was broadcast on TruTV.
He actually watches Montana State whenever he can, with a crew of former Bobcats that came with him to Logan, Utah.
“I take an immense amount of pride in Montana State University. It was awesome to watch," Sprinkle said. "Me and Great (Osobor) and Darius (Brown II), Xavier (Bishop), we all watch their games, whether we’re in a hotel or conference room or whatnot, and that’ll never go away.”
Osobor and Brown both transferred to Utah State this past offseason, earning major accolades for their impressive performances in the Mountain West this season.
Bishop is a graduate assistant for Utah State and played for Sprinkle at Montana State. In his final season, he was named first-team all-Big Sky and was the 2022 Big Sky Conference Tournament MVP in 2021-22.
They say once you sport the blue and gold, you’re a Bobcat forever. Sprinkle is one of the program's greats — never losing sight of where he came from.
Sprinkle and eighth-seeded Utah State begin their NCAA tournament against No. 9 seed TCU at 7:55 p.m. (MDT) Friday.
