Jake has been perfecting his play-by-play craft since childhood, when he’d mute video game commentary to deliver his own more vivid calls. After attending a play-by-play camp in Boston, he got his first real taste of live sports broadcasting at Fay, calling the livestream of the school’s Friday Night Lights games.

 

At Loomis Chaffee, Jake expanded his broadcasting skills, calling more than 100 games spanning seven sports during his four years there. Now a junior at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications, alma mater to broadcast legends like Bob Costas, Mike Tirico, Sean McDonough, and Marv Albert, he’s continuing to build his resume behind the mic. Jake works with WAER, Syracuse’s NPR affiliate, calling live broadcasts of football, basketball, and lacrosse games; announces for WJPZ, a Top 40 station that also airs women’s basketball and lacrosse; and anchors the college sports show on Citrus TV, the university’s student-run television station.

 

But even as he follows in the footsteps of broadcasting luminaries, Jake knows that success lies in creating his own on-air persona. “Everyone has to have their own voice and their own style,” he notes. “As soon as you try to become the next Mike Tirico or Bob Costas, well, now you're just doing a bad impression of that person, and nobody wants to hear that.” Jake is constantly working on his on-air style. He listens back to every game that he calls and solicits feedback from broadcasting connections who are out of college and working their way up in the industry, calling games for MLB teams like the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. “The only way to get better at play-by-play is to do it, listen back, get feedback from others, and then try to apply that the next time you do it,” says Jake.

 

Cape League Baseball has been another important place for Jake to sharpen his broadcasting skills. He spent three summers producing and directing live broadcasts as a media assistant for the Chatham A’s before heading out on the road with the Worcester Bravehearts in the Futures League for the 2024 season to gain play-by-play experience. Jake called 62 games for the team and won the league’s Broadcaster of the Year award. This past summer, he was hired to do Chatham’s play-by-play.