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Fresh out of college, 22-year-old Mykala Walker found a job that seemingly checked all the boxes: a pipeline into AT&T ranks, a $70,000 salary and a career that mirrored her mother, Marvy Moore, a company executive.

Walker applied. She interviewed. But when her mother’s name repeatedly came up, she realized she wanted to forge her own path.

So, she instead took a $10-an-hour internship with the Atlanta Hawks. She worked 40 hours a week and made 100 calls a day asking Atlanta residents — most of whom didn’t care — to be Hawks fans. It was thankless work, but it’s where Walker wanted to be.

“It built a foundation for me to be able to build a career in the sports industry,” Walker said. “Any role I’m in where I’m just talking about basketball, that’s not a job, that’s a lifestyle.”

With the Hawks, Walker learned “how to appeal to people.” She’s used that lesson throughout her professional career at Georgetown, Delaware and Arizona State. Now at Syracuse, she’ll use it again.

As SU women’s basketball’s first-ever general manager, Walker’s tasked with turning a roster that finished 14th of 18 teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference last season into a championship-caliber squad. She’ll manage recruiting and budgeting, all aimed at capturing the program’s first national title. It’s her greatest challenge yet, but Walker’s ready.

“She’s gonna keep moving, and she’s gonna get things done, and eventually, we’ll see that in her position with Syracuse,” Walker’s mentor and ESPN Analyst LaChina Robinson said. “It sounds like a perfect fit.”

In August, after spending three years as ASU’s recruiting coordinator and assistant coach, Walker’s next move was unknown. She considered staying on the West Coast, potentially pursuing a player personnel position with the Phoenix Mercury.

Then Walker received a call from Natasha Adair. Over the past 16 years, she’d received hundreds from Adair — her former coach and colleague — but this one was different.

On May 29, Adair was hired as Syracuse’s associate head coach after being fired from Arizona State in March. Walker followed Adair to three schools since Adair coached her at Wake Forest and was hesitant to leave her side.

So when Adair told Walker SU was hiring a general manager, Walker jumped at the opportunity. After talking to Orange head coach Felisha Legette-Jack and Director of Athletics John Wildhack, Walker accepted the job in October over a similar role at Auburn.

“Having wanted to be in the WNBA and make my way up to the GM track in some capacity at the pro level, I just thought this was a no-brainer,” Walker said.

Mykala Walker speaks with Felisha Legette-Jack during SU’s win over Wagner on Nov. 16. Walker’s tasked with building the Orange back into a title contender after they placed 14th in the ACC in 2024. Griffin Uribe Brown | Social Media Editor

Walker was most intrigued by SU’s intentions to form a “pro model.” She contacted Tori Miller — a Hawks executive who knew Syracuse men’s basketball GM Alex Kline — to better understand the role’s responsibilities.

Miller told Walker different schools had different ideas of what their GM would look like. Some saw it as a second director of basketball operations, while others focused more on name, image and likeness opportunities.

Syracuse was focused on roster retention, player acquisition and returning to college basketball’s elite status. Walker was, too.

“Everybody in the world knows about Syracuse basketball,” Walker said. “So continuing to build on what Syracuse has built is gonna be key.”

Walker’s relationship with Legette-Jack dates back 13 years. Ahead of her senior year at Wake Forest, Walker’s head coach, Mike Petersen, accepted a position at North Texas, leaving the Demon Deacons’ spot vacant. Indiana fired Legette-Jack just a month earlier, so she interviewed for WF’s open position.

Before one of Wake Forest’s practices, all players met Legette-Jack, a customary step for potential hires. While their interaction was brief, Walker recognized Legette-Jack’s passionate demeanor, which made coming to SU an easy decision.

“It’s not for Coach Jack and for Coach A. It’s not for four years. It’s for life. That’s really the only type of situation I could be around if I’m being my authentic self,” Walker said. “It’s really just come full circle for me to be able to work for her now.”

As Wake Forest’s associate head coach, Adair spent hours refining Walker’s game. They worked on pushing through contact, driving downhill and kicking passes to the corners, similar drills Adair does with SU’s current bigs.

David White, who coached Walker at WF and later coached with her at Georgetown and Delaware, said Walker was “a fierce, physical player with a good shot.” She was one of few players aiming to build connections with coaches, something her mother stressed throughout her childhood.

But Walker didn’t want to follow in their footsteps. When her Wake Forest roommates asked her to join them at a coaching program in New Orleans, Walker declined.

Instead, after completing her playing career with the Demon Deacons, Walker began an internship with Turner Sports, a broadcasting company based in Atlanta. She was convinced she’d be a broadcaster. She’d work from home, again making $10 an hour, but it was the first step toward her future.

At Turner Sports, Walker worked closely with analysts and former professional athletes Steve Smith, Dennis Scott and Isiah Thomas, occasionally running into Chris Webber and Charles Barkley. She also reached out to Robinson, who was working a full-time gig with ESPN and Fox Sports South.

