In the Shadows: Walk-ons Make Impact Behind the Scenes

Nick Schultz | The PhoenixChristian Negron (far right) cheers on the Loyola men's basketball team alongside walk-ons Dylan Boehm (far left), Will Alcock and Jake Baughman.At the end of the Loyola men’s basketball bench sit three players who rarely take off their warm-ups: junior Jake Baughman, sophomore Dylan Boehm and first-year Will Alcock. They’re all walk-ons, but just because they don’t often see the court, doesn’t mean they don’t have an impact.

A walk-on is a player who becomes part of the team without necessarily being recruited beforehand. Loyola has 10 scholarship players on the roster, but that doesn’t stop other players from joining the team. It just means those players who…