When you walk up to opportunity's door, don't knock it... kick it in, smile and introduce yourself.

Born and raised in the foothills of Blacksburg, Va., I developed a passion for sports at a very early age. The ground-shaking nights at Lane Stadium and trips to Washington, D.C., Charlotte, N.C. and Bristol Motor Speedway are some of my earliest memories. Wherever I looked, there was a usually a time and place for me to get my sports fill. All of those memories eventually evolved into a dream of pursuing a career in sports media. I used my love for playing sports to propel myself into assistant coaching and game operations during my time in high school. Although I was happy to be involved in any and all aspects of the sports industry, it wasn’t until I got to college that I found my niche: sports media.

After graduating from Christiansburg High School in 2016, I chose to attend Emory & Henry College where I had the chance to play soccer at the collegiate level while I also hoped to lay the foundation for a professional career by studying as a double-major in mass communications and sports management. Two days after the final game of my freshman season, I was asked if I was interested in serving as a color commentator for the Wasps’ men’s and women’s basketball games. That initial role as a broadcast assistant turned out to be the start of a three-and-a-half-year run that I tried to take complete advantage of as an undergraduate student. I became the first-ever paid student of the college’s radio station, the award-winning WEHC-FM. Despite going to a smaller institution and not having the equipment or production staff typically needed for high-level streams, we all worked hard with what he had and aimed to consistently produce respective broadcasts, which proved to be true when our staff won the 2018 Outstanding Sports Coverage Award in the state of Virginia.

I eventually became the play-by-play broadcaster for the majority of Emory & Henry sports and helped operate and coordinate halftime shows and interviews for football and basketball broadcasts. I was on the call for the 2018 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament and saw the Wasps cut down the nets for the first time in school history. Consumed by a love of being on the air, two of my friends and I started up a podcast called The Triple Option. A desire to talk sports met a passion to tell stories. We began reaching out to coaches and student-athletes outside of campus and were rewarded with interviews with the likes of current Texas A&M men’s basketball coach Buzz Williams and 2023 NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner Mac McClung.

Having already met my graduation requirements in three years, I made the decision to return to school in 2019 for my senior season and the opportunity to strap on the headset for a few more basketball games. Things turned out to my benefit as I finished up my time at Emory & Henry following the fall semester, just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic impacted institutions and organizations all throughout the world. While the world seemed to be on pause, I had time to browse at different jobs and decide on graduate school; I chose the latter. I was selected to be an athletic communications graduate assistant at King University. A one-year Master’s program in Bristol, Tenn. was an opportunity that I viewed as a way to sharpen my skills while also furthering my education all while being in an environment that helped add to my network of motorsports professionals. I was able to remain behind the microphone for basketball, baseball and softball games but added volleyball and swimming to my repertoire. I continued to dive into my love of storytelling and had the opportunity to showcase those talents at the 2020 Conference Carolinas Championships.

Upon graduation from King University, I made the decision to join the Wake Forest University athletics staff as an unpaid intern with one thing in mind: the people I would meet, the relationships I would create and the memories I would make would take me a lot further than the money I could have made at that time. That decision paid off in more ways than one. I made plenty of remarkable memories and I developed many different relationships that will last a lifetime. I was on staff within an athletics department that boasted the only ten-win football team and first ten-win team in men’s and women’s basketball team that year. I developed an invaluable relationship with long-time assistant men’s basketball coach Mike Muse and at-the-time women’s basketball coach Jennifer Hoover. The three of us collaborated to start the first-ever Wake Forest women’s basketball coaches show. That show led to in-depth interviews, travel opportunities and experiences at the Division I level that helped highlight one of the ACC’s premier women’s basketball programs.

That leap of faith to Winston-Salem, N.C. was met with another invaluable, and quite unexpected opportunity to work with some of the nation’s best in the sports media world. Just a few days into my time as an intern at Wake Forest, I met Dave Goren one evening in the stairwell on my way out of work. Goren is the Executive Director of the National Sports Media Association. Goren’s mentorship, friendship, guidance and overall willingness to let me assist him has led to opportunities and experiences at the NSMA Awards Weekend each year. I have been able to meet, connect with and even interview some of the top professionals in the industry such as Jim Nantz, Scott Van Pelt and Ernie Johnson. The time each of these professionals spent with me and the advice they all gave me was far more valuable than any financial gain I could have received, especially as my journey was just beginning. 

After basketball season at Wake Forest came to a close, I began looking for my first full-time job as a young professional. I was named as the Assistant Director of Strategic Communications within the athletics department at Appalachian State University. I worked directly with the men’s basketball and softball programs and also helped oversee the social media strategy of the App State Athletics brand. During my time in Boone, N.C., I was, again, fortunate to be part of multiple memorable and historical moments. I was apart of the staff that witnessed the softball team’s first-ever win over national powerhouse Louisiana. I hosted App State football’s fall camp series that highlighted a team that was known at the national level for their win over Texas A&M and for having ESPN’s College Gameday come to town for a Sun Belt Conference game against Troy.

All of those memories and every one of those stops along the way have had a profound impact on where I am today. With that being said, there are two other anecdotes that I have that I would be remised to not tell. The first, and most recent, one comes just a few months ago at the Racetrack Revival. Jimmy Holder, a friend and mentor that I work with at the National Sports Media Association allowed me to assist him during the races at the legendary North Wilkesboro Speedway. I was blessed to work with some of the drivers and media staff. It was an amazing experience to ride the iconic lift with Daytona 500 winners Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Newman. Having those responsibilities and duties were just small components of a simply beautiful event. And all that did was pour gasoline on the fire inside of a kid hoping to live out his dream.

Although I’ve laid out my journey from a chronological perspective, if I could share one memory, it would have to be this one; it comes from back in July of 2020. A few buddies and I were at Bristol Motor Speedway for the NASCAR All-Star Race, which was the first live sporting event for spectators following the COVID-19 pandemic. While walking around and looking at the merchandise haulers, I ran into ESPN’s Marty Smith. Smith interviewed me on SportsCenter that evening and we conversed for a few minutes. What Smith didn’t know and what I wasn’t expecting to share was the sincere admiration that I had for his work. Smith grew up just a few minutes down the road from where I did and I had always looked up to him as a role model… I wanted to follow in his footsteps. Just a kid from rural Appalachia, like Smith, I hope that a passion for motorsports will lead to a lengthy and successful career in the sports media industry. 

Now that I have told my story, there’s one piece of advice that has always stuck with me. And although this won’t be anything new to a lot of you, it is something that I would still love to share: “It’s not always what you know. It’s who you know and who knows you.” 

That piece of advice is the one that I have heard from the majority of people that I have sought out wisdom from. Everyone’s path is different. There are right decisions and wrong decisions. There are good breaks and bad breaks. But you won’t get to where you want to be without the help of others, whether you realize it or not. I’ve tried to create my own path and success story through means of hard work and treating others right but it most definitely hasn’t been without the guidance, advice and support from those around me. I’m grateful for the opportunities that have come and I’m grateful for what lies ahead. 

And I’m extremely grateful that you have taken the time to read this and learn my story. My career is just beginning but I’m glad you are here to see what I have achieved and hope to achieve. Feel free to join me as I continue my journey.