Belmont Announces Bruin Sports Network Broadcast Team for Basketball

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - Belmont University Athletics announced Friday its Bruin Sports Network broadcast team for the 2023-24 basketball season.
 
Steve Layman returns for his third season as lead broadcaster for Belmont men's basketball. An award-winning broadcaster, Layman is a Nashville sports fixture in his role as sports anchor at NewsChannel 5 (WTVF-TV), the CBS affiliate in Nashville. Beyond calling Belmont games and serving as emcee at various campus events, Layman begins Year 2 of his podcast series - In Layman's Terms - available on Apple, Spotify and all leading podcast platforms. Layman came to Nashville after spending five years as sports director at KOKI-TV in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Previously, Layman served as a play-by-play announcer for University of Illinois Athletics on the Illini Sports Network and radio co-host of Sports Talk on WDWS-AM in Champaign, Illinois. He covered Illinois men's basketball during its historic 2005 National Runner-Up season. Layman has been honored for best sportscast by the Associated Press and the Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters. He also received three OAB Awards for best sports special for his role as host and producer. The Illinois native has been a regular guest host on Nashville sports talk radio.
 
Will Boling begins his second stint as lead sideline reporter for home Bruin Sports Network and ESPN digital broadcasts. The Nashville native serves as host of RKW – the morning drive sports talk show on 104.5 The Zone. Boling also serves as radio play-by-play broadcaster for Nashville Soccer Club, which included the local and satellite radio call of the 2023 Leagues Cup Final between Nashville SC and Inter Miami featuring Lionel Messi. A versatile broadcaster, Boling has emerged as one of the most respected voices for track and field in the United States, lending his descriptions for major competitions on ESPN, NBC Sports, SEC Network and ESPN digital. The University of Tennessee graduate previously served as sideline reporter during Belmont's tenure in the Ohio Valley Conference.
 
Caroline Fenton joins the Bruin Sports Network team in 2023-24 as a sideline reporter for select games. The St. Louis native serves as host of Caroline, Willy and DMase – the midday sports talk show on ESPN 102.5 The Game. Fenton has covered the Tennessee Titans, Nashville Predators and local sports scene on-air in Nashville since March 2021. She was hired as a program host on SiriusXM College Sports Radio and SEC Radio this past July. Fenton has previous stints at WAFB-TV and WBRZ-TV in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The LSU graduate contributed as sports director and reporter for TigerTV at her alma mater.
 
Emily Proud ('16) returns as a sideline reporter for select games. Proud enters her second year with CBS Sports and 247Sports as a studio host and anchor. The Knoxville, Tennessee native added sideline reporting duties for Mountain West Conference football on CBS Sports Network in 2023. She previously served as weekend evening news anchor and sports reporter at WKRN-TV. Proud was named 'Top 30 Sportscaster Under 30' by the Sportscasters Talent Agency of America. She began her career at WATE-TV. A four-year letterwinner on the Belmont women's soccer team, Proud graduated from Belmont University with honors in journalism, sports and media in 2016.

Dr. Rich Tiner returns as the voice of Belmont women's basketball. Tiner retired as a distinguished professor of media studies and faculty athletics representative in May 2021. In his over two decades at the mic of Belmont Athletics, Tiner has called 18 Belmont NCAA Tournament games across women's basketball, baseball and volleyball, including the Bruins' victories over Gonzaga and Oregon. The Texas native also served on the NCAA Division I Council. Considered one of the "pioneers" of Contemporary Christian Music radio, Tiner began his career in Houston, Texas at KFMK-FM, one of the very first radio stations to program Contemporary Christian Music full-time. After several years as an air personality, his career path led him into programming, sales, and management--and ultimately into station ownership.

Greg Sage returns for his 19^th season as lead color analyst for men's basketball. Sage has been honored for outstanding writing by the Tennessee Sports Writers Association and for professionalism in announcing by the Ohio Valley Conference. Prior to Belmont, Sage worked as a producer at The Golf Channel in Orlando, and a sports anchor/reporter/producer at two affiliates in his hometown of Rochester, New York. Aside from covering NFL games and calling hundreds of college games throughout his career, Sage also served as a fill-in radio talk show host for 'The Takeo Spikes Show' on the Buffalo Bills Radio Network.  He earned his master's degree in broadcast journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

Jenny Roy Bream ('19) returns for her fifth season as color analyst for select women's basketball games. One of the most versatile players in Belmont and Ohio Valley Conference history, Roy helped the Bruins to a 108-26 record and four consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament from 2016-19. She was named 2019 OVC Tournament Most Valuable Player and celebrated her 22^nd birthday by recording the third triple-double in program history. Roy finished her Belmont career with 1,029 points, 892 rebounds, 489 assists and 128 steals.

Ellie Harmeyer Strutz ('20) returns for her fourth season as color analyst for select women's basketball games. Like Roy, Harmeyer was a member of four consecutive NCAA Tournament teams and emerged as one of the top frontcourt players in the country in 2020. The Wisconsin native led the nation in five statistical categories as a redshirt senior as she was named Division I-AAA Athletics Directors Association Scholar-Athlete of the Year. A two-time First Team All-OVC selection, Harmeyer became the third player in Belmont history to register over 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds.

Hannah Harmeyer ('19) returns for her fifth season as color analyst for select women's basketball games. A three-year letterwinner during Belmont's run of NCAA Tournament success, the Wisconsin native played in 57 games and shot 50 percent from 3-point field goal range for her career.
 
Conley Chinn ('22) joins the Bruin Sports Network team in 2023-24 as a color analyst for select games. The Mississippi native was part of NCAA Tournament victories over Gonzaga and Oregon in successive seasons, and was named 2021 First Team All-Ohio Valley Conference. An eyelash from the 1,000-point, 500-rebound club, Chinn graduated as honors on a pre-med track. Among her honors, Chinn was twice named Academic All-American. She spent the 2022-23 academic year as a Belmont University Presidential Fellow.

Landen Secrest joins the Bruin Sports Network team in 2023-24 as lead sideline reporter for women's basketball. During his time at Belmont, he has worked to advance the award-winning Belmont Vision student newspaper. He served as sports editor during his sophomore year, primarily covering men's and women's basketball along with men's tennis. The Columbia, Tennessee native helped establish the Bruin Report, the Vision's spin on college gameday, and served as an anchor for their sports broadcast. He also supports Belmont athletic communications' coverage of cross country and track & field. Outside of Belmont, he is a regular guest on Main Street Sports Today, a radio show based in his hometown where he gives his take on the latest NBA news. Secrest is currently a junior pursuing a bachelor's degree in journalism with a minor in sport administration.