Kelly Ann Crull (born February 16, 1984) is an American sportscaster and television personality, who has been a digital and on-air contributor for the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs,[1] Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Braves, and Atlanta Hawks. She has also worked for Fox Sports and NBC Sports Chicago.
Kelly Crull | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kelly Ann Crull February 16, 1984 |
| Alma mater | University of Missouri (BA) |
| Occupation(s) | Sportscaster, television personality |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Employer | Bally Sports South |
Early life edit
Crull is a native of Noblesville, Indiana,[1] and attended Noblesville High School, where she played tennis and basketball.[2][3] By her junior year, she realized that she was unlikely to play tennis professionally, but wanted to remain involved in sports. Being talkative and outgoing, she decided to pursue a career in sportscasting.[4]
Career edit
Crull earned a tennis scholarship to attend the University of Missouri, where she studied broadcast journalism.[3] As part of her undergraduate experience, she worked for Columbia, Missouri NBC affiliate KOMU-TV, and she also had internships or did work for ESPN, the CBS News Bureau in London and Indianapolis NBC affiliate WTHR-TV.[3] Crull graduated in 2006 and began her professional career at Lafayette, Indiana CBS affiliate WLFI-TV,[3] where she covered the Purdue Boilermakers, Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts and Indianapolis 500.[5]
In August 2008, she moved on to Oklahoma City ABC affiliate KOCO,[3] where she served as the weekend sports anchor and a weekday sports reporter.[6] She also covered the Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys.[5] Then, she became a sideline reporter for the Oklahoma City Thunder for two seasons from 2010 to 2012.[2] In addition to serving as the Thunder sideline reporter for the Fox Sports Network, she was host of the Thunder's pre-game show and weekly "Thunder Insider" show.[6]
She joined Fox Sports San Diego in February 2013,[7] serving as a beat reporter and hosting the "Padres Weekly" show.[6][8] She also served as the backup sideline reporter (to primary sideline reporter Laura Rutledge) for the San Diego Padres.[9][10][11] While a reporter for Fox, it became a tradition to drench Crull with gallons of liquid when the Padres had a walk-off victory.[12][13]
Following the 2013 MLB season, she joined NBC Sports Chicago.[6] In Chicago, she served as the Chicago Cubs beat reporter.[1] She covered the Chicago Cubs World Series run in 2016.[1] In February 2018, she co-hosted the sports trivia show Beer Money for its 100th episode.[14] For the 2018-19 season, Crull served as the Chicago Bulls sideline reporter for the network.[15] In 2020, Crull joined Bally Sports South and Bally Sports Southeast to cover the Atlanta Braves.[16] In 2022, Crull worked as a field reporter for Major League Baseball on TBS.[17] Crull's contract with Bally expired before the 2024 Major League Baseball season.[18][19]
References edit
- ^ a b c d Eckstein, Brian (2017-04-11). "Noblesville's Kelly Crull covers the story of a lifetime in Cubs World Series win". WISH. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
- ^ a b Bracht, Mel (July 26, 2012). "Kelly Crull will not return as OKC Thunder sideline reporter". NewsOK.com. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e Bracht, Mel (July 12, 2010). "OKC Thunder hires KOCO's Kelly Crull to be sideline reporter". NewsOK.com. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
- ^ Lauch, Sarah (March 4, 2017). "CHICAGO: Kelly Crull - Cubs reporter on achieving goals and adjusting along the way" (Podcast). Tomboy. CSN. Event occurs at 1:17.
- ^ a b "Thunder Hires Kelly Crull to Join Broadcasting Team". NBA.com. July 12, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Comcast SportsNet adds Kelly Crull to talent roster". BizJournals.com. October 9, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
- ^ "Fox Sports San Diego announces New On-Air talent". SB Nation. February 7, 2013. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
- ^ "FOX Sports SD introduces new on-air talent". FOX Sports. 2013-02-07. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
- ^ Bracht, Mel (February 7, 2013). "Former Thunder sideline reporter Kelly Crull has been hired by Fox Sports San Diego". NewsOK.com. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
- ^ "Comcast SportsNet adds Kelly Crull to talent roster". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
- ^ "Notebook: WGN 87.7 The Game, Kelly Crull, CSN Spring Training, Northwestern Social Media". Archived from the original on 2018-08-28. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
- ^ "Fox reporter Kelly Crull gets drenched again". Gaslamp Ball. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
- ^ "Kelly Crull celebrates a Padres walk-off win!". Gaslamp Ball. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
- ^ Thompson, Phil. "Luke Stuckmeyer and Kelly Crull try to stump 'Beer Money' all-stars in 100th episode". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
- ^ Allardyce, Michael (October 22, 2018). "Kelly Crull talks about covering the Bulls with Laurence Holmes". NBC Sports. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
- ^ Tim Tucker. "Former Cubs broadcaster named to replace Kelsey Wingert on Braves TV". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 20 February 2020.
- ^ Lucia, Joe (May 31, 2022). "Your MLB announcing schedule for 5/31-6/6". Awful Announcing.
- ^ Burns, Gabriel (March 14, 2024). "Bally Sports' 2024 Braves broadcast team includes Tom Glavine, three newcomers". The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved March 16, 2024.
- ^ Toscano, Justin (March 14, 2024). "Kelly Crull won't return as Atlanta Braves field reporter in 2024". The Atlanta Journal Constitution. Retrieved March 16, 2024.