Tag: EJ Walker

Wisconsin loses top class of 2025 target E.J. Walker to an SEC school

BREAKING: Wisconsin loses top 2025 target E.J. Walker to an SEC school

Wisconsin top class of 2025 target E.J. Walker committed to South Carolina on Friday.

The Badgers were among the four-star power forward’s finalists along with the Gamecocks, Purdue Boilermakers and Ohio State Buckeyes.

Related: Ranking the Big Ten football television windows from worst to best

Walker chooses a South Carolina program that is run by former Wisconsin assistant coach Lamont Paris. Paris was named SEC Coach of the Year in 2024 after leading the Gamecocks to a 26-8 record in only his second year with the program.

The talented power forward is 247Sports’ No. 146 player in the class of 2025, No. 29 power forward and No. 2 recruit from the state of Kentucky. Wisconsin loses Walker after hosting him on an official visit the weekend of April 28, plus on several unofficial visits in 2023.

Wisconsin’s class of 2025, meanwhile, ranks No. 15 in the nation with a commitment from in-state SG Zach Kinziger.

Losing Walker is a big blow as the Badgers were one of his top programs. The program is working to build depth at the position after losing Tyler Wahl (graduation) and Gus Yalden (transfer portal) after the 2023-24 season.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion.

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Wisconsin basketball top 2025 PF target E.J. Walker to announce commitment Friday

One of Wisconsin’s biggest class of 2025 targets will announce commitment Friday:

Wisconsin basketball top class of 2025 target E.J. Walker will announce his collegiate commitment on Friday, May 24, at 6 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Central.

The Badgers were recently named a finalist for the four-star power forward along with Purdue, Ohio State and South Carolina.

Related: Wisconsin basketball 2024-25 starting lineup and rotation with latest transfer addition

Walker is 247Sports’ No. 146 player in the class of 2025, No. 29 power forward and No. 2 recruit from his home state of Kentucky. His four finalists were named from a decorated offer sheet that also includes Butler, Illinois, Iowa, Xavier, Dayton and Texas A&M.

The Badgers hosted the 6’8″ power forward on an official visit on April 28, that after he took a pair of unofficial trips to UW in June and November 2023.

All interested eyes will turn toward Walker on Friday night as he announces his commitment.

Wisconsin’s class of 2025 currently ranks No. 15 in the nation with one player committed — three-star SG Zach Kinziger. The program finished the 2024 cycle with a class led by top point guard Daniel Freitag, and is looking for another high-impact class.

Greg Gard and his staff are also still busy in the transfer portal looking for talent and depth in the front court. It recently saw JUCO transfer center Noah Boyde commit to LSU, though is still in the running for former Georgia C Frank Anselem-Ibe and others.

 

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion.

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Wisconsin basketball a finalist to land four-star class of 2025 PF EJ Walker

A big announcement to watch later this week:

Wisconsin top class of 2025 target E.J. Walker announced his top four schools in a social media post on Monday.

Walker, who has garnered offers from 27 schools including California,  Tennessee, Illinois and Iowa, has pinpointed Purdue, Ohio State, Wisconsin and South Carolina as those top four schools.

The 6’8″ forward from Kentucky also released that he will announce his collegiate commitment on Friday, May 24 at 6 p.m. Eastern, 5 p.m. Central live at his high school’s gym.

247Sports currently has the four-star power forward as the No. 30 power forward in the class of 2025, No. 2 player from Kentucky and No. 146 overall recruit in the class.

Wisconsin extended its offer to Walker back in May 2023, and he took an official visit to Madison the weekend of April 28. The Erlanger, Kentucky native also took a pair of unofficial trips to UW in June and November 2023.

Wisconsin lacks the requisite forward depth to excel in the Big Ten after seeing Tyler Wahl (graduation) and Gus Yalden (transfer portal) depart after the 2023-24 season. The program did land transfer PF Xavier Amos, but is still in pursuit of more help at the position.

Walker would not be an instant fix for that issue in 2024-25. But he could be a big piece of the front court rotation in Madison for years to come.

Greg Gard’s class of 2025 currently ranks No. 15 in the nation with only one commitment: three-star SG Zach Kinziger.

Ohio State basketball re-offers 4-star 2025 Kentucky power forward

The Buckeyes are still pursuing the 4-star power forward. #GoBucks

It has been an offseason of roster management for new Ohio State basketball head coach Jake Diebler.

