Duke Hires Former Nike Executive Rachel Baker As General Manager

Duke announced Tuesday it hired former Nike executive Rachel Baker as the men’s basketball program’s general manager. Baker spent eight years at Nike and a year in the NBA where she led initiatives for marketing.

“I could not be more excited to join Jon Scheyer and the entire Duke basketball family,” Baker said in the release. “We’re in the middle of such a transformative moment — not only for Duke, but for the college basketball landscape — and the chance to be a part of it is the opportunity of a lifetime.”

While at Nike, Baker managed strategic initiatives with the Elite Youth Basketball League and even had a hand in the initiatives between the company and NBA star Kevin Durant. While at the NBA, she assisted in the rebranding of the WNBA and helped introduce digital solutions to both the NBA All-Star Game and the NBA combine, per the release. 

Baker graduated with a degree in communications from La Salle University, where she played lacrosse. She also earned an executive education certificate in business of entertainment, media and sport from Harvard. This is one of the first additions for new coach Jon Scheyer.

“Rachel is a one-of-a-kind talent with unique experience that will provide our players and their families with an unparalleled resource and partner as we navigate new frontiers in college basketball together,” Scheyer said in the release.