Trey Dyson: ‘I had to call (USC) to find out I was fired’ from doing baseball telecasts
Trey Dyson says one of his core philosophies has always been “When one door closes, another opens up.”
He never anticipated that playing out the way it has for him, though.
Dyson, who starred on South Carolina’s baseball team from 1999-2002, has been a color analyst the past two seasons for SEC Network Plus streaming telecasts. He learned a day before USC’s season opener vs. VMI that he had been dropped from the game crew.
That hurt, he said, but how he found out hurt more.
“I had to call (USC) to find out I was fired,” Dyson said. He sighed. “That said, I’m okay with it … I don’t want it to be a controversy.
“My wife was very angry … I was kind of distraught at the news.”
That was evident in last Thursday’s tweet: “Found out a little more than 24 hours before opening day (that he’d been replaced). Needless to say it’s a punch in the gut to not even get a phone call when I’ve done the broadcast for 10+ years,” via SEC Network Plus and previous TV and radio outlets.
Replacing Dyson is former USC teammate Kip Bouknight – who, apparently, was as floored by the news as Dyson.
Bouknight said he received a call from USC producer David Cockfield, “asking me about doing it. I asked, ‘What kind of role – as a fill-in for Trey (which he did in previous seasons)?’ And (Cockfield) said, ‘No, we want you as many games as you can.’
“I asked, ‘Have you had a conversation with Trey?’ and he said no.”
Awkward? You might say that.
Both ex-players, loyal to their school, team and each other, demurred about the clumsy way things were handled. “I’m certainly honored and appreciative of the opportunity,” Bouknight said. “The only negative is, one of my best friends is not doing it, and I am.”
“Both (athletics director and former baseball coach Ray) Tanner and (new coach Mark) Kingston reached out, said they appreciated all I stood for,” Dyson said. “What can they say in a situation like that? (But) I’ll continue to move forward as an ambassador for Carolina.”
As spokesman for USC, senior associate athletics director Charles Bloom said in a statement: “Announcers for University of South Carolina SEC Network Plus broadcasts are independent contractors and are selected prior to each sport season by the USC Athletics’ Live Video Production Department. I admit that the completion of the selection process made this close to the start of the baseball season was not ideal.”
Some background: SEC Network Plus events – baseball, softball, volleyball, soccer and some men’s and women’s basketball games – are produced for live streaming by USC’s in-house production department. This season, 24 of the Gamecocks’ 34 home baseball games will be carried by SEC Network Plus; six others will air on SEC Network or ESPNU. Burch Antley handles play-by-play for baseball, with men’s and women’s basketball announcers Derek Scott and Brad Muller filling in at times.
Dyson and Bouknight both bring impressive baseball credentials. Dyson was the SEC’s Boyd McWhorter Male Student-Athlete of the Year as a senior, and played for three Major League teams over four seasons, retiring in 2006. Bouknight, USC’s career pitching leader in games won (45), innings pitched and strikeouts, played for five MLB teams or their affiliates from 2001-08. Both ex-players now work fulltime in insurance.
The analyst role is not particularly lucrative – $250 a game, Bloom said – but especially in this case, that’s not the point.
“I loved doing (SEC Plus),” Dyson said. “I love baseball, love Carolina, love the (baseball) program so much. You put that together, it was a dream job.
“That said … I do obviously have more time to pursue other things now.”
That’s where the doors-closing-and-opening comes in. This spring, Dyson will work with Blythewood High School’s baseball team, assisting second-year Bengals coach Banks Faulkner while drilling players on hitting (Dyson hit .268 with 18 home runs and 63 RBI in 2002).
Faulkner, a Lexington native, knew Dyson from their high school days, and invited him to address his BHS players. “I really loved the atmosphere there, being able to teach the kids in the way I like to do it,” Dyson said. “I believe baseball is about having fun, first and foremost. It’s not rocket science.
“Banks wanted me back, kept calling. Before, he knew my (time) limitations … now, I can go more often.”
Faulkner, winner of a state title at Summerville in 2016, calls Dyson’s situation “good news-bad news. He got let go as the TV guy, which is horrible because I know he loved it. But now he says, ‘I’m able to be with you guys more.’
“I told Trey, ‘I think you missed your calling.’ He’s very good (as a coach), keeps things simple for the players, and he’s made us better in a short period of time. He’s the best hitting coach I’ve worked with.”
This weekend, as the Gamecocks play three games vs. Charleston Southern, Bouknight will work to get up to speed in his role. “I don’t question my (baseball) knowledge,” he said, “but the timing, learning how much to say, how much time you have to say it …
“Having Burch in the booth, the flow between us has been good, and I think our broadcasts will only get better. I’m learning a lot from him … but I also learned a lot watching and listening to Trey.”
As for Dyson, Blythewood’s season opener is March 1. “Now I get to put my money where my mouth was, talking about the game,” he said. “I get to see if what I’ve been doing is right.”
He’ll follow the Gamecocks, too, of course, though things will be … unusual.
“They just told me they wanted to go a different direction, and I guess Kip was the different direction,” Dyson said, and sighed. “He’s a friend, very intelligent about baseball. I wish him all the best.”
This story was originally published February 23, 2018 at 3:51 PM with the headline "Trey Dyson: ‘I had to call (USC) to find out I was fired’ from doing baseball telecasts."