Former Husky Big Man Finds New College Basketball Home

Bryan Penn-Johnson will join his third team since leaving the UW.

He will be forever known as BPJ, which sounds a lot like a sandwich, but Bryan Penn-Johnson is a well-traveled 7-foot-1 center who began his college basketball career at the University of Washington and, with multiple stops in between, the big man will play next for Cal Poly. 

From Long Beach, California, Penn-Johnson was one of Mike Hopkins' earliest Husky recruits, stayed two seasons, didn't play much and left.

Growing impatient, BPJ transferred to LSU, where he barely lasted through a couple of months of  the 2020-21 season and into the height of the pandemic, and went home before Christmas. 

Cal Poly has great plans for him, hoping to draw much more out of him than the UW and LSU did.

"Bryan's length and athleticism are added dimensions that haven't been seen at the Big West Conference level in some time," Cal Poly coach John White said in a statement. "His ability to change the game on both ends of the floor with a 7-7 wingspan will help bolster our defense and put pressure on the rim in our offensive schemes. He's very cerebral on and off the floor, which fits well with the Cal Poly brand."

This past season, Penn-Johnson turned up East Los Angeles College and got his game back on track. He started in 15 of 29 games and averaged 8.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 66.7 (percent from the floor. 

Scoring in double figures nine times, BPJ had a career-best 23 points on 10-for-11 shooting and he grabbed 12 rebounds at Los Angeles Trade-Technical College.

While with the Huskies, BPJ appeared in 12 games, scored 12 points and blocked 8 shots in spot duty. He mostly sat and watched for two seasons, drawing extended minutes only in a game at Colorado. 

Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Husky FanNation stories as soon as they’re published.

Not all stories are posted on the fan sites.

Find Husky FanNation on Facebook by searching: Husky Maven/Sports Illustrated

Follow Dan Raley of Husky FanNation on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven