Former Michigan forward Sam Walters finds new home in the SEC out of transfer portal

Former Michigan forward Sam Walters has officially chosen his next school to play for after spending one season at Michigan. The soon-to-be junior forward spent his first season of college basketball with Alabama before transferring to Michigan this past season. Now he is heading to Mississippi State, joining the SEC yet again.

Coming out of high school, Walters was a four-star recruit, and when he entered the transfer portal was given the same rating by 247Sports in the portal. Mississippi State had a solid season this past year, even making the NCAA Tournament as a 9-seed, but lost in the first round to 8-seed Baylor.

Walters will bring the experience of not just one power program to the Bulldogs, but two, both teams that made deep runs in the tournament in the last two years.

Sam Walters commits to Mississippi State after one season at Michigan

Walters may not have been a big contributor to the Wolverines in his lone season, but he was someone head coach Dusty May could trust coming off the bench. Playing roughly 13 minutes a game, Walters averaged just 5.0 points per game, 1.6 rebounds, and 0.6 assists. He appeared in 23 games for the Wolverines but did not make any starts.

The young forward planned to play a full season with Michigan, but a back injury kept him out for the final month and a half of the season. The 6-foot-10 forward truly had the size to play down low, but with the Wolverines having two 7-foot centers, he was better used in mid-range and actually behind the three-point line.

With his size, Walters shot an impressive 36.6% from deep range for the Wolverines, making him a threat for the offense and forcing the defense to spread to the floor more, leaving the centers open down low.

Now at Mississippi State, Walters can be a more versatile player for the Bulldogs, playing anywhere on the court.