How the NWSL Is Developing Players Into Broadcasting Talent | OneFootball

Jordan Angeli knows a thing or two about starting from scratch.

The Colorado native was one of the first former National Women’s Soccer League players to go into broadcasting, but just like her time as a player in the early days of the league, the road to success came from forging her own path and navigating uncharted waters.

“I basically just hustled, there were no opportunities,” Angeli says of her early days transitioning from her playing career into broadcasting.

From covering high school soccer in Colorado to sending cold emails to local networks and college programs, Angeli left no stone unturned. With her soccer career winding down, she was eager to stay connected to the game and use the knowledge she had built up over her long career in an exciting, yet demanding role—and she was willing to bet on herself.

“From 2017 to 2022, I paid for everything I did,” Angeli explains. “Flights, hotels, travel, all for $350 per game—it was a real grind, but I wanted to do it. I treated it like I was in grad school.”

Prior to 2017, Angeli had amassed experience calling games at the high school and college level along MLS radio broadcasts. It was her extensive work as a television analyst for the Columbus Crew which was the real turning point in her career, helping her establish herself without the notoriety of a national team player.

Today, Angeli is a staple on NWSL broadcasts providing color commentary for the league across networks.

With Angeli’s success came an obvious, yet previously unexplored realization from the NWSL itself—the mutually beneficial situation of having former players in broadcast roles, and using league resources to provide the opportunities that Angeli and others did not have as they built their careers.

Thus, the NWSL Broadcast Bootcamp was born.

Starting small but dreaming big

In 2023, the league held its inaugural Broadcast Bootcamp at NEP South Florida, the location of the league's centralized production partner. Although only two players attended, the program helped launch the career of CBS Sports analyst Darian Jenkins. In ’24, four players attended, and by ’25, with help from the NWSL Players Association, 11 current and former players attended the program in Florida to receive an educational and hands-on experience. The program not only showcased the foundation for how broadcasts come together, but provided the participants with talent reels and professional headshots to share with future employers.

“We wanted to do this because as the league grows, we have a need for newer, younger voices that our new viewers and fans know,” says Megan Buchan, senior director of broadcast and production for the NWSL. “We have great, experienced talent in Lori Lindsey, Jordan Angeli, Jill Loyden and Lianne Sanderson, and we don’t want to diminish those voices, but we also want to keep it fresh with analysts that our viewers grew up watching.”

In addition to developing up and coming talent, the bootcamp gives the league an opportunity to provide current players with a picture of what their life could be like after they decide to retire.

“It’s a way to stay in the game that they love and that has given them so much, so when it’s that time, it can make that decision a little easier,” Buchan says.

This year’s program, held the first weekend of January, gave the players the chance to step into the roles of play-by-play announcers and analysts. Participants worked alongside established broadcasters to deliver on-camera segments and live match analysis, and see if a future in live television was a fit for them.

“This program is such an obvious win-win for everyone, that’s why I recommended these awesome humans to participate,” NWSLPA executive director Meghann Burke says. “The product the players put together and create is the game that you watch, and so we have a vested interest in making sure the product is something we're proud of and really is living up to its potential as being the best in the world.”

Former players, including McCall Zerboni and Nicole Baxter, were among the attendees at the 2025 program, and both are now actively participating in NWSL broadcasts along with Merritt Mathias who attended the USWNT Players Association Media Academy. As Burke sees it, the trio are prime examples of the smart, funny and interesting people who comprise the NWSL and who can translate their on-field experience to broadcasts that are accessible and informative for viewers.

“There are very few people who were more involved and more vital in creating our collective bargaining agreement than Merritt and McCall, so they know the product,” Burke explains. “What they’ve done is built this league and their careers are winding down just as the product is taking off and we’re seeing real investment come into the league.”

For Burke, the NWSL Broadcast Bootcamp serves two purposes: the first is it allows the league to harness the experience, wisdom and perspective of the former players, but also gives the former players an opportunity to actively participate in the future growth of the product that they were so instrumental in creating in the first place.

While the Bootcamp provides participants with an intensive on-site experience, the program does not end there. For those who move forward to become analysts during the season, primarily on the world feed, they are paired with a seasoned analyst on the domestic feed of their assigned match to continue learning how to prepare for a match.

“These world feeds give the players an opportunity in a lower pressure situation to learn, hone their craft and get comfortable,” Buchan says. “The NWSL is dedicated to elevating the world feed as well as our domestic product for our national broadcast partners. Next year we have more domestic games with two expansion teams, so this gives us the opportunity to show us who is going to be the next national talent.”

For Zerboni, transitioning to a broadcast role felt like a seamless fit for the four-time NWSL champion. Naturally charismatic, Zerboni has quickly taken to the analyst role, which has allowed her to stay connected to the game that she had given so much to during her playing years.

“It felt like game day again, I got nerves, I had to do all the prep, so it has become my game day again but in a different way, and I need that, I need to challenge myself,” Zerboni says. “I’ve realized it’s not as easy as people think—even after playing professionally for 16 years, there is so much more than I thought that goes into presenting a live broadcast.”

From timing to cadence, to play-by-play and having producers talking in your ears during the games, Zerboni has leaned on the guidance provided by those who came before her. She has immense gratitude for the league and the current analysts like Lindsey and Sanderson for providing the support she needs to find success in this new chapter, something that she didn’t always have in her early years playing in the league.

“In all my years in the league and on the players association board, one of our biggest goals was to push for funding and resources for players who are looking to retire and transition into something else,” Zerboni says. “I cannot believe players in the past have been thrown to the lions without these bootcamps and mentors and learn as they go. I see myself doing this long-term.”

