Kelly Crull | |
|---|---|
| Born | Kelly Ann Crull (1984-02-16)February 16, 1984 (age 41) |
| Alma mater | University of Missouri(BA) |
| Occupation(s) | Sportscaster, television personality |
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Employer | Bally Sports South |
Kelly Ann Crull (born February 16, 1984) is an Americansportscaster and television personality, who has been a digital and on-air contributor for theOklahoma City Thunder,San Diego Padres,Chicago Cubs,[1]Chicago Bulls,Atlanta Braves, andAtlanta Hawks. She has also worked forFox Sports andNBC Sports Chicago.
Crull is a native ofNoblesville, Indiana,[1] and attendedNoblesville High School, where she playedtennis andbasketball.[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]
Crull earned a tennisscholarship to attend theUniversity of Missouri, where she studied broadcast journalism.[3] As part of her undergraduate experience, she worked forColumbia, MissouriNBC affiliateKOMU-TV, and she also had internships or did work forESPN, theCBS News Bureau in London andIndianapolis NBC affiliateWTHR-TV.[3] Crull graduated in 2006 and began her professional career atLafayette, IndianaCBS affiliateWLFI-TV,[3] where she covered thePurdue Boilermakers,Chicago Bears,Indianapolis Colts andIndianapolis 500.[5]
In August 2008, she moved on toOklahoma CityABC affiliateKOCO,[3] where she served as the weekend sports anchor and a weekday sports reporter.[6] She also covered theOklahoma Sooners andOklahoma 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 theFox Sports Network, she was host of the Thunder's pre-game show and weekly "Thunder Insider" show.[6]
She joinedFox 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 reporterLaura Rutledge) for theSan 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 awalk-off victory.[12][13]
Following the 2013 MLB season, she joinedNBC Sports Chicago.[6] In Chicago, she served as theChicago Cubs beat reporter.[1] She covered the Chicago Cubs World Series run in 2016.[1] In February 2018, she co-hosted the sports trivia showBeer Money for its 100th episode.[14] For the 2018–19 season, Crull served as theChicago Bulls sideline reporter for the network.[15] In 2020, Crull joinedBally Sports South andBally Sports Southeast to cover theAtlanta Braves.[16] In 2022, Crull worked as a field reporter forMajor League Baseball on TBS.[17] Crull's contract with Bally expired before the 2024 Major League Baseball season.[18][19]