HOOPS: In-state SG Simon Walker commits to Auburn

Huntsville (Ala.) shooting guard Simon Walker has committed to Auburn.

Walker, who is ranked as the No. 149 overall recruit in the country, announced his decision on Thursday. He chose the Tigers over Virginia Tech, Iowa, Vanderbilt, Butler and Clemson, among many others.

Auburn’s Bruce Pearl and Steven Pearl both showed early interest in Walker. It was one of the reasons Walker chose the Tigers.

“Auburn has been recruiting me the longest,” Walker said. “They were the first high-major program to recruit me heavily. Just being able to grow that relationship with BP (Bruce Pearl) and Coach Steven (Pearl) and all the coaches has been really great.

“Just being able to see their genuine interest in me throughout the years has been great. They saw my ability before a lot of people did.”

Auburn checks all the boxes for Walker

Walker’s commitment to Auburn comes less than two weeks after he took an official visit to the Plains. He also took official visits to Iowa, Virginia Tech, Butler and Vanderbilt.

Auburn, however, checked all of the boxes for Walker.

“The fan base, the conference, the fact that they’ve recruited me for so long,” he said of things that he likes about the Tigers. “It’s a high-level program. The stock is only rising in this program. They won the SEC last year.

“It’ s a high-level program that I could definitely see myself being a piece of the puzzle.”

And now he will.

Walker is listed at 6-foot-5 and 185 pounds. The On3 Industry Ranking lists him as the No. 149 overall recruit in the 2025 class, the No. 41 shooting guard and No. 2 overall recruit in Alabama.

He is the first commitment in the Tigers’ 2025 recruiting class.