The junior Tall Black was instrumental in helping Otago Boys' win the national secondary schools title last year but shifted north to Christchurch this season so he could link up with the Canterbury Rams following the demise of the Otago Nuggets.
The 17 year old was also named in the New Zealand under 18 team that will contest the Fiba 3X3 World Championships in Hungary in June.
The Huskies compete in the prestigious Pac 12 Conference, known as the Conference of Champions due to its combined tally for the most national championship wins in the history of US college basketball.
Timmins (2.08m) had a stunning run of form and success at the back end of 2014. He represented New Zealand in the 3X3 team at the Youth Olympics in China in August and was named tournament MVP at the national secondary schools championships.
His year culminated with a standout tournament for the Junior Tall Blacks at the Fiba Under 19 World Qualifying Tournament in Fiji.
He was the only New Zealander included in the All Star Five named after the harrowing last second loss to Australia in the final.
Timmins had received interest from more than 10 colleges across the United States, including the highly rated UCLA and Cal Berkeley, as well as the University of Pittsburgh, which launched the career of Steven Adams.
Timmins said sifting through his options for 2016 was both humbling and exciting and he was fortunate to have plenty of experienced basketball brains to guide him through the process.
''I am really excited to be joining the University of Washington and I'm looking forward to playing for coach Romar,'' said Timmins.
''Everything we heard about coach Romar was positive, that he's a great coach and a good man as well.
''We've talked about his plans for 2016 and beyond and how he sees me fitting into those plans. We've also talked about my long term goals and he's real keen to help me go as far as I can.''
Romar is the longest tenured basketball coach in the Pac 12 with 13 seasons already under his belt. After viewing game footage of Timmins, he was on the phone straight away saying he wanted the 120kg Kiwi.
''As soon as I saw the film of Sam, I knew he could be a crucial part of my roster for 2016,'' Romar said.
''I believe he has an extremely exciting future.''
New Zealand
3X3 teams
Under 18 men: Matthew Freeman, Nikau McCullough, Samuel Timmins, Tai Wynyard. Reserves: Isaac Davidson and Logan Hunt.
Under 18 women: Kelcy Ballantyne, Tiarna Clarke, Kendell Heremaia, Krystal Leger Walker. Reserves: Zara Jillings, Katelin Noyer and Alyssa Hirawani.
