Future KU walk-on announces commitment on social media

By Matt Tait Apr 13, 2022

Kansas University basketball recruiting

The Kansas men’s basketball roster grew by one on Wednesday, when 6-foot-3 guard Wilder Evers, of Oak Mountain High in Alabama, announced his commitment to Kansas.

An honorable mention all-Birmingham selection this season by AL.com, Evers (pronounced Ee-vers) helped lead his school to a 2021 state championship and three consecutive appearances in the state semifinals.

He comes to KU as a walk-on and essentially will fill the spot on the roster that came open after popular walk-on Chris Teahan ran out of eligibility following KU’s run to the national title.

He is expected to join Michael Jankovich, Dillon Wilhite and Charlie McCarthy as KU’s walk-ons for the 2022-23 season.

Listed by Rivals.com as a point guard, Evers is a versatile player with the ability to score, set up teammates and get on the glass.

He figures to bring a good blend of size and smarts to the KU backcourt. According to a reply to his commitment announcement from the Oak Mountain High Twitter account — and likely his head coach, Chris Love — Evers has exactly what any coach looks for in a walk-on.

“Great young man who has worked his butt off to be given this opportunity,” the tweet began. “He was a great player for us but more importantly a great teammate. He was all about the team.”

In addition to thanking his friends, family and coaches for their support, Evers thanked KU coach Bill Self “for this amazing opportunity.”

JayhawkSlant.com’s Shay Wildeboor caught up with Evers on Wednesday and learned that his parents (Mike and Sandy Evers) both ran track at Kansas. Former KU All-American distance runner David Johnston also reached out to Evers and his mother, Sandy, on Twitter to express his excitement over his decision to join the KU program.

In addition, Evers’ older brother, Stone, is a freshman pitcher on the KU baseball team.

“Kansas has been in my blood all of my life,” Evers told Wildeboor. “And when Coach Self gave me this opportunity to play for the Jayhawks, I couldn’t pass it up.”

I’m super excited to announce my commitment to the University of Kansas where I’ll be continuing my academic and athletic career.
I especially want to thank @CoachBillSelf for this amazing opportunity!#ROCKCHALKJAYHAWK @KUHoops pic.twitter.com/efYNK8RFpX

— wilder evers (@EversWilder) April 13, 2022

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.