Class of ’26 | Elijah Walsh

Elijah Walsh | Leeds, England

A Big South “Freshman of the Year” watchlist went out in July, and Elijah Walsh’s name was on it. Those are big expectations for a young man who left his home in Leeds, England at 18 to play a sport he loves in the U.S. But Walsh is a grounded kid who understands he’s here to learn and get better.

“I just want to be good,” he says. “I know I’m not what you’d call ‘amazing’ at this yet, and I still have a long way to go. I like the fact that I can be here and work toward getting better in something I’m very interested in.”

His four-year goal on the court is to be a part of a winner — Campbell men’s basketball hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament in 30 years. Individually, he wants to develop his skills on the court and be a leader both to his teammates and to younger athletes through camps and other coaching opportunities.

“It’s all about becoming a better person, too,” he adds. “I feel like I’m in the right place to make that happen.”

These stories are only the beginning. For this edition of Campbell Magazine, they’re an introduction to 12 students —chosen randomly during the third of four summer orientations hosted on the main campus this year — and a documentation of expectations heading into a four-year college journey.

All 12 agreed to give us more than just the 20 minutes it took to talk and take a few photos back in June. They’re allowing us to check in over the next four years to help chronicle their Campbell experience. And they’ve all agreed to sit down with us again in May 2026 to share their updated stories (and take a few more photos). In order to tell a story of growth and maturation, it’s best to start at the very beginning.

These interviews revealed a heightened sense of hope for a group whose high school careers were defined and marred by a global pandemic. Online classes became the norm, and many of their gatherings and social events were masked or socially distanced. Proms, athletic events and milestone ceremonies were either canceled, altered or virtual.

“Man is, by nature, a social animal,” Aristotle once wrote. Second to earning a degree and starting a career, this class is eager to connect socially with their peers and become part of an “experience” and a community that they mostly missed out on in high school.

It’s our hope that all 12 of these students join us again in four years to tell us all about their Campbell experience. We’re confident that those who do will return older, wiser, more confident and ready to take on the world.

We’re excited to tell these stories. See you in 2026.