Sam Walters signs with SMU from NCAA Transfer Portal

Sam Walters was supposed to end back up in the Southeastern Conference with his first commitment during this portal cycle. Instead, he’ll end up in the Atlantic Coast Conference this offseason with news of a different signing on Tuesday.

Sam Walters has signed with the SMU Mustangs in the NCAA Transfer Portal, On3 has learned per Pete Nakos. That comes after he originally committed to Mississippi State on Thursday last week.

Walters was previously one of five transfers for the Bulldogs over the past two weeks. It was a Top-25 class in the portal coming to Starkville along with Achor Achor (Kansas State, Samford), Quincy Ballard (Wichita State, Florida State), Amier Ali (Arizona State), and Ja’Borri McGhee (UAB).

However, Walters will instead be heading to play at Southern Methodist. He’ll be the third pickup in the portal for their program along with Jaron Pierre (Jacksonville State, Wichita State, Southern Miss), one of the nation’s leading scorers last season, and Corey Washington (Wichita State).

Walters has played two seasons as an underclassman with one at Alabama and one at Michigan. He has averaged 5.2 points (42.6% FG, 38.2% 3PT) and 2.1 rebounds in 60 games as a reserve for the Crimson Tide and Wolverines. He was limited, though, in Ann Arbor with a back injury that ended up being season-ending after posting 5.0 points (42.5% FG, 36.6% 3PT) and 1.6 rebounds in the 23 games he played for the maize & blue.

That’s after Walters, a native of The Villages, Florida, was a four-star recruit in the 2023 cycle. He was the No. 68 prospect overall as the No. 10 PF and the No. 6 player out of the state of Florida. That’s according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Now, Walters is just inside the Top-300 per the latest update to On3’s Industry Ranking of 2025’s Top Transfer Portal Players. He is at No. 295 overall as the No. 66 PF in that rating.

After a season apiece in the SEC and Big Ten, Walters was coming back to the SEC. He’ll now be in a third conference, though, with the Mustangs in the ACC after this decision to flip.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.