Marty Gordon
Radford University’s men’s basketball program has announced two signees for next year’s roster. This week’s National Signing Day included a Gulf Coast State College transfer and a high school senior from Virginia Beach.
Prince Johnson initially started this season at Gulf Coast College after attending Chipola College, while nationally ranked point guard Ashton Walker, by way of Catholic High School, are slated to join the Highlanders.
“Prince brings toughness and athleticism to our front court,” Nichols said. “He plays hard and with intensity. He is also a very nice kid and has a great support system. We are very excited he is a Highlander.”
Johnson, a 6-foot-8, 220-pound sophomore forward, helped GCC out to a perfect 4-0 start this year with totals of 16 points, 20 rebounds, five steals and seven blocks.
Before his time in the college ranks, Johnson competed at Pebblebrook High School (Ga.) for his senior year where he was rated the 16th-best forward and 82nd-best player overall in the state of by HoopSeen.com. He was also ranked as the eighth-best power forward in the state of Georgia by SandysSpiels.com.
Johnson also played for Marlboro County High School before his move to Pebblebrook, where he led his team to the South Carolina AAA Region 6 championship.
The Bennettsville, South Carolina native will have two years of eligibility remaining when he joins the Highlanders for the 2025-26 season.
Walker brings a ton of promise and potential to Radford, highlighted by his three-star ranking by 247Sports. The publication also rated him the 17th-best player in the state of Virginia and the 46th-best point guard in the entire country.
To go with the 247Sports accolades, PrepHoops ranked him the 172nd player in the nation, which includes all positions, while Big Shots Global slotted him as the sixth-best point guard in the state of Virginia.
“Ashton is a great kid and a big talented guard,” Nichols said. “He is very skilled and with his size and IQ, he will be able to make a huge impact on our program.”
Walker has been a standout at Catholic under head coach Bobby Steinberg.
As a junior, he was named to the 2024 Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Boys Basketball All-State First Team after he averaged 18 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.4 steals per game. As a team, Catholic went 25-9 overall in 2023-24 to go with being ranked third in the Tidewater Independent Basketball region.
To go with his time at Catholic, Walker also played for Boo Williams Nike EYBL on the club circuit.
