Cowboys Add Another Big Piece to Revamped Frontcourt

LARAMIE -- Wyoming has added another piece to its revamped frontcourt.

Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams announced Wednesday on social media he has committed to the Cowboys, becoming the fifth transfer to join the program this offseason. The 6-foot-10, 230-pound forward is the second big to land on Jeff Linder's new-look roster, joining Touko Tainamo.

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Yamanouchi-Williams has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

A native of Japan, Yamanouchi-Williams averaged nearly nine points a night to go along with 5.2 rebounds during his lone season at the University of Portland. He appeared in just 12 games for the Pilots during the 2023-24 campaign, debuting with a 12-points, 10-rebound performance in a double-digit victory over Pacific.

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His best outing came three games later when he connected on 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and netted a career-high 17 against UC-Santa Clara.

A hip injury prematurely ended his season in late February.

Yamanouchi-Williams was expected to redshirt last year after transferring from Lamar University. Those plans were axed in January when a teammate was ruled academically ineligible.

He did not play in the Pilots' 81-70 win over Wyoming on Dec. 1.

"He can play with his back to the basket and shoots the ball well from outside," Portland head coach Shantay Legans told the school's website after acquiring Yamanouchi-Williams in April of 2023. "He is a natural rebounder with good basketball instincts. Yuto is going to flourish in our system and be a very good player in our league."

Yamanouchi-Williams shot 43.8% from the field and drilled nearly 36% from deep last season. He was just a 56.7% shooter from the free-throw line.

During his true freshman campaign at Lamar, he averaged nearly seven points per outing and added 7.1 rebounds. He attempted just a dozen three-pointers through 28 contests compared to 45 a season ago.

Aside from Tainamo, a 6-foot-9, 220-pound forward from Helsinki, Finland, Yamanouchi-Williams joins guards Obi Agbim (Fort Lewis) and Tyree Ihenacho (North Dakota) in Laramie, along with stretch wing Matija Belic (UC Santa Barbara).

Wyoming has lost six players to the portal this offseason, most recently Missouri natives Cam Manyawu (Drake) and Kael Combs, who figured to be building blocks toward the future. Brendan Wenzel (TCU), Caden Powell (Rice), Jacob Theodosiou (Loyola) and Jonas Sirtautas (Radford) have also left the program.

Linder and Co. now have one available scholarship. Kenny Foster is not expected to return to the program this season, according to multiple sources.

Division-I programs are allowed up to 13 full-ride players on the roster. Here are Wyoming's scholarship players as of April 24, 2024:

F - Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams *

F - Touko Tainamo *

G - Matija Belic *

G - Tyree Ihenacho *

G - Obi Agbim *

G - Oliver Faubert **

G - Dominic Pangonis **

G - Jehvion Starwood **

F - Dylan Warlick **

F - Oleg Kojenets

G - Kobe Newton