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Montana State transfer Brandon Walker breaks down Mississippi State decision

Paul Jones Mississippi State Bulldogsby:Paul Jones•05/30/25•

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NCAA Basketball: NCAA Tournament First Four-Grambling at Montana State
Mar 20, 2024; Dayton, OH, USA; Montana State Bobcats forward Brandon Walker (2) shoots the ball defended by Grambling State Tigers guard Jourdan Smith (11) in the second half at UD Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Former Montana State forward Brandon Walker has experienced an interesting offseason, to say the least. But on Friday, all of that came to a conclusion when the rising senior chose Mississippi State for his final college season.

Walker entered the transfer portal early in the spring period and also recently withdrew his name from the NBA Draft earlier this week. But now the Texas native has everything settled with his college career.

“It’s been good and an up-and-down process,” Walker explained. “While it has been up and down for me, I am just glad I found a great school. I have to thank God for that and without Him, none of this would be possible.”

While in the portal, Walker received his share of interest from Power 4 and mid-major programs. He noted that New Mexico, Xavier, California and Utah State were among several schools pursuing him heavily in his recruitment.

However, an official visit to Mississippi State earlier this month helped things get clearer for Walker.

“I did visit Mississippi State a week or so ago,” recalled the 6-foot-7 and 250-pound Walker. “It was great and I got to see all of the campus. I love the atmosphere there and the facilities, too. It all felt like home and felt good to be there.”

Another factor, shared Walker, with his decision was having the opportunity to develop with head coach Chris Jans and his staff.

“It was also the relationships I had with the coaching staff,” Walker added. “I want to get better on the court and I feel like these coaches can help me with that. I feel like it is a great environment to succeed and I wanted to play for Coach Jans. He is a legendary coach to be and that was a big aspect of it.”

This past season at Montana State, Walker started all 29 games and averaged 21.2 minutes a game. In those 29 games, he had 25 double-digit scoring outputs and averaged 14.7 points and 4.9 rebounds a game. Walker scored 19 or more points in six games this past season, including a career-best 31-performance against Cal-Riverside.

Also this past season, Walker shot 52.8% from the field, 38.6% from 3 point range and 54.5% at the foul line.

For the Bulldogs, Walker is expected to log most of his minutes at the power forward position.

“I will be playing at the four, sometimes at the five in small ball lineups,” remarked Walker. “They need me to score the ball and I can score the ball at that level. I can be a facilitator and just being an all-around player, a two-way player on offense and defense and just making plays.”

Like other transfers in the class, Walker will be completely new to Mississippi State’s program and fanbase. But when he makes the move to Starkville in the coming days, he will reunite with one familiar face on the roster with freshman King Grace.

“It’s been good with King,” noted Walker. “I’ve been working out at my old high school and I see him around. We talk it up and he played with my little brother. So I watched some of his games and it will be fun playing with someone I am familiar with.”

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