KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – University of Tennessee women’s basketball head coach Kellie Harper confirmed Friday that graduate transfer Jordan Walker has signed an athletics scholarship and an SEC Grant-In-Aid agreement to join the Lady Vol program for the 2020-21 campaign.
Walker, a 5-foot-8 guard, comes to Knoxville from Western Michigan University, where she was her team’s leading scorer last season. She will be a redshirt junior and have two years of eligibility after taking only three years to complete her undergraduate degree in political science with a minor in communications in 2020.
“Jordan brings experience at the guard position and provides us much-needed depth on the perimeter,” Harper said. “She is a terrific addition to the rest of our roster, as she can knock down the open shot, create off the bounce and distribute the ball. I was impressed with her level of maturity, and I am excited for her to be a part of our family.”
A native of Muskegon, Michigan, and a product of Mona Shores High School, Walker earned All-Mid-American Conference (MAC) Third Team accolades in 2019-20 for the Broncos after averaging 16.0 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game while shooting 39 percent on field goals and 32 percent on three-pointers. She led WMU in minutes played (1,007), scoring (495 points), field goals made (185), three-point field goals made (66) and steals (65), and was second in rebounds (191) and third in free throws made (59) and assists (76).
That season point total ranks No. 9 all-time at Western Michigan, while she stands 11th in three pointers made. She finished fourth in the MAC in steals (65), sixth in steals per game (2.1) and three-pointers made (66), and ninth in points per game (16.0) and three-pointers made per game (2.1).
Walker scored in double figures in 27 contests as a redshirt sophomore, including 11 games with 20+ points, and had double-doubles (points/rebounds) vs. Ball State (21/11) on March 7 and Bowling Green (21/10) on March 9. She made at least one three-pointer in 28 of 31 games and pulled down two or more caroms in all 31 games, including 23 contests with five or more boards.
As a freshman in 2017-18, Walker was the team’s co-most improved player after tallying averages of 7.9 ppg., 3.8 rpg., 2.9 apg. and 1.6 spg. while starting 23 of 33 games. She scored in double figures 11 times during her rookie season and had one double-double. Walker led the squad in three-point field goals made (41), while shooting 32.0 percent from behind the arc, and finished second on the team in total assists (66) and steals (53).
For her career, Walker started 54 of 64 contests, posting an average of 11.8 ppg., 4.9 rpg., 2.2 apg. and 1.8 spg. She scored in double figures in 38 of 64 games and notched three double-doubles during her time in Kalamazoo, which included a redshirt year due to injury in 2018-19.
The signing of Walker marks the fourth incoming graduate transfer in Lady Vol history and the second committing to UT during the Kellie Harper era. She follows in the footsteps of fellow 2020 graduate transfer Keyen Green, a 6-1 All-ASUN forward/center who joined the program from Liberty on April 15. Previous graduate transfers have included Lou Brown from Washington State, who played the 2019-20 season at UT, and Schaquilla Nunn, who joined the Lady Vols from Winthrop for the 2016-17 campaign.
In addition to Walker and Green, Harper welcomes three freshmen to the mix, including 6-0 guard Destiny Salary (four-star prospect, #57 by espnW HoopGurlz), 6-1 guard/forward Tess Darby (#86 by Blue Star Media, four-star prospect by ProspectsNation.com, three-star prospect by espnW HoopGurlz) and 6-2 guard/forward Marta Suárez (a four-star prospect by Blue Star Europe).
Tennessee now has five newcomers for the 2020-21 season and a roster of 13 active players, which is the largest squad since a team of 13 in 2010-11. There were 14 team members in 2014-15, but two players (Diamond DeShields, Mercedes Russell) sat out that season due to transfer and injury, respectively.
-UT Athletics