While he showed enough on the court for the Buckeye athletic department to take off the interim tag and make him the full-time coach, its been a quick turnaround from the season ending to the transfer window and recruiting.

We have seen plenty of player movement, with a few starters and backups leaving, while welcoming in some high-level transfers. As for recruiting, so far so good, as Diebler has already gotten a verbal from the top 2026 Ohioan, point guard Marcus Johnson.

The work is not done, especially in the 2025 class that doesn’t currently have any commitments. The Buckeyes re-offered Kentucky power forward, [autotag]EJ Walker[/autotag], on Wednesday, confirming their interest despite the coaching change.

At 6-foot, 8-inches and 230-pounds, Walker is one of the best players in the country, ranking as the No. 142 overall prospect and 28th at his position. Hopefully, this gesture gives the Buckeyes some momentum in his recruitment.

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X. 

Wisconsin basketball hosts top-150 recruit on official visit

Wisconsin basketball hosts top-150 recruit on official visit

The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team hosted EJ Walker, a three-star forward from Erlanger, Kentucky, this weekend. It was Walker’s first official visit to Wisconsin after a pair of unofficial trips to Madison in June and November of 2023.

Walker is considered a top-150 recruit in the country and he narrowed his list of potential programs to 12 in March, which included Ohio State, Iowa, Purdue, Minnesota and Wisconsin within the Big Ten. Also included are South Carolina and West Virginia, amongst others.

The 6-foot-8, 230-pound athlete has been in contact with the Badgers for quite some time and he’s a potential big piece of their 2025 recruiting class, which already includes a commitment from three-star guard Zach Kinziger (De Pere, WI).

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Greg Gard’s squad lost seven players to the transfer portal this offseason and they may have to rely on their two incoming freshmen in 2024, three-star guard Daniel Freitag (Minneapolis, MN) and three-star forward Jack Robison (Lakeville, MN).

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Wisconsin makes the final schools for one of Kentucky’s top 2025 recruits

Wisconsin makes the final schools for one of Kentucky’s top 2025 recruits

Wisconsin basketball made the top 12 schools for class of 2025 power forward E.J. Walker Friday afternoon.

Walker is 247Sports’ No. 156 player in the class, No. 30 power forward and No. 2 recruit from his home state of Kentucky.

The Badgers make the 6-foot, 8-inch power forward’s list alongside South Carolina, Illinois, Xavier, Dayton, Louisville, Iowa, West Virginia, Ohio State, Purdue, Minnesota and California.

Related: Breakout candidates for Wisconsin football 2024 spring practice

Greg Gard’s class of 2025 currently ranks No. 11 in the nation with one player committed — three-star shooting guard Zach Kinziger. His 2024 group finished No. 55 overall, so a strong 2025 cycle is important to build momentum moving forward.

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Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes, and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

Wisconsin MBB offers class of 2025 forward from Kentucky

The Badgers offered EJ Walker, a class of 2025 forward from Erlanger, Kentucky on Tuesday (May 2). 

The Badgers offered EJ Walker, a class of 2025 forward from Erlanger, Kentucky on Tuesday (May 2). The 6-foot-8, 220-pound athlete still has two more years at Lloyd High School before he’d make the jump to college basketball.

Even though he doesn’t carry an official rating, Walker has received 12 Division 1 offers, with Minnesota and Purdue joining Wisconsin in offering him from the Big Ten.

Greg Gard and his Badgers failed to make the NCAA Tournament in 2022-2023, doing so for the second time since Gard took over at head coach in 2015.

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Moving forward, the basketball team may have to take a page out of the football team’s book and completely rebrand themselves and who knows, maybe Walker is a part of that.

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Michigan State basketball to host EJ Walker on unofficial visit

MSU is hosting a top propsect in the 2025 recruiting class on an unofficial visit this weekend

Tom Izzo has been hot on the recruiting trail, landing one of the best 2023 recruiting classes in the country. Now, Izzo is starting to piece together his 2024 and 2025 recruiting classes.

According to a report, Izzo will be hosting EJ Walker, one of the top prospects in the 2025 class, on an unofficial visit this weekend and the second visit Walker will have to East Lansing in the past month.

Walker is a shooting guard from Erlanger, Kentucky. Standing at 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, Walker is a versatile wing and will be highly coveted as his recruitment goes on.

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on Twitter @Cory_Linsner.

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