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Tyler Welch

Sports Journalist

Phone:

832-492-6850

Email:

trwelch@smu.edu

Education (Graduating in May 2027):

B.A. of Sports Journalism

B.S. of Sport Management

Minors in Statistical Science and History

Date of Birth:

January 4, 2005

About Tyler

Ever since reading Sports Illustrated Kids magazines in his childhood bedroom, Tyler Welch knew he wanted to be a sportswriter.

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As he enters his senior year at SMU in Dallas, TX, Tyler has built a hefty portfolio thanks to an "always say yes" approach and an eagerness to take on new challenges. Though his focus is in writing, Tyler has delved into broadcast, calling high school games for Champion Sports Radio and founding Pony Up Productions, a first-of-its-kind student sports radio and podcast at SMU.

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Upon graduating, Tyler is looking for opportunities to continue in sports reporting. He one day hopes to be a beat reporter for Major League Baseball for The Athletic or another national publication.

Academics

  • 3.914 Cumulative GPA

  • Honor Roll with High Distinction

  • Robert S. Hyer Society

  • Mortar Board Honor Society

  • Kappa Tau Alpha

  • Hilltop Scholar

Leadership

  • Pony Up Productions Founder and President

  • The Daily Campus Sports Editor

  • Sports Business Society President

  • Student Representative to the SMU Board of Trustees (Student Affairs)

  • Student Foundation Vice President of Programming, Homecoming Chair

  • ​Boaz Commons Resident Assistant

  • VP of Student Affairs, Hunt Scholarship and CIO Student Advisory Boards

Experience

  • 100+ Articles Published

  • 30+ Game Broadcasts

  • Internship with Illawarra Mercury

  • Freelance/Part-time with IndyStar, OnSI, Champion Sports Radio, & Desert Dwellers Sports Network​

Awards

  • Hunt Leadership Scholar

  • John L. Freehafer Award

  • SPJ Region 8 Mark of Excellence Winner- Sports Journalism

  • SPJ Region 8 Mark of Excellence Finalist- General News Reporting

  • ​Belo Foundation Award

  • ​SF Committee Member (2024) & Board Member (2025) Of The Year

Work Experience

The Daily Campus

Illawarra Mercury

Pony Up Productions

OnSI

Champion Sports Radio

Desert Dwellers Sports Network

I started with the DC as a contributor across my freshman and sophomore years before becoming a full-time staff member my junior year. I quickly got to work, writing ~50 articles in my first full year. I write extensively about football, basketball and volleyball, but some of my biggest stories were about things happening off the field or court, such as SMU trying to move away from its "Pony Up" slogan or relocating Dedman Law School without feedback from students. I will be entering my second semester as Sports Editor in the fall.

The summer after my junior year, I travelled to Wollongong, Australia to write for the Illawarra Mercury, a newspaper with six print editions a week and an active digital site. I covered everything from local youth sports to the National Rugby League, giving me real-world experience in a newsroom of 15+ reporters. I pitched my own stories, conducted interviews and submitted stories for both print and online. 

Coming in Fall 2026, I created a student-led sports radio organization through the SMU School of Journalism. Alongside fellow SMU student Dean Ralsky, we built a platform for a twice-a-week podcast and game radio podcasts in an effort to grow the sports journalism division of SMU. As founder and president, I helped recruit a team to launch Pony Up Productions and will serve as one of the main podcast hosts and producers while also doing play-by-play commentary for SMU football, basketball and volleyball.

I freelance with OnSI, a grassroots branch of Sports Illustrated, to help cover SMU, Texas Tech and Kansas State Athletics. I am fully responsible for pitching, writing and editing my own stories, which I submit to be published straight to OnSI. My pieces for OnSI often are editorials, lists, previews and generally more subjective. 

I started with Champion Sports Radio in the spring of my sophomore year. With CSR, I got to cover over 30 high school sporting events between soccer, basketball, baseball and football as a play-by-play announcer, broadcast producer, color commentator and/or camera man. CSR gave me an abundance of experience into putting on a live production and doing on-air journalism.

My first ever job in sports journalism, I wrote articles for a since-shut down sports blog called Desert Dwellers Sports Network. I wrote about every professional and collegiate sport imaginable, often trying to do stories that were more analytical and statistics-heavy.

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