The news of Adam Amin’s departure from ESPN to join Fox Sports had a significant effect on both networks, including ESPN’s softball coverage. For the past several years, Amin has partnered with Amanda Scarborough as the “B” team at the Women’s College World Series, calling all of the tournament’s day games and early sessions.
Amin and Scarborough have also called a number of games together during the regular season and the early rounds of the NCAA tournament, though Amin’s commitment to other sports has limited his non-WCWS softball schedule in recent years. The pairing earned rave reviews, but now Scarborough will need a new broadcast partner in Oklahoma City.
Perhaps the most likely candidate from ESPN’s play-by-play stable is Courtney Lyle. Lyle and Scarborough have partnered in the past, and Lyle has steadily risen in popularity in softball circles. Nearing the decade mark of her tenure at ESPN, Lyle also calls basketball and volleyball for the network, which admittedly limits her availability to call softball games until the late spring.
A Knoxville resident – and a Vol alum – Lyle also called softball’s International Cup last year, working with Michele Smith from a remote broadcast booth. Her softball chops are proven and solid, though her multi-sport schedule might require some creative scheduling to get regular reps in the softball booth if she’s to be promoted to the WCWS assignment.
Venerable jack-of-all-trades Mike Couzens is another name that could take up the WCWS role in Amin’s stead. Couzens has only called softball for the last couple of years, but has been at ESPN since 2012. He calls college and high school sports, and is a frequent voice on college football and basketball. In the past, he notably helmed a 3-member softball booth that included Michele Smith and Scarborough for some regular-season action.
Couzens was paired with Erin Miller for the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament in 2019, calling both a regional and a Super regional in his inaugural season of postseason softball. Prior to ESPN, he worked at the Big Ten Network; a minor league baseball team; and a variety of collegiate programs.
One candidate worth discussing is Jenn Hildreth, who was just weeks into her appointment as the ACC Network’s lead play-by-play announcer for softball when the 2020 season came to an abrupt end. Hildreth and Carol Bruggeman have been paired up in the booth for the past four years, and were anointed as the ACC Network’s top crew in the channel’s first year of existence. Hildreth is a broadcast veteran, and while she wouldn’t have her usual broadcast partner with her in OKC, an experienced vet is sure to earn some consideration.
Hildreth is most experienced in the Big Ten and ACC for softball, and has also called soccer; basketball; and gymnastics, according to her online bio. Hildreth has called a softball Super Regional in three of the last four years, every time that she’s called the postseason for ESPN during that time period.
A final candidate of note is someone who is already familiar to WCWS audiences: Tiffany Greene. Greene calls play-by-play for the network during the regular season and postseason, and was even paired with Scarborough for the 2018 NCAA tournament. She has settled into the role of sideline reporter for the Amin/Scarborough team at the World Series in the last couple of years, and has excelled in the role. Nevertheless, with a solid game-calling resume under her belt, don’t count Greene out of the play-by-play stakes.
Meg Aronowitz has hit quite a few home runs, with remarkably few swings-and-misses, at the helm of the softball ship for ESPN. While she’s received the most acclaim for her eye for analyst talent, her pick for the new play-by-play broadcaster for the game’s highest stage is a move worth keeping an eye on.
