According to a report from Travis Branham of 247 Sports, Virginia Tech has emerged as one of the early leaders for Jarace Walker, a 5-star forward in the 2022 class.
The 6-foot-6, 225-pound Walker put together a monster sophomore season at Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy. 247 Sports ranks Walker as the No. 6 overall prospect in the 2022 class — as well as the No. 2 small forward.
A flurry of scholarships were extended to Walker after the June 15 deadline, including Auburn, Georgia and Notre Dame. Several other power programs are of interest, too: Florida, Villanova and LSU. However, Walker explained to Branham that Virginia Tech, Michigan and Maryland stand above the rest, currently. Walker also notes that the Virginia Tech staff has prioritized him, more than any other program.
Three schools are standing out to 2022 five-star hybrid forward Jarace Walker. || Story: https://t.co/OM8fVWFaFr pic.twitter.com/fNepHnxiTk
— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) June 23, 2020
Walker is also hopeful that Duke and Kentucky will express some level of interest as well.
If Walker’s stature as a prospect remains where it does now, and if he committed to the Hokies, he would be the highest-ranked recruit in Virginia Tech program history, according to the 247 Sports database — just ahead of Dorian Finney-Smith and Nickeil Alexander-Walker. Both DFS and NAW now play in the NBA, too.
At this point, things are just hypothetical; however, this is a notable development for Mike Young and his talented staff, led by associate head coach Chester Frazier. (Frazier was instrumental in VT landing Kansas State transfer guard Cartier Diarra this offseason.) After spending nearly 20 years as a head coach in the Southern Conference at Wofford, the step up to the ACC was substantial.
There was little doubt that Young’s brainy motion offense would cause fits for opposing defenses. But could Young’s staff reel in high-level talent? It’s early in the process, but making Walker a priority is smart move from the Hokies. It would be really interesting to see Young add not only solid players — Virginia Tech’s roster is filled with intriguing offensive pieces — but an NBA-type talent to his wide-open offense.
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