Kyle West Wins League Broadcaster of the Year
Kyle West, play-by-play broadcaster for the Lynchburg Hillcats, has won a share of the sixth-annual Carolina League Broadcaster of the Year award. West and Myrtle Beach's Scott Kornberg tied for the most votes in a poll among the league's broadcasters.
Kyle West, play-by-play broadcaster for the Lynchburg Hillcats, has won a share of the sixth-annual Carolina League Broadcaster of the Year award. West and Myrtle Beach's Scott Kornberg tied for the most votes in a poll among the league's broadcasters.
West is concluding his fourth season with the Hillcats. The University of Kansas alumnus also serves as the play-by-play broadcaster for Radford University women's basketball and has contributed to various Olympic sports broadcasts on the Liberty Flames Sports Network.
Prior to his time in Lynchburg, West worked as the play-by-play broadcaster for football and basketball at West Liberty University in West Virginia. While with the Hilltoppers, West had the privilege of calling the 2014 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship Game. West has also done play-by-play for various nationally-ranked NCAA Division I teams, including West Virginia women's soccer, women's basketball, wrestling and gymnastics as well as Kansas volleyball.
"This truly means a lot because of the many great broadcasters who have won the award previously and the fact it is voted on by my peers, whom I respect and admire tremendously," said West. "All the glory goes to God for this honor. The Lord has blessed me with some incredible people in my life. My parents, Randy and Kristi, and my brother Ryan have been instrumental in helping me make it to this point in life."
"I've also been blessed with an outstanding collection of coaches and players to work with over my four years in Lynchburg," West continued. "It cannot be overstated how much easier that makes the job on a daily basis, so I thank all of them for being of such high character. I also want to recognize the other broadcasters in the league. They all work 70-plus hours a week for 22 straight weeks. There are a number of talented individuals in this league who do so much beyond simply calling the games. I'm glad I can share this award with Scott. I wish I could share it with all of the Carolina League broadcasters because they are all deserving. I am blessed to call them friends in addition to being colleagues, and it is extremely humbling to be recognized by them this season."
"This award is very well-deserved," said Hillcats General Manager Ronnie Roberts. "Kyle is a great broadcaster who knows his stuff and does a lot of things behind the scenes that people don't see. He has a great attitude. Everybody likes him. He's well-respected, not only in the office, but around the league. He brings a lot of enthusiasm, and it's fun to work with him. Kyle's been a big part of our organization. Everyone knows him from his great on-air work, but the other stuff that he does is also vitally important to the Hillcats. We appreciate all that he's done, and this is a well-deserved award."
Former Wilmington Blue Rocks play-by-play voice John Sadak was the inaugural award in 2012. Sadak is in the midst of his fifth season with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Triple-A, New York Yankees), while he also works as a play-by-play broadcaster for Westwood One and CBS Sports.
Darren Headrick was the 2013 honoree thanks to his great work for the Carolina Mudcats. He is now alongside Sadak in the RailRiders' broadcast booth. Brian Boesch, the sixth-year broadcaster for the Winston-Salem Dash, won the award in both 2014 and 2016. Between Boesch's award-winning seasons, Nathan Barnett took home the distinction in 2015 while in his second and final season with Myrtle Beach.
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