Zeke Kransdorf ’25 has always been passionate about sports.
An avid football player prior to college, Kransdorf determined that a sports broadcasting career would allow him to play an active role in the athletics industry. He creatively used video games to see if sports commentary was the right path for him.
“Whenever I'd play a game like Madden NFL or MLB: The Show, I would put them on mute and practice trying to call the games,” says Kransdorf. “I built up the repertoire so that even though I'd never been live over the air, I still felt like I had.”
Using College Board to search for higher education institutions that matched his interests, Kransdorf wanted a university with a strong communication program, an involved athletics community, and a location that was relatively close to home. Bryant’s Communication and Language Studies department within the College of Arts and Sciences checked all the boxes for the Boston native.
The deciding factor came down to a self-guided campus tour where Kransdorf stumbled upon a Bryant football game at the David M. ’85 and Terry Beirne Stadium Complex and experienced the gameday atmosphere. When he attended Orientation and found out about Bryant’s student-run radio station, WJMF, it became Kransdorf’s mission to one day call university sports games.
Fast forward to the bi-annual campus involvement fair, Kransdorf signed up for WJMF and soon received an email blast from the station’s sports broadcaster and producer at the time, Scott VanCoughnett ’22. He was inquiring if anyone was interested in calling an upcoming football game between Bryant and Brown University. Immediately responding, Kransdorf gave a lengthy reply for why he’d like to call the game.
“I've written essays shorter than what I wrote there,” Kransdorf chuckles, noting that VanCoughnett gave him the green light.
Showing up for his first broadcast, Kransdorf teamed up with Martin Dale ’22, who provided play-by-play commentary for the game’s first half while Kransdorf supplied color commentary. Switching for the second half, Kransdorf has since become the play-by-play guy for every other Bryant football broadcast.
“In my time here, there were only four games where I was not on air. Of those four games, I went to three as a fan,” he says.
Kransdorf’s play-by-play coverage for WJMF eventually caught the attention of Associate Athletic Director of Communications Tristan Hobbes, who asked Kransdorf to call some of the university’s baseball games. Since then, he’s called Bryant baseball games for America East TV and ESPN+, including the team’s America East championship win in 2024.
“It's so fulfilling to get a chance to call those games,” says Kransdorf, who’s also provided play-by-play coverage for field hockey, basketball, softball, and soccer.
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Gaining experience off campus, Kransdorf worked for WPRI Channel 12 as a sports intern following his junior year. From attending press conferences for the Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins to going to preseason games and training camps for the New England Patriots, Kransdorf shadowed sports reporters and learned more about the news industry — including how they determined their angle, got the shots they wanted, cut footage, and edited content to effectively convey a story.
Currently connecting with individuals within sports media to gain additional industry insights, Kransdorf is pursuing avenues for gig work related to calling games. Throughout his time at Bryant, he notes that faculty members have been an influential force behind his success.
“The Communication faculty have been extremely helpful the entire time,” Kransdorf says, nodding to Communication Professor and Communication and Language Studies department chair Chris Morse, Ph.D., Senior Lecturer of Communication Thomas Zammarelli, Communication and Language Studies Instructor Michael Montecalvo, and Professional in Residence Christian Fauria. “Those four have really combined as a super team for me.”
