Melanie Newman, a 2018 Troy University alum, has been named Maryland Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sports Media Association.
Newman is a broadcaster with the Baltimore Orioles, serving as a play-by-play voice, reporter and host with the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network. She is one of only four women broadcasters currently active in Major League Baseball.
The award holds special meaning for Newman, who traces her success back to TROY.
“Winning Maryland Sportscaster of the Year is more than Maryland, it’s a reflection of TROY,” Newman said. “It’s crazy to say I’m entering my seventh year in the big leagues, but I am always directly reminded of my time beginning in the Hall School of Journalism and Communication classrooms and under Barry McKnight at athletics events. I am blessed and honored to bring another piece of hardware home for TROY!”
Her work also earned her the National Spotlight Award at TrojanVision’s 50th anniversary gala in October 2025.
As the first woman to serve as a play-by-play announcer for the Orioles, she made MLB history in 2021 as part of the league’s first-ever all-female broadcast team when the Orioles faced the Tampa Bay Rays in the “MLB Game of the Week on YouTube.” Two years earlier, in 2019, she had already made history in professional baseball by calling a Salem Red Sox road game against the Potomac Nationals alongside Minor League Baseball’s first all-female broadcast team.
Newman’s path to the broadcast booth began at TROY, where she studied broadcast journalism with a minor in sports information. She honed her skills as the lead play-by-play announcer for women’s volleyball while also calling softball and baseball games, working behind the scenes at sporting events and contributing to TrojanVision.
Following graduation, Newman joined the Mobile Bay Bears (now the Rocket City Trash Pandas), where she developed her on-field hosting abilities. She continued building her career as a sideline reporter for numerous college football bowl games while pursuing various play-by-play opportunities that ultimately led her to the major leagues.
