Wichita State basketball adds Jaykwon Walton, a former top-100 recruit and SEC player
A former top-100 recruit who has been pursued by SEC schools since high school is the latest addition to the 2022 recruiting class for Wichita State men’s basketball.
It’s been a long and winding road for Jaykwon Walton to end up at Wichita State, where he verbally committed to on Thursday. The 6-foot-7 wing has two years of eligibility remaining after playing this past season at Shelton State Community College in Alabama, where he helped lead the team to a 30-5 record and to the NJCAA tournament in Hutchinson by averaging 12.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 46.8% from the field and 35.6% on 3-pointers.
Walton will be looking to make an impact at the Division I level for the first time at WSU after injuries hampered the start of his collegiate career.
The Montgomery, Alabama native was the No. 69-ranked recruit in the country by ESPN in the class of 2019 and was originally committed to Mississippi State before flipping to Georgia. But Walton was never able to showcase his abilities at Georgia, as injuries led to him playing in just seven games in the 2019-20 season and then just two in the 2020-21 season before he announced he was entering the NCAA transfer portal.
Mississippi State came calling again when Walton went the juco route and he ended up committing and then de-committing again from the Bulldogs when coach Ben Howland was fired following this past season. Walton is currently ranked No. 5 nationally in 247 Sports’ juco rankings.
Since opening up his commitment in April, Walton was being pursued by LSU and Kansas State, among others. He took an official visit to Wichita last week, which eventually led to his commitment on Thursday.
Walton is an intriguing prospect to add to the mix on the wing: a 6-7 player with guard-like skills who could play any number of positions for the Shockers. His addition also leaves Wichita State with just one scholarship remaining in its 2022 recruiting class.
This story was originally published May 12, 2022 at 10:59 AM.
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