KU Jayhawks basketball team adds non-scholarship player from Alabama to 2022-23 roster
Wilder Evers, a 6-foot-4 senior combo guard out of Oak Mountain High School in Birmingham, Alabama, has committed to play basketball at the University of Kansas as a non-scholarship player, he confirmed to The Star on Wednesday night.
He initially made the announcement on Twitter.
Evers was a starter on Alabama’s Class 7A state-title team in his junior year at Oak Mountain. The team reached the state’s Final Four in Alabama during his sophomore year and lost in the Elite Eight this past season.
Evers older brother, Stone Evers, is a freshman pitcher for the Jayhawks baseball team. And his mother, Sandy, and father, Mike, competed in track for KU. The connections don’t stop there, either: Evers’ godfather is Scott (“Scooter”) Ward, KU associate athletic director/student athlete development.
“Kansas has been in my blood all my life,” Evers said Wednesday. “I’ve been up there a lot. I went to all the (Bill Self) camps as a kid. I’ve been going to a lot of games, visiting my brother a lot. The culture is awesome. To think I’ll have that opportunity to be on the court and do that is a blessing.”
KU is losing non-scholarship guard Chris Teahan to graduation. Walk-ons on the 2022-23 team will be Evers, Michael Jankovich, Charlie McCarthy and Dillon Wilhite.
Evers, who indicated he received recruiting interest from “some lower D-1’s and 2s,” recently attended KU’s Final Four semifinal win over Villanova and national-title victory over North Carolina in New Orleans.
“To come in and help the team in any way I can, going as hard as I can every single practice,” Evers said of his goals as a walk-on. “Getting better every day, trusting my hard work will pay off, listening to the coaches and doing whatever they need.”
Evers, who compiled some head-turning plays during the 2021-22 high school season, will be majoring in business at KU.
Alec Etheredge, managing editor and sports editor of the Shelby County Reporter, on Wednesday tweeted: “Awesome opportunity for Oak Mountain’s Wilder Evers to join the National Champs! He was such an integral part of a team that made three consecutive Elite Eight appearances and back-to-back Final Fours. He’s part of a big KU family and now gets to live out a dream,”
KU coaches cannot comment on the commitment until the compliance office processes Evers’ materials. But a source close to the KU program confirmed the commitment.
This story was originally published April 13, 2022 at 8:23 PM.
