Luke Walsh commits to Southern Illinois; 3-star guard one of Missouri's best shooters

A 6-foot-2 shooting guard, Walsh led St. John Vianney to a 25-7 record as a junior when he averaged 22.9 points

Vianney 2025 shooting guard Luke Walsh / Photo by Nate Latsch, SBLive

High-scoring St. John Vianney (Kirkwood, Mo.) shooting guard Luke Walsh had several schools to consider during the recruiting process, but found what he was looking for with a chance to play close to home and strong relationships with the coaches recruiting him.

Walsh committed to the Southern Illinois Salukis on Monday night.

"SIU was the right choice because of the relationships I made with the coaches and players," Walsh said. "Coach (Jevon) Mamon and coach (Darreon) Reddick have been recruiting me for almost two years now and I trust them very much. Coach (Scott) Naggy is a great coach who wins, lets his guards play and loves guys who compete all the time and I felt like that described who I want to be as a player. Also, when I visited, I felt the rich history SIU basketball has, and I want to be a part of bringing that back to Carbondale with coach Naggy."

A 6-foot-2 shooting guard, Walsh led the Griffins to a 25-7 record and third-place finish in Class 5 as a junior when he averaged 22.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 2 steals per game. He knocked down 89 3-pointers (out of 223 attempts) and made 85.9 percent of his free throw attempts (140-163). He broke Vianney's career scoring record in February and was named the Metro Catholic Conference player of the year.

A four-year starter, Walsh averaged 18.5 points with 88 3-pointers as a sophomore and 14.9 points with 102 3-pointers as a freshman.

Walsh also received offers from UT-Arlington, Southeast Missouri State, Louisiana-Monroe, Missouri State, Saint Louis, Lindenwood, Northeastern and Oral Roberts throughout the recruiting process and took visits to several of those schools. He received an offer from Southern Illinois on June 26, following a visit to the school, and pledged to the Salukis less than a month later.

The opportunity to play close to home and compete in the Missouri Valley Conference, which holds its annual postseason tournament in downtown St. Louis, was appealing.

"Also with the MVC conference being close to home I wanted to have my family and friends be able to come watch," Walsh said. "Also with the tournament being at Enterprise I want to win the MVC tourney in my hometown with Coach Naggy."

Walsh is rated as the 11th-best prospect in Missouri in the Class of 2025, though that list also includes six players from Link Academy ahead of him. If you take out players from the Branson-based powerhouse program, Walsh is ranked fifth. He ranks 63rd nationally among shooting guards.

Walsh becomes the third high school player from Missouri in the Class of 2025 to commit to a Division I school, following Father Tolton point guard Aaron Rowe (University of Missouri) and Chaminade center Ben Winker (Cal State Fullerton).

Walsh is the first Vianney basketball player to commit to a Division I school since Paul Paradoski in 2004.

Vianney 2025 shooting guard Luke Walsh / Photo by Nate Latsch, SBLive

Vianney 2025 shooting guard Luke Walsh / Photo by Nate Latsch, SBLive

Vianney 2025 shooting guard Luke Walsh / Photo by Nate Latsch, SBLive

Vianney 2025 shooting guard Luke Walsh / Photo by Nate Latsch, SBLive

Vianney 2025 shooting guard Luke Walsh / Photo by Nate Latsch, SBLive

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- Nate Latsch |  latsch@scorebooklive.com