SEATTLE – As Seattle University men’s basketball makes the leap to West Coast Conference play for the 2025–26 season, having players who have been there and done that comes in handy. Knowing what to expect from different players and schemes executed by opposing programs is one thing, but the intangibles that elevate the team — composure, determination and leadership — can distinguish a good team from a great one. Gonzaga University transfer Junseok Yeo, a senior, has these qualities in spades and is ready to use them to make an impact in his debut season with the Redhawks.
Yeo’s resumé is chock-full of both international experience and WCC exposure from his time with the Zags. Hailing from Seoul, South Korea, the 6-foot-8 forward has participated in FIBA competitions at the youth level, guiding South Korea to appearances in the 2021 FIBA U19 World Cup and 2018 FIBA U18 Asian Championship. At the U19 World Cup hosted in Latvia, he ranked second in rebounds and averaged 25.6 points per game. Highlighting his talent at a young age, Yeo played two years up at the 2018 Asian Championships, where he tallied 16.2 points per game and 6.2 rebounds. Most recently, Yeo helped power Korea’s senior national team to qualification for the 2021 FIBA Asia Cup again represented the senior team this past summer for the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup in Saudi Arabia.
In conversation, Yeo doesn’t speak much on his accolades, tactics of the game or how he likes to shoot, but rather the little things that don’t end up on the box score — how he can help teach his teammates traits of a good basketball player and ultimately step into a leadership role.
“This team has a lot of Asian players. So I feel like with my experience, I can share it with them and be looked at as a leader,” Yeo said. “With the coaches, I feel like they really trust me as a basketball player. They feel comfortable with me and believe in me, so I have to show them why they believe in me and go out and do the right things.”
With Yeo’s broad scope of experience — both domestically and abroad — he hopes to have a valuable role in aiding head coach Chris Victor and his staff in both scouting and on-court influence.
“Every country has their own style of play,” Yeo said. “The Korean team — we’re not very tall. So it’s been a good experience to play countries that have tall guys, huge guys, and play our game. In the U.S., there’s a lot of guys playing here coming from international competitions. So with the coaches in the scouting discussions, I can talk to them about my thoughts and my experiences playing against them.”
Yeo’s decision to make the trek across I-90 from Spokane to Seattle was made in tandem with the trust and open arms of Victor and the Redhawk staff. After losing a year of play to the COVID-19 pandemic and being in the throes of the deep competition pool typically seen at Gonzaga, Yeo felt like he was primed and ready to play meaningful minutes at a place that, he says, already feels like home.
“I spent some time at Gonzaga, three years, and I just wanted to play,” Yeo said. “I wanted more playing time to make up for the lost COVID year. I visited a few schools, but I felt with Seattle U, when I visited here, it really felt like home. The coaches were really loving and welcoming. Our coaches are young too. In Korean culture, it can be hard to talk with older people, so I felt with the coaches here it would be a lot easier to talk with them and communicate with them — I felt really safe and comfortable here.”
Yeo’s tool belt on the court is versatile and will be valuable to the Seattle U frontcourt as the Redhawks face off against the size, speed and scoring capabilities of WCC programs. Self-described as an all-around player, one of Yeo’s prominent strengths is his team-first mentality — creating open looks for shooters and playing defense against all five positions.
“I can do everything. I can play as a small four. I can guard as a five-man guy,” Yeo said. “My biggest thing is that I’m not a selfish player, and I can bring energy to my teammates. I can pass to them and make a play.”
The energy that Yeo brings to his teammates was born in Seoul, where Yeo would meet up with friends at the local court to get shots up, play pickup and pal around. He admits that growing up, he never really considered basketball to be an option for his future. As a child, he routinely ran track and played soccer with aspirations of becoming a professional soccer player. It wasn’t until one day his father told him to come to the court with him to play and learn the process of basketball.
“Actually at first I didn’t want to play basketball,” Yeo said. “My dad one day said, ‘Jun, you should really try playing basketball and learn how to shoot.’ Then the process of learning how to play basketball slowly made me fall in love with it. My old teammates at that time were really good, and I had so much fun playing with them. When I was a kid, it wasn’t even just basketball — I wanted to be with my friends and just hang out, shoot the ball, and I slowly started falling in love with it.”
As the conversation with Yeo continued, it was clear that basketball meant more to him than shooting the ball, making a game-saving block or adding a tally to the win column. For him, perfecting the craft with hours spent in the gym with his father, learning the ins and outs of the game and centering their focus on a common goal of improvement allowed Yeo’s relationship with his father to blossom.
“My father used to play basketball, and he’s kind of a cold guy,” Yeo said. “He doesn’t really laugh or anything, but I started talking with him and having really good conversations with him when I started playing basketball. He would smile with me and have really good communication with me around basketball. Those moments were really good times for me.”
With fall quarter in full swing and the new season just around the corner, the senior forward is looking to take those lessons from his father to the classroom as well — building relationships with Redhawk fans and his peers alike.
“I always try to be a good teammate, but also I want to be a good student and be a good friend in class,” Yeo said. “When people talk to me, I always try to smile — that’s the main thing. I just want to be friendly to everyone.”
Conceding that he hasn’t yet had the chance to build bonds with the SU faithful, the South Korean international expressed deep gratitude for the opportunity to represent Seattle U and play in front of the fans at the Redhawk Center and Climate Pledge Arena. Now playing on friendly confines for the first time as a member of the home team, Yeo has had the opportunity to play at Climate Pledge Arena a handful of times in previous years — something he says was an unforgettable experience.
“When I was in the locker room, it didn’t feel like any other arena. It felt like, ‘Oh, this is huge,’” Yeo said. “The city is cool, the arena was really cool. The vibe is really good and I love it.”
Yeo, who just arrived in Seattle after playing with the Korean national team in Saudi Arabia this summer, is excited to explore the outdoors and the natural scenery only found in the Pacific Northwest. Asked what he does in his free time to decompress from the daily grind of being a Division I basketball player, Yeo elaborated that his joy comes in the form of small improvements every day.
“I do a lot of research on Google and YouTube about health and what’s good for my body — food, medicine, ice baths — if I do my research about it, I do it. I just like that work and progress,” Yeo said.
He continued that aside from self-care, music and food centered around feel-good energy and Korean culture help him unwind and relax when he’s not in the gym.
“Right now, I’m listening to ‘Nokia’ by Drake a lot, also a lot of Korean music,” Yeo said. “I also like the city vibe, and there’s a lot of good Korean food here, so that’s exciting for me.”
As time with Yeo came to a close, he made sure to send out a message to Redhawk fans, assuring them of his commitment and excitement for the upcoming campaign.
“I’m so excited,” Yeo said. “This is my first year at Seattle U, and I haven’t gotten to see the Redhawk fans yet. But I’m so excited to see them. Playing here is a dream — playing in this arena, I’m just grateful.”
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