Former South Carolina WBB star Aliyah Boston set to make broadcast debut
Former South Carolina star Aliyah Boston is a national champion and the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year. Now, she’s adding a new title.
Broadcaster.
NBC Sports announced Monday that Boston, who plays for the Indiana Fever, will make her broadcasting debut this season as a studio analyst for Big Ten women’s basketball games in 2023-24.
Those studio shows will be available exclusively on Peacock, the NBC Sports streaming platform that’ll broadcast over 50 men’s and women’s Big Ten basketball games this season.
Boston, 21, will be paired with host Carolyn Manno and analyst Meghan McKeown (a former Northwestern player) for studio show coverage of the Big Ten.
The studio show gig is a natural fit for Boston, who’s got some free time with the WNBA regular season ending Sept. 10 and the 2024 season not starting up until next May.
“Super excited to be a part of this team,” Boston said in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday. “God is good.”
Boston last week became the WNBA’s first unanimous rookie of the year since fellow Gamecock A’ja Wilson (whose Las Vegas Aces are currently up 1-0 in the WNBA Finals) won the award in 2018.
The 6-foot-5 forward/center averaged 14.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game and shot a league-high 57.8% from the field, becoming the first rookie to ever lead in the league in that statistic.
The No. 1 pick of the 2023 WNBA Draft, Boston helped the Fever improve from a league-worst 5-31 last season to 13-27 this season, an eight-win improvement.
Boston was also named an WNBA All-Star Game starter, the first rookie to receive that honor since Shoni Schimmel in 2014.
A media star
Boston — who appeared in three Final Fours, made three AP All-America first teams and won a 2022 national championship at USC with coach Dawn Staley — was the second No. 1 pick in school history behind Wilson, who was picked first by the Aces in 2018.
Boston also graduated from South Carolina with a degree in mass communications and was widely regarded as one of the most media-friendly players and insightful interviews on the team during her four years with USC.
Wilson, the star player on South Carolina’s first national championship team in 2017, has also dabbled in broadcasting work as a color commentator and in-studio analyst for ESPN and SEC Network, The State previously reported.
As a studio analyst this season, Boston will get a chance to cover and analyze Caitlin Clark and Iowa, who beat Boston and previously undefeated South Carolina in the 2023 Final Four, Boston’s last college game.
Clark, the reigning Naismith Women’s College Player of the Year and projected No. 1 pick for the 2024 WNBA Draft, is the main reason Iowa is ranked No. 7 in The Athletic’s women’s college basketball rankings for this season.
Outside of Iowa, the Big Ten has five other teams ranked among The Athletic’s top 25: No. 5 Maryland, No. 9 Indiana, No. 12 Michigan, No. 13 Iowa State and No. 18 Ohio State.
According to an NBC Sports release, “eligible students can sign-up for Peacock’s Student Discount offer, which includes Big Ten Men’s and Women’s Basketball plus Big Ten Football, available for $1.99/month.” For more sign-up information, click here.
This story was originally published October 9, 2023 at 11:32 AM.
