Portland State Men’s Basketball Coach Jase Coburn announced on April 16 the signing of Dennis Johnson III, a sophomore transfer, for the 2026-27 basketball season.
Johnson joins Portland State after playing at Western Washington University last season. The 6-foot-3 guard was named Great Northwest Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year and averaged 12.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. He also earned two GNAC Player of the Week honors and received honorable mention recognition in the conference.
“Dennis is a very competitive and talented player. He has an extremely high ceiling to what he can do and is just scratching the surface on his abilities as a player,” said Coburn.
Coburn also said, “You could see how he got better, statistically, game-by-game last season. He brings a lot to the table in terms of being able to score, make plays for others and rebound.”
Originally from Seattle, Johnson attended Renton High School before moving on to Phoenix Prep and participating in club basketball with Beauchamp Elite, Prodigy Basketball and Renton Select teams. During his high school career he was twice named league Most Valuable Player as both a junior and senior at Renton High School and earned second team All-State honors as a junior. As a senior at Phoenix Prep he averaged 23 points, seven rebounds and three assists per game.
Johnson joins a Portland State program that won the Big Sky Conference regular season championship in 2025-26 with an overall record of 20-11 (13-5 conference) under head coach Jase Coburn who was named Big Sky Coach of the Year.
