Baylor men's basketball freshman Ja'Kobe Walter has been selected to the preseason watch list for the 2024 Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award, as announced Tuesday by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The freshman from McKinney, Texas, joins Adam Flagler, Keyonte George, and MaCio Teague, who all have made the Jerry West Award watch list in the last five seasons.
The annual award recognizes the top shooting guard in Division I men's basketball. A national committee of top college basketball personnel determined the 20 watch-list candidates. Players can be added to the watch list throughout the season, and the list will be trimmed to 10 candidates in late January, with five finalists announced in late March.
The winner of this award, as well as presentation details, will be announced towards the end of the season at the Final Four in Phoenix.
Walter is one of three Big 12 Conference players on the Jerry West Award watch list, joining Kansas' Kevin McCullar and Houston's LJ Cryer. Additionally, the Bears could see as many as three more in Florida's Riley Kugel, Duke's Tyrese Proctor and Michigan State's Tyson Walker in non-conference play.
Additional players on the watch list include St. Marys' Aidan Mahaney, Kentucky's Antonio Reeves, USC's Boogie Ellis, Arizona's Caleb Love, Purdue's Fletcher Loyer, FAU's Johnell Davis, St. Johns' Jordan Dingle, Villanova's Jordan Moore, Marquette's Kam Jones, Tennessee's Santiago Vescovi, UConn's Stephon Castle, Illinois' Terrence Shannon, Jr., Arkansas' Tramon Mark and Creighton's Trey Alexander.
The sixth McDonald's All-American in program history, Walter played his senior season at Link Academy in Branson, Mo., where he helped the Lions to a 24-1 record in 2022-23. Before transferring, ESPN's No. 17-rated player led McKinney High School to its first-ever state championship game, where he scored a team-high 23 points against Duncanville. In addition to being named the UIL District 5-6A offensive player of the year, he earned a spot on the 2021-22 Texas Association of Basketball Coaches All-State Team and the 6A All-State Tournament Team.
