Courtesy of Allen University Athletics
DENMARK, S.C. — Voorhees University, an HBCU in Denmark, South Carolina has announced that Allen University Men’s Basketball Head Coach Shawn Walker has been selected to the Voorhees University Athletics Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024.
Walker began his career as a collegiate head coach at Voorhees in 1997, spending four seasons leading the Tigers Men’s Basketball program. During his time in Denmark, South Carolina, Walker saw his teams win two regular season EIAC Championships in 1998 and 2000, an EIAC Tournament Championship in 1999, and 81 total victories along with multiple EIAC Tournament runner-up finishes in 2000 and 2001. These successes saw Walker be named the EIAC Coach of the Year during the 1998-1999 season.
“I am very honored and excited to be selected to the Hall of Fame at the institution that gave me my very first opportunity to be a head coach at 25 years old,” said Walker. “I am forever grateful for all the lessons I was able to learn at that young age, and I am not where I am today without my experiences at Voorhees.”
After a four-year playing career at HBCU Elizabeth City State University, Walker started his journey in coaching as a graduate assistant in 1995 at Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania. In 1996, Walker returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach before taking over at Voorhees the following season. His nearly three-decade-long HBCU coaching career has included stops back at Elizabeth City State University (2001 as Women’s Basketball Head Coach, 2003-2014 Men’s Basketball Head Coach, 2018-2022 Men’s Basketball Head Coach), Grambling State University (2014-2017 Men’s Basketball Head Coach), and Shaw University (2022 Women’s Basketball Assistant Coach), before arriving at Allen before the 2023-2024 season.
Across his 24 seasons as a head coach, Walker has recorded more than 300 career victories and posted 16 seasons with double-digit wins.
In Walker’s first season leading the Yellow Jackets, Allen finished with a 15-15 overall record, more than tripling the team’s previous season win total (4). The 15 wins also set a single-season program record during Allen’s NCAA era (since 2021) and included Allen’s first-ever SIAC Tournament victory over Lane College on March 5.
“Shawn Walker’s impact at Voorhees University surpasses mere statistics and championships,” said Allen University Director of Athletics Jasher Cox. “At Allen University, we eagerly anticipate celebrating not only his remarkable success and achievements from the beginning of his coaching career but also the lasting legacy he has forged for generations to come.”
The Voorhees University Athletics Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place September 7, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. in Denmark, South Carolina.