Gael Spotlight: Ali Bamberger Is Creating Her Own Legacy
Gaels center Ali Bamberger ’23 grew up around Saint Mary's Basketball. Her father Eric Bamberger ’92 played here 1988–92 and was twice named an All-WCC honoree on his way to scoring over 1,000 points as a Gael. Ali even played high school section championships in the very same building she currently plays in now.
She initially began her collegiate career at the University of Washington but suffered a serious knee injury in her freshman year. She made the best of that situation by using the opportunity to come home and be a Gael.
Newcomer of the Year
And what an opportunity it has been for Ali. The redshirt junior was named the WCC Newcomer of Year last season and has twice been named All-WCC First Team. Last season she started all 33 games and averaged 15.3 points per game and 9.3 rebounds per game. This season she played in 25 games and averaged 14.0 points and 8.4 rebounds.
The time in between, however, was a new experience for Bamberger, rehabbing a knee injury that required two surgeries and learning a new system at SMC.
"I had never experienced a serious injury before it happened, so I didn't really know what to expect," Bamberger said. "At the time I had the mindset that I'm going to come back stronger from this. But as you get into the process and the monotony of the rehab every day, you begin to doubt yourself and wonder if it's all worth it or if you will be the same."
Even when the extensive rehab was done, there was doubt as to whether the reconstructed knee would hold up—and if she'd be able to perform at a high level.
“To have the year I did after the injury really propelled my belief in myself, even if that doubt really never goes away,” Ali Bamber said. “It's definitely something that has changed my life, but I would say for the better.”
"Coming back, I think, was one of the hardest things I've ever had to face," Bamberger said. "I was super anxious. But I will say, it's kind of like riding a bike. As soon as you get into it, it all comes back to you and you forget everything else. I'm super grateful for the support I had, and my teammates were amazing during that time, too. To have the year I did after the injury really propelled my belief in myself, even if that doubt really never goes away. It's definitely something that has changed my life, but I would say for the better."
Hoops and Health Care
Not only has Bamberger come to experience a family feel in Moraga by playing for the Gaels—and getting to follow in her dad's footsteps on the court—but Saint Mary's has provided her a path to follow in her mother's footsteps as well.
Ali is an Allied Science Health major with a 3.63 GPA. She has twice been a WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention, and made the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team. Bamberger recently decided she wants to be a physician's assistant when her playing days are done.
"Growing up, I was always way more interested in science. My mom was a nurse and delivered babies, and she is still in the health care field," Bamberger said. "I always knew I wanted to do something like that, but the problem is with playing basketball you can't do nursing or a medical field because you don't have time for the clinical hours. But Saint Mary's had the perfect opportunity where you can take the prerequisites without the clinical hours, and I'm so grateful Saint Mary's had that opportunity for me."
And while playing in one's hometown and on the same floor where their father was a star player can add pressure, it has added comfort for Bamberger. Even COVID-19 ended up offering a blessing in disguise for her, in that she had to come home to have the surgical procedures on her knee and for the rehab.
"I love it here. I knew when I was picking a college I wanted to try something different, but when things didn't work out in Washington, I knew this is where I wanted to be as soon as I entered the transfer portal," Bamberger said. "When I came here, I was very proud to have a dad who played here and was very successful. Having my family and friends close by and able to come to games is a once-in-lifetime-opportunity.
"Because my family is so close, they're able to provide a second family for the girls on the team who don't have their families close by. We have Thanksgiving at my house with the players from out of town, and that's something that will touch my heart forever."
Though Bamberger has her professional path into the health care field mapped out, she's leaving open the opportunity for a detour into playing basketball professionally before moving forward with her plans to be a physician's assistant.
"All of my prerequisites are good for ten years to apply to physician's assistant schools, so I have a ten-year window to play professionally—or travel, or whatever I want to do," Bamberger said. "If the opportunity arises [to play], I'd love to take it. My dad played professionally and said it was some of the best years of his life."
The sky feels like the limit for Bamberger in whatever she decides to do when her time at Saint Mary's is done, after carving out her own legacy as a Gael. She may have come to Saint Mary's as Eric's daughter. But she is now someone whom young girls and future-student athletes look up to as making the set of footsteps they want to follow.
This profile was originally published on SMCGaels.com. Read it and watch a video interview with Ali Bamberger.
Tim Fitzgerald is a Director of Athletic Communications at Saint Mary's. Write him.