Ben Baker and Jacquez Walker, who helped the West Valley College basketball team to historic heights this past season, have signed to continue their athletic and academic careers at four-year institutions, Viking coach Danny Yoshikawa recently announced. The 2022 Vikings were 28-4 overall, back-to-back Coast Conference Champions, went undefeated in conference play for only the second time in school history, and advanced through the playoffs to the California state championship Game. Baker will play point guard at Seattle Pacific University, while Walker, a combo guard, will take his long-range shooting skills to the University of Los Angeles-College of Divinity. 

In his two years in Saratoga, Baker averaged 15.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.2 steals per contest. In 2020, he was a CCCMBCA All-State and Coast-South Conference First Team selection, and the Coast Conference MVP. He was again named to the All-Coast-South First Team in 2022 and earned a spot on the CCCAA All-State Tournament team after posting a three-game state tournament average of 15 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.3 APG and 1.3 SPG. He and teammate Adam Afifi were the 2022 WVC Male Athletes of the Year. 

Walker was a frequent starter and key sixth man for Yoshikawa. He provided instant offense off the bench, shooting 37% from three-point land while converting 86% of his free throws. He averaged 8.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 2 assists and 1.1 steals per game during his Viking career. 

Baker and Walker join Adam Afifi (Cal St. Northridge), Quinn Denker (Cal St. San Marcos), Sufyan Elkannan (University of Colorado-Colorado Springs) and Mahmoud Fofana (Cal St. San Bernardino) as basketball scholarship recipients from the 2021-22 Vikings. During his illustrious 7-year coaching career at West Valley College, 43 of Yoshikawa's student-athletes have received basketball scholarships while 96% of his second-year sophomores have graduated and/or transferred to four-year universities.