ESPN announces CWS Announcing Crews

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ESPN’s 37^th consecutive College World Series presented by Capital One coverage begins Saturday, June 18 and caps off the network’s record-setting 2016 college baseball coverage – more than 1,000 games including 12 conference championships and the entire NCAA Division I Baseball Championship. It marks the network’s 14^th year covering every game (possible 17) in the CWS and the first time ESPN’s flagship Major League Baseball studio show, Baseball Tonight, will travel to Omaha for extensive live analysis.

“The College World Series is a natural extension for Baseball Tonight,” said ESPN coordinating producer Tom Archer, overseeing the event. “The presence of baseball’s top traveling studio show will help us further enhance the great stories and on field performances of the players and teams that have made it to Omaha.”

Baseball Tonight will set up in the left field concourse TD Ameritrade Park the home of college baseball champions since 2011. The city of Omaha has hosted the event since 1950. The three-day Baseball Tonight debut features host Adnan Virk, analysts Buster Olney and Keith Law, alongside a stacked bench of CWS game-analysts, all with personal CWS experience.

College World Series Commentators Include:

• Three ESPN analysts making their CWS television debut:
  • Dallas Braden: 2004 Texas Tech letterman with a five-year MLB career. He is one of 23 pitchers to throw a perfect game at the MLB level. He is a regular contributor to Baseball Tonight, as well as MLB games on ESPN.
  • Alex Cora: A three-time CWS participant with Miami (1994, ‘95, ‘96). He was named to the All-Tournament team in 1995 and 1996 and is a member of the University of Miami Hall of Fame; ESPN Films is spotlighting the 20^thAnniversary of the Miami vs. LSU College World Series Finals game, in which he played a pivotal role, with the debut of “The Walk Off” following the final best of three championship final series, Thursday, June 30 (see details below).
  • Eduardo Perez: Two-time CWS participant (1989, ‘91) and three-year letterman for Florida State. Perez went on to have a 13-year MLB career and currently contributes to Baseball Tonight and coverage of MLB games on ESPN.
• Kyle Peterson – ESPN’s leading college baseball expert, Peterson returns to the forefront of ESPN’s championship coverage. He has been a part of the network’s coverage for 11 years. He is from – and currently resides – in Omaha. He played in 1995 and 1997 CWS games as a pitcher for Stanford.
• Play-by-play: Jon Sciambi and Karl Ravech return for play by play. This is Sciambi’s fifth year calling games, and Ravech’s eighth.
• Kaylee Hartung – ESPN reporter covering college baseball throughout the regular season; 2016 marks her third year as an ESPN reporter at CWS, and sixth year covering the event.

 

Additional 2016 College World Series Highlights:

• LIVE K Zone debut: For a sixth straight year, and for the first time at the CWS, ESPN will use the Sports Emmy Award-winning K Zone technology live for every at bat. K Zone identifies the speed and location of a pitch in replays as well as tracks the path of the ball from the pitcher’s hand through the strike zone and numerically sequences pitches thrown.
• UmpCamp Returns: After a successful debut last year, UmpCamp returns to ESPN’s CWS coverage. A high definition camera affixed to the mask of the home plate umpires provide fans with a field-level view of the game from the umpire’s perspective. UmpCam will be used as both a live camera and for replays. The only previous use of UmpCam was with a non-high definition camera during an ESPNSunday Night Baseball matchup on May 26, 2002.
• ESPN3 Surround Coverage: For the third year, ESPN will offer an “ESPN3 Surround” presentation of every College World Series game. The experience made its debut on the College World Series Finals in 2014. ESPN3 Surround provides a complimentary viewing experience to the traditional telecast with enhanced access to ESPN camera and audio feeds such as robotic cameras mounted in the dugouts, and on the screen behind home plate.
• ESPN Films: Thursday, June 30 at 9 p.m. ET on SEC Network, ESPN Films will debut its newest SEC Storied documentary “The Walk Off”. The film looks at former LSU baseball player Warren Morris’ championship-winning home run in the 1996 College World Series. The SEC Network premiere celebrates the 20^th anniversary of LSU’s title at the hands of the only man to ever hit a walk off home run to win the CWS. Additional network airings include ESPNU on Friday, July 1 at 1 p.m. and Saturday, July 2 at 7:30 p.m.
• ESPN.com: ESPN’s Mitch Sherman and Ryan McGee will report from Omaha for ESPN.com throughout the week.

2016 College World Series Television Schedule (subject to change):

*If necessary game only