The No. 56 prospect in the class of 2026, Joe Sterling is just starting to make a name for himself as a national prospect. The 6-foot-4 combo guard suits up for California's Crespi High School and plays in one of the toughest conferences on the West Coast where his team is off to an undefeated start.

Sterling holds offers from schools such as Washington, San Francisco and Portland, and has already made time to make the trip north to tour UW’s campus as part of an early unofficial visit.

“Washington was actually one of my first offers, so I’ve had a chance to visit and see it and all that,” Sterling said. “I didn’t get to go to a football game but I got to go to a basketball game and see the arena and all that stuff. It was cool. I got to see how the coaches coach and all that."

The Huskies offered Sterling a scholarship before he had even played a high school game, so if there’s something to be said for extending an offer early in the process, it should be said about Mike Hopkins and his staff. In addition to his Washington visit, Sterling has also toured the campus of San Francisco, which offered him back in June.

More offers will likely be in store for Sterling, who plays both guard spots at the high school level but says he thinks of himself more as a point guard than a two.

“I probably prefer playing the 1," Sterling said. “But I can do either. I like both. I’m definitely a shooter but I can do more than just that.”

Sterling has also received heavy preliminary interest from a number of other programs, including St. Mary’s, which could be close to making things official with an offer in the near future. The four-star guard is definitely a prospect to watch out west as he develops and begins to collect more high-major opportunities down the road.