Former Major League Baseball outfielder and University of South Carolina standout Jackie Bradley Jr. has joined ESPN as a college baseball studio and game analyst, the network announced Wednesday. A two-time Men’s College World Series champion and the 2010 MCWS Most Outstanding Player, Bradley will make his debut on SEC Network’s studio coverage this Friday and Saturday, April 25–26.
Bradley Jr. will join the Charlotte-based studio team for coverage surrounding Friday’s Texas A&M at No. 1 Texas game and Saturday’s No. 9 Vanderbilt at No. 23 Ole Miss matchup. Following each game, Bradley will offer analysis and insights during SEC Now alongside hosts Dari Nowkhah and Alyssa Lang, as well as fellow analysts Jared Mitchell and Tori Vidales.
“I’m honored to join ESPN and can’t wait to get started covering the game that I love,” Bradley said in a statement. “College baseball has grown a ton since I was at South Carolina, and I hope I can contribute to the sport’s continued growth and popularity through our coverage of the student-athletes who give it their all.”
Bradley will make his on-air debut as a game analyst on Friday, May 9, when No. 6 Tennessee hosts No. 9 Vanderbilt on SEC Network. He will be joined in the broadcast booth by play-by-play commentator Tom Hart and analyst Kyle Peterson. The trio is also scheduled to call the remaining games of the series, airing Saturday and Sunday afternoon on ESPN2.
Continuing his new role, Bradley will return to his alma mater in Columbia, South Carolina, on Thursday, May 15, when South Carolina hosts LSU on SEC Network. It will mark his first time calling a game from the university where he rose to national prominence.
“We are super excited to have Jackie join the college baseball team here at ESPN,” said Scott Gustafson, coordinating producer of ESPN’s college baseball coverage. “He knows what it takes to win at the highest level, having done so at both the collegiate and Major League level, and the fact that he’s done it recently makes him someone the student-athletes we cover can really relate to.”
In addition to his regular season duties, Bradley will also play a key role in ESPN’s exclusive postseason coverage of college baseball. He is set to serve as a studio analyst for SEC Network’s coverage of the SEC Baseball Tournament in Hoover, Alabama, from May 20–25. Furthermore, he will call games from a NCAA Division I Baseball Tournament regional site and contribute to ESPN’s programming during the Men’s College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska.
Bradley spent three years at South Carolina, helping lead the Gamecocks to back-to-back MCWS titles in 2010 and 2011. He earned All-SEC honors in 2010 and was named a Freshman All-American in 2009.
Bradley was selected 40th overall by the Boston Red Sox in the 2011 MLB Draft. Over his 11-year MLB career, he earned All-Star recognition in 2016 and won a Gold Glove Award in 2018. Known for his clutch performances, Bradley was a key part of the 2018 World Series-winning Red Sox and was named the American League Championship Series MVP that same year.
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