And that is a bigger deal than anyone can imagine for his family, friends and legacy through his BYU connections.
BYU basketball coach Kevin Young announced the former Cougar commit out of Timpview High, who played at Utah and Clemson, would join his program this coming season.
“It happened fast, and we are all excited. It’s a blessing to come home,” said Wahlin.
He will finish his career playing in the Marriott Center, where his grandfather, the late Ray Beckham, helped lead the fundraising to construct the legendary facility.
NEWS: Clemson transfer forward Jake Wahlin has committed to BYU, he told @On3. ⁰⁰The 6-10 junior is a Provo native and now returns home. https://t.co/lVOe2V9xvz pic.twitter.com/k5N95CfJ1l
Wahlin has returned home, where his father Rick played football, as did his brothers-in-law Colby Pearson (Atlanta Falcons) and Harvey Langi (New England Patriots). His sister Malery Wahlin played volleyball for the Cougars.
Another brother-in-law, Tim Davis, is the co-founder of Utah Prospects, an influential AAU basketball team.
Last Sunday, he was likely headed for Kansas State. Just 24 hours later, he became a Cougar.
Wahlin, a 6-foot-10 stretch forward, helped Clemson set an ACC record for road wins this past season. He competed against the likes of Duke, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Stanford, Cal and Georgia Tech, along with BYU at the Jimmy V Classic in New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden.
He has played 88 games as a Power 5 athlete, 52 of them starting for the Utes and Tigers.
Wahlin was on his way to visit Kansas State when Young called him Monday. He had moved up his trip to Manhattan, replacing a previously scheduled trip to Cincinnati. The Cougar coach said he’d been reviewing his film again and believed he could make a needed contribution to BYU on both ends of the court.
That he’d played at the highest level of ACC basketball and knew BYU’s unique culture were bonus points for Young.
Here is how this blitzkrieg Wahlin commitment went down.
Jake was at a friend’s bachelor golf party in Mexico this past week while his parents were scouting Kansas State in Manhattan, preparing for Jake’s visit on Monday.
Before going to Manhattan, however, Rick was at church in Provo on Sunday when he ran into a former member of his stake presidency, BYU athletic director Brian Santiago, and the chat turned to what Jake was doing since entering the portal.
Rick said he was about to visit Kansas State and would likely commit — they wanted him and it had gone that far.
According to Rick, Santiago said he couldn’t step in front of his coaches in a situation like this, but thought it would be worthwhile to have his son-in-law, Tim, make a call to coach Young one final time.
Rick discussed this with Tim, and the veteran AAU coach wondered if it would be in vain in this late stage of the process when Kansas State was nearly a done deal and BYU had barely shown interest.
As an AAU coach, Davis has personal relationships with coaches all around the country. For the Wahlins and his brother-in-law Jake, he’s always been an advisor and point-man. He had been involved in coaching Yoeli Childs, Connor Harding, Collin Chandler and Wahlin over the years. He knew the script dealing with recruits, coaches and programs.
Davis did call Young on Monday and in the discussion Young agreed to take a second look at Jake’s film, something his staff members do extensively with recruits — at his direction.