Sakima Walker has played his final college basketball game. The former South Carolina Gamecock, who spent her last collegiate season at the University of California Berkeley, announced the close of his playing career through a heartfelt farewell letter, signing off with the simple but loaded phrase: “#35out.” It is the punctuation mark on a journey that took her from Columbia to Berkeley, and now toward whatever comes next — and if the tone of his send-off is any indication, Walker is leaving the game with her head high, her degree in hand, and her best days still ahead.
A Year That Shaped Her Beyond Basketball
Walker arrived at Cal knowing the road wouldn’t be easy. A transfer stepping into a new program, a new city, and a new system carries inherent challenges — but what Walker described in her farewell suggests the experience delivered something far more valuable than he anticipated going in.
“When I arrived at Cal, I knew I was stepping into an opportunity that would challenge me, but I never imagined how much this experience would shape me,” he wrote. “It challenged me in ways I never expected, but it also helped me grow in ways I’ll carry with me forever. This year was filled with growth, lessons, unforgettable memories, and people who believed in me every step of the way. I leave Berkeley not only a better basketball player, but a better person.”
That distinction — better player and better person — is the kind of reflection that reveals genuine maturity. Walker isn’t measuring her Cal chapter purely by statistics or wins. She’s measuring it by transformation, and the language he uses suggests a young woman who approached her final collegiate season with intentionality and came out the other side with clarity.
Gratitude for the Coaching Staff
Walker directed specific and sincere appreciation toward head coach Charmin and her staff, crediting them for the kind of belief and challenge that pushes an athlete to her ceiling. “To Coach Charmin and the entire coaching staff, thank you for believing in me, pushing me to be my best, and trusting me throughout this journey,” She wrote.
The combination of belief and push is worth noting analytically. Walker didn’t just thank the staff for being supportive — She thanked them for demanding more from her. That balance between encouragement and accountability is what elite development environments look like, and Walker’s recognition of it suggests she understood the assignment from the moment he arrived in Berkeley.
Sisterhood Built in One Season
Perhaps one of the most telling elements of Walker’s farewell is how warmly he spoke about his Cal teammates — a group she had known for only a single season, yet clearly bonded with deeply. “To my teammates, thank you for embracing me, competing with me, and creating memories I’ll cherish forever,” she wrote. “I’m so proud of what we built together, and I’m grateful I got to share this journey with all of you.”
For a transfer athlete, being genuinely embraced by an established locker room is never guaranteed. Walker’s words suggest she found exactly that in Berkeley — teammates who competed alongside him without reservation and a collective identity he could feel proud of, even in a single year.
A Special Bond With Dr. Ty
The most personal passage in Walker’s letter was reserved for someone outside the coaching staff — a figure he identified only as Dr. Ty, whose impact on his season clearly ran deep. “A special thank you to Dr. Ty,” Walker wrote. “You’ll probably never know just how much you meant to me this season. No matter what kind of day I was having, you always found a way to lift my spirits, make me smile, and remind me that I was capable of doing great things. Your belief in me gave me confidence when I needed it most, and I’ll carry your words with me long after I’ve left Berkeley.”
This acknowledgment speaks to something that often goes unspoken in athletic culture — the quiet but essential role that mental and emotional support systems play in an athlete’s performance and well-being. Walker’s willingness to name and publicly credit that influence reflects not only gratitude but a level of self-awareness that goes well beyond the game itself.
Closing In on a Second Master’s Degree
Beyond the basketball court, Walker delivered news that puts his collegiate journey in an even more impressive context. She is closing in on his second master’s degree from the University of California Berkeley — one of the top public universities in the world. “I’m also incredibly grateful to be closing in on my second master’s degree at one of the top public universities in the world,” she said. “It’s a milestone I’m proud of, and I’m thankful to everyone who helped me get here.”
That achievement alone reframes the narrative. Walker didn’t come to Cal simply to play one final season of college basketball. She came to finish something academically significant at a world-class institution — and she’s done it. Two master’s degrees by the end of a college basketball career is a remarkable accomplishment that speaks to a level of discipline and intellectual commitment that will serve him long after the final buzzer has sounded.
The Gamecock Foundation
Walker’s road to Berkeley ran through Columbia, where her career with the South Carolina Gamecocks laid the foundation for everything that followed. While his farewell letter is addressed to Cal, the journey it reflects began under the garnet and black — and the person she describes becoming at Berkeley was built, in part, on what South Carolina helped her develop first. Every stop along the journey, as Walker herself acknowledged, contributed to who she is now.
What Comes Next
Walker closed her letter with the kind of forward-looking confidence that suggests his professional chapter is about to begin in earnest. “While this chapter and my collegiate basketball career have officially come to an end, the story is far from over,” she wrote. “Every stop along this journey has shaped me into the person I’m becoming, and I know the best is still ahead. Here’s to the next chapter. Stay tuned.”
The phrase “stay tuned” carries real meaning from a player of Walker’s profile — a former high-major college athlete with two master’s degrees, clear emotional intelligence, and a burning sense that her best days are ahead of her. Whether that next chapter unfolds on a professional basketball court, in a front office, or in an entirely different arena, Walker is stepping into it having squeezed every last drop of value from his collegiate career.
From South Carolina to Berkeley, from one master’s degree to nearly two, from a Gamecock to a Golden Bear — Sakima Walker’s college story is one worth remembering. And if he’s right that the best is still to come, the world would do well to stay tuned.