Robinson, who’s based in Atlanta, just 30 minutes from Walker’s hometown of Duluth, offered Walker advice on breaking into the sports industry — guidance Walker said sparked her deeper love for the field.

“She never stops trying to get better, trying to make connections,” Robinson said. “It’s clear Mykala understands the value of mentoring.”

Mykala Walker and Natasha Adair shout to their Arizona State team during a contest against Arizona. Walker has followed Adair to four schools since college, with the latest being Syracuse. Courtesy of Carter Caplan

The coming months were filled with short-term positions. Walker joined the Hawks after three months with Turner Sports. She spent four months there before Adair called her with another life-altering opportunity.

Adair encouraged Walker to join her at Georgetown, where she could pursue a master’s degree in Sports Industry Management while serving as a graduate assistant for the Hoyas’ women’s basketball team. Walker couldn’t turn it down.

When Walker started at Georgetown, her days were filled with classes taught by adjunct professors — many of whom were professionals in the sports industry — and meetings about recruiting visits and travel schedules.

Walker said walking into Tommy Sheppard’s class made the busy schedule worth it. Sheppard was the Washington Wizards’ senior vice president of basketball operations at the time. He once took his class to a Wizards game, where Walker realized she needed to be a GM.

“(We talked) about chasing my dreams,” Walker said. “If that’s what I’m gonna do, I’ve gotta do it with everything in me.”

Though she no longer played, Walker said serving as a graduate assistant felt similar. Her youth helped her connect with players and teach them what Adair was looking for.

While Walker eventually jumped to a full-time position as an assistant of basketball operations, her role barely changed. Handling recruiting came easily, having been just three years out of the landscape. Meanwhile, White — the director of operations — oversaw video and film responsibilities.

“Mykala was willing to step right in and do whatever work needed to be done for the betterment of the program,” White said. “It was a continuation of what she did as a player.”

Three years after starting at Georgetown, Walker relocated to Delaware with Adair, who’d become its fourth-ever head coach.

The Blue Hens were coming off a 16-14 season that featured a Coastal Athletic Association Tournament Quarterfinals exit. They’d finished above .500 in three of the previous four seasons, but relished the days of future WNBA Hall of Famer Elena Delle Donne, who led Delaware to the NCAA Tournament in 2012 and 2013.

Walker began as an assistant coach and took recruiting responsibilities four years in. Carter Caplan, then Delaware’s assistant director of operations, said Walker planned football tailgates and built itineraries for visits, “doing anything” to attract top players.

“We wanted to recruit the best talent we could but also not compromise a bad culture,” Caplan said.

Mykala Walker celebrates Delaware’s 2022 CAA Championship with conference commissioner Joe D’Antonio. With the win, the Blue Hens advanced to their first NCAA Tournament since 2013. Courtesy of Carter Caplan

Walker said everyone at UD wanted to win a championship and be the best versions of themselves. Athletic Director Chrissi Rawak even exemplified those goals with phrases like “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” and “All boats rise together.”

It showed on the court. Under Adair, Delaware went 71-50. With a post unit led by Walker, the Blue Hens ranked No. 1 nationally in offensive rebounds per game in 2020-21 and No. 2 during her tenure.

In the 2021-22 season, Delaware advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since Delle Donne’s squad in 2013. By the time Walker and Adair departed five years later, the Blue Hens added three more national postseason appearances to their name.

“They went to get it, and they fought and they didn’t let anything get in the way,” Walker said of those Delaware teams.

Walker then headed to Arizona State alongside Adair, Delaware assistant coach Darrell Mosley, associate head coach Bob Clark and Caplan. Caplan said the staff had embraced a “family” atmosphere, making each move easier than the last.

But Walker sometimes questioned her career path at ASU. NIL and collectives opened, and the Sun Devils were transitioning to a new athletic director, leaving unfamiliar responsibilities on the coaches. Arizona State also went 29-62 across Walker’s three seasons.

It fueled Walker to return to winning. And Syracuse’s opening came at a perfect time, giving her the chance to make the Orange a national contender.

“We had a couple people come through here that just weren’t ready to take us to the level we can go,” Legette-Jack said at Media Day. “We got very lucky with Mykala Walker.”

When things have gotten hard for Walker, she’s leaned on her “tagline.”

Growing up, her grandmother would tell her, “Put it in the air, Kayla (Walker), it’ll go.” She meant not to be afraid to shoot in basketball. Let it fly. It’ll fall eventually.

Walker carried that mantra into her life. It taught her to take the scary leaps, to trust herself and what awaits her.

Now, Walker’s put it in the air at Syracuse. She’s ready to watch it go.

Photograph by Eli Schwartz | Staff Photographer, courtesy of Georgetown Athletics, Carter Caplan, Wake Forest Athletics

Published on November 20, 2025 at 1:17 am
Contact: jordankimball28@gmail.com | @JordanKimball_