How this young LSU grad has made a name for herself in the national sports scene

What brought you to Atlanta?

I was in Alexandria, Louisiana (at KALB-TV), before Atlanta. In a week and a half, I went from not looking for a job actively to hearing about this job to having a phone interview to having an in-person interview to accepting this job to quitting at KALB to having my last day at KALB to getting in my car and moving to Atlanta.

What do you do there?

My primary role is with the Atlanta Braves. In a 162-game season, I work about 150 of the games. In the offseason, I do Atlantic Coast Conference college football. After that season ends, I do in-studio cut-ins for NBA and NHL games, because Fox South is the home of nine professional teams.

What’s a typical game day like for an Atlanta Braves reporter?

I have to get to the stadium four hours before first pitch. At this point, I would have already talked to my in-game producer and my pregame producer. I go into the clubhouse, get sound bites from the players, and we have our press conference in the dugout with the manager. Then I normally head to our pre-production meeting for the pregame show and eat. By that time, I go to the bathroom, touch up my makeup and head out to the field. My pregame [on-air segment] is a little after the seven o’clock hour. After that I stay down for the whole game, and during the game I keep [a score] book to keep my head in the game. When my producer calls upon me for one of my reports [that] I talked to him about earlier in the day, I do that. After the game, if we win, I do an interview with a player on the field. If we lose, I go straight into the clubhouse and get whatever sound we need, then head back out to the field and do my post-game report. Then I go home, normally around midnight.

How has working in sports media altered your fandom?

When I was in college, if LSU football lost, don’t talk to me for 24 hours. Don’t look at me; I’m probably crying. It affected me so much emotionally. Since I graduated, I’ve worked in college football, which not only has put me in more of a media mindset for college football, but I also don’t have time to watch the LSU games, which I think has affected my intensity.

When did you become interested in sports broadcasting?

In middle school, I felt like [sports broadcasting] was always something I wanted to do. Then I solidified that in high school.

Who is someone you admire in the sports media industry?

Tim Brando (Fox Sports) is my mentor. He took me under his wing and got me signed on with his agent. He was one of those people who believed in me more than I believed in myself.

What advice would you give to aspiring sports broadcasters?

I always tell people, when you apply, market size doesn’t matter, just get that first job. In order to get better you have to be on-air. And when you’re in those small markets … you get on air every single day.

What’s the biggest misconception people have about being a sports reporter?

A lot of people think I just go on camera and talk, and that’s it. They don’t realize all of the research I do before every baseball series, and all of the emails I send out to different public relations people for different interviews and to all of my producers to give them my report ideas for that particular series.

What do you love most about living in Atlanta?

I like that it’s a sports town. We have so many professional sports teams within the city. There’s not a distinct culture like there is in Baton Rouge or Louisiana, but all the people are very nice. I like their passion for their sports teams.

What do you miss most about Baton Rouge?

Being around my friends. When I was in college I took advantage so much of always having a friend around to order a pizza, go to a baseball game, go to Walk-On’s or go get crawfish. I miss the crawfish, for sure. I miss being around that many people who are all so passionate about one thing: We all love LSU.

What is essential for you to do when you come back to Baton Rouge to visit?

I always go to Walk-On’s. I always want to get crawfish. I always try to go by Alex Box and Tiger Stadium to see those again.

This article was originally published in the September 2017 issue of 225 Magazine.