PORTLAND, Ore. – University of Portland men's basketball has signed Lamar University transfer Yuto Yamanouchi-Williams, head coach Shantay Legans announced on Monday. The 6-10 versatile post player will join the Pilots with three years of eligibility remaining.

Yamanouchi-Williams put up good numbers as a true freshman for the Cardinals last season. He made 24 starts and appeared in 28 total games at Lamar averaging 6.9 points and a team-high 7.1 rebounds per game. Yamanouchi-Williams was second on the roster with 22 blocked shots while shooting 41 percent from the field and 75 percent at the free throw line.

The Aizuwakamatsu, Japan native recorded six double-doubles including an 18-point, 11-rebound effort against Texas A&M-Commerce. Yamanouchi-Williams also notched double-doubles against Louisiana-Monroe (14 pts, 12 rebs), Pacific (10 pts, 15 rebs), Southeastern Louisiana (14 pts, 19 rebs), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (10 pts, 11 rebs) and Incarnate Word (10 pts, 12 rebs). He recorded two or more blocked shots seven times and showed his range by knocking down a pair of three-pointers.

"Yuto is a perfect fit for our program," Legans said. "He can play with his back to the basket and shoots the ball well from outside. 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 played for Japan's Under-19 National Team and spent a season with Earth Friends Tokyo Z, a professional team in the Japanese B League, prior to his time at Lamar. He played high school basketball at Ribet Academy in Los Angeles where he helped the school to the 2019 California Division IV state title.

Yamanouchi-Williams becomes the third player at the University of Portland with Japanese lineage. Taishi Ito played four years on The Bluff from 2006-10 and then Hugh Hogland (Watanabe) was with the Pilots from 2017-20.

The Pilots have now announced three newcomers for the 2022-23 season as Yamanouchi-Williams joins Cyprian Hyde and Vincent Delano on next year's roster.

Legans and the Pilots will bring back several key players including two-time All-West Coast Conference guard, Tyler Robertson. Robertson averaged 15.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and a WCC-best 5.2 assists per game last season.

Chris Austin, who averaged 14.2 points for the Pilots during the 2021-22 season, will return to the active roster next year after redshirting this past season with a broken leg. Juanse Gorosito earned All-WCC Freshman Team honors, broke the Pilot freshman record for three-pointers made (63) and started 12 games, while center Vasilije Vucinic started 10 games. Portland is also eager to integrate Vukasin Masic (Maine transfer) and freshman Bol Dengdit who are coming off redshirt seasons and expected to be key contributors.
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