Eleven current and former NWSL players attended the 2025 Broadcasting Bootcamp. / Carmen Mandato/NWSL/Getty Images

In addition, participants explored career opportunities in live sports production, including roles such as match producer, director, replay operator and graphics producer. For Baxter, getting in front of the camera never felt quite right, but when she sat down behind the scenes, in the production booth, she felt immediately at home.

“It was electric,” Baxter says of her first experience producing a live game. “I have never been involved in a broadcast at all before, so the extent of my knowledge is really just what I learned at the Bootcamp, and a lot of what I learned there translated to real life. I have so much to learn, and luckily I had a lot of people in the room helping me.”

Right away, Baxter was struck by how intense, intricate and difficult it was to broadcast an NWSL game, along with understanding the different needs of the on-camera talent and how producers work with them to ensure smooth, enjoyable broadcasts.

“It’s so humbling to now be in this role, I seriously had no idea what was required to produce a game,” Baxter says of her experience, which includes weekend trips to Florida to help produce the world feed games. “I’m so grateful to have the structure and resources that other former players didn’t have when they were coming up in broadcasting.”

For Buchan, having former players work in all levels of production is an invaluable asset that will only serve to increase the level and value of the broadcasts as time goes on.

“A replay operator that knows the game the way a player knows the game brings so much value,” she says. “Being a producer or director, that’s a highly skilled position. With these world feeds, we have this wonderful opportunity for Nicole to come into a low pressure situation with that experienced talent as a learning ground.”

The fruits of their labor

As former NWSL players continue to find their way into various media roles, the success is already measurable. As CBS tells Sports Illustrated, the network’s women’s soccer podcast Attacking Third, which also airs on CBS Sports Golazo Network, has seen an overall increase of viewership with minutes up more than 50% year over year across all programming.

“It has elevated our coverage across CBS Sports Golazo Network, Attacking Third and on social media to have former players who have helped build women’s soccer on our desk breaking down every aspect of the sport for viewers,” says Giancarlo Gennarini, CBS Sports senior director and coordinating producer. “Coming straight from the pitch where they’ve won at the highest levels, it gives them that unique insight into what the players and coaches are going through, which brings fans closer to the game.”

As interest in soccer grows in America, CBS Sports Golazo Network has put an emphasis on bringing the beautiful game directly into people’s homes. Long known for Serie A and Champions League coverage, the network has seen the growth of women’s soccer both in the United States and abroad, and has brought in former players who have attended the NWSL’s bootcamp, such as Jenkins, to lead the growing coverage.

“When I played, I shied away from the camera and I never liked how the media talked about me and other Black players, but in 2023 Meghann Burke encouraged me to go to the bootcamp,” Jenkins says. “I enjoyed it, met a lot of people, but I didn’t think anything would come of it. It took some time to realize I’m good at it.”

The Bootcamp has changed substantially since Jenkins attended, but it was there she learned to mock call a game and was given a framework to understand what a future in broadcasting could look like. In particular, Jenkins was drawn to the opportunity to help change the way in which the media talked about Black players, which has so often been limited to broad statements regarding physicality.

“I love talking about players of color and their true attributes to the game like Barbra Banda, Tabitha Chawinga, Lynn Williams and Midge Purce,” Jenkins says. “I want to draw attention to their movement off the ball, how intentional their touches are, when they make unselfish runs and make space for their teammates to run underneath them. I think now I found my niche where I want to highlight players of color specifically but also everybody and talk about the game in a way that does poetic justice to how the world views football.”

Jenkins has become a mainstay on various CBS Sports soccer coverage since joining the network in 2023, including marquee programming such as Morning Footy and Attacking Third. With the support of the league, including Brian Gordon, senior vice president of broadcast at the NWSL, she has been instrumental in growing coverage of the NWSL through her unique voice and perspective.

“Darian has been outstanding as both an analyst and host, and she brings that same passion and attention to detail to this new role as she did as a player,” says Gennarini. “Plus, with the natural chemistry she has with the rest of our team like Lisa Carlin, Kelley O’Hara and even current players who contribute to coverage like Lo'eau LaBonta, it’s added another dynamic to our coverage and on social media that’s been incredibly informative and engaging for fans.”

As the NWSL continues to expand, and with the number of games expected to grow exponentially in the coming years, the league has recognized the need to bring in experienced broadcasters with the hope that, by providing current and former players with the scaffolding needed, the league can fill those roles with knowledgeable people while supporting the people who built the product itself.

With positive feedback rolling in from the 2025 Broadcast Bootcamp, the league is looking to expand participation even further, including with potential collaborations with the USWNTPA Media Academy to enhance the program’s reach and impact.

With the rise in world feed broadcasts in 2026 due to league expansion, there will be immediate opportunities for retiring players to transition into the broadcast booth, and the league is looking to support the players looking to make the jump. Interest is already growing—several players have reached out to secure their spot for the ’26 bootcamp.

For Burke, she is excited to not only see the personalities of the players shine on NWSL broadcasts, but help build future opportunities for the players whose work helped build the NWSL in the first place. The broadcasts are a crucial step in ensuring the NWSL stays a global league, and the former players are the best ambassadors of the brand.

“A professional playing career, no matter how long it is, is too short—it can be three, five or 15 years, and it goes fast,” says Burke. “You have to take advantage of what’s in front of you, and also recognize that because it’s not going to go on forever, you need to think about what’s next. These are the players on whose backs we are now seeing success, and I think all of us should feel an obligation to bring them along with the ride.”