Ryan Smith joined ESPN in February 2017 and currently hosts the weekday 7 a.m. edition of SportsCenter, a role he has held since 2019.  

At ESPN, Ryan has also hosted ESPN’s Outside the Lines, E:60 and was a New York-based correspondent.  

In addition to his role as a SportsCenter host, Smith reports feature stories and investigative pieces while providing legal analysis across multiple ESPN platforms and ABC News.  

Prior to taking on a full-time role at ESPN, Smith had contributed to ESPN as a legal analyst and fill-in host for Bob Ley on Outside the Lines when he joined ABC in 2014. 

Before joining ABC News, Smith served as the nightly news anchor at CNN’s Headline News where he reported on a variety of stories including the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School and some of the most high-profile trials including those of Casey Anthony and George Zimmerman. 

A graduate of Syracuse University and Columbia Law, Smith served as a lawyer for the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars and practiced Sports and Entertainment Law in New York City.