With the NCAA Division I fall sports season underway, ESPN’s industry-leading soccer and volleyball schedules will once again be led by a deep roster of analysts and play-by-play commentators with deep knowledge of and history within their respective sports.
NCAA Division I Soccer Analysts
ESPN will televise more than 50 NCAA Division I Soccer games this season across ESPNU, SEC Network and Longhorn Network. Providing analysis for the match-ups will be a team of highly-decorated names in the game at the collegiate and professional level. That list includes:
- Julie Foudy: Four-time NSCAA All-American at Stanford and member of the World Cup-winning 1999 U.S. Women’s National Team
- Kristine Lilly: Two-time Olympic gold medalist and two-time FIFA World Cup champion as a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team. As a 26-year veteran of the USWNT, Lilly is the most-capped player in the history of the sport. Won four back-to-back NCAA National Championships as a player at the University of North Carolina.
- Lori Lindsey: Finished as the sixth all-time scorer at the University of Virginia and was the program’s first ACC Player of the Year, winning the distinction in two consecutive years (2000 & 2001).
- Jillian Loyden: Four-year starter at Villanova, where she started all 62 games of her career. Member of the 2011 and 2012 U.S. Women’s National Team
- Kate Markgraf: Part of the 1995 Notre Dame team that won the NCAA national championship. Member of the World Cup-winning 1999 U.S. Women’s National Team
- Heather Mitts: Three-time Olympic gold medalist with U.S. Women’s National Team. All-American and 1998 National Champion at Florida
- Cat Whitehill: Helped lead North Carolina to the national title in 2000, earning the 2003 Hermann Trophy; was a member of the U.S. Women’s National Team from 2000-10.
Familiar voices will handle play-by-play duties including Trey Bender, Glenn Davis, Tyler Dennings, Drew Fellios, Jenn Hildreth, Mike Watts and Jonathan Yardley.
NCAA Division I Volleyball Analysts
More than 120 regular season women’s volleyball matches will span across ESPN2, ESPNU, SEC Network and LHN this season. This distinct group of analysts includes gold medalists, NCAA and AIAW National Champions and former head coaches.
- Kevin Barnett: Member of the 2000 and 2004 U.S. Men’s National Team.
- Dain Blanton: 2000 Olympic gold medalist in beach volleyball.
- John Dunning: Former head coach for women’s volleyball at Stanford. A 32-year coaching veteran with five NCAA Championships.
- Nell Fortner: Returned to ESPN in 2012 as an analyst for NCAA volleyball, as well as college basketball. As a player, Fortner helped lead Texas to its first volleyball national championship in 1981.
- Mick Haley: Former head coach at USC and Texas. Won AIAW (1981) and NCAA (1988) Championships during his time at Texas. Coached the U.S. Women’s National Team for the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
- Jenny Hazelwood: A former letter winner and then head coach at Mississippi State.
- Karch Kiraly: Current coach of the U.S. Women’s National Volleyball team. Four-time Olympic gold medalist. The only player to win gold in both beach and indoor volleyball.
- Holly McPeak: Three-time beach volleyball Olympian who took home the bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. The third-most decorated beach volleyball player with only Kerri Walsh-Jennings and Misty May-Trainor holding more titles.
- Lizzy Stemke: Former head coach for the University of Georgia. Three-year starter and All-American for the University of Wisconsin and former U.S. Women’s National Team member.
- Bailey Webster: Member of the U.S. Women’s National Team. Highly decorated collegiate career with the University of Texas, where she entered as the No. 1 recruit.
- Missy Whittemore: Three-time All-American at the University of Florida.
Volleyball play-by-play will be led by Dawn Davenport, Tyler Denning, Sam Gore, Tiffany Greene, Melissa Lee, Courtney Lyle, Paul Sunderland and Sam Ravech.
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