Cavalier announces media relations staff additions

JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. – Carson-Newman Associate AD for Athletic Communications/External Operations Adam Cavalier has announced the hiring of four individuals to the department's media relations team.

Ian Johnson joins the staff, the 2022 SAC Media Relations Staff of the Year, as an assistant media relations director/creative video while Andrew Rogers, Danny Wieczorek and Katlyn Jones all come aboard as graduate assistants.

Johnson will oversee the department's broadcast operations, creative video and graphic design efforts. 

Johnson makes his way to Carson-Newman from the Tennessee Smokies where he served as the minor league club's production coordinator. He helped manage the Smokies live broadcasts as a replay operator, technical director and director.  All the while he helped manage content for the Smokies social media channels. 

"We found Ian's predecessor, Danielle Whaley, with the Tennessee Smokies and that worked out marvelously," Cavalier said. "Ian didn't know it, but he was interviewing for this job during the SAC baseball tournament at Smokies Stadium. His professionalism, dedication to the craft and willingness to get better are off the charts."

He designed and created custom animated and still graphics for the ball club in his time as their production intern. 

Away from Smokies Stadium, he has been an information and technology committee member at Stone Creek Church where he has helped design, engineer and program the church's A/V production equipment.

Johnson has brought home a SkillUSA Tennessee Digital Cinema Gold Medal as well as Pellissippi State's Video Production Technologies Outstanding Student Award.

He graduated from PSC Summa Cum Laude with a 4.0. 

A former baseball player, Johnson attended a number of head baseball coach Tom Griffin's Catching Camps. 

Rogers comes to Carson-Newman via the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Marshall University with a degree in journalism with an emphasis in sports broadcasting, Rogers cut his broadcasting teeth at Marshall's student radio station, WMUL-FM. 

"Any time you can hire a son of Marshall, it's a good thing," Cavalier said. "He's cut from the same cloth as a lot of great broadcasters in this industry. Anyone who learns from Dr. Charles G. Bailey knows what they are doing with a mic in their hand."   

In his time on the Cutting Edge, his skills netted him a Best Sports Play-by-Play award from the Associate Press Broadcasters Association for the states of West Virginia and Virginia, as well as a Hermest Creative Award for best Audio Sports Play-by-Play programming.  He has 79 radio production, announcing and writing awards in his collegiate career, including 20 first-place honors. 

Rogers also called Huntington High School football on ESPN 94.1 and hosted Courtside with Kemper, a weekly coaches show with Marshall head women's basketball coach Tony Kemper. 

He spent the summer prior to his graduation from Marshall with the Washington Wild Things where he was a play-by-play intern. 

Rogers will handle media relations duties for Carson-Newman's soccer and golf programs.  He will also take over the hosting duties for the AEC Tailgate Show, ShopCNeagles.com Halftime Report and Dominos Postgame Report on Carson-Newman football broadcasts, in addition to announcing volleyball, soccer, softball and baseball. 

A member of the Carson-Newman athletic communications office all four years of his undergraduate degree as a work study, Wieczorek will continue of the long line of former undergrad Eagle Sports Network members who have moved on to a greater role as a graduate assistant in athletic communications. 

A part of the 2022 media relations team that was named the SAC Media Relations Staff of the Year, Wieczorek directed the Eagle Sports Network-produced broadcasts of the South Atlantic Conference's Basketball and Baseball tournaments.

"Danny was an easy hire," Cavalier said. "He knows our processes and our systems. All the while, he has constantly been looking to do more through his undergraduate career. He might be the most creative camera op we've had here in my decade here." 

As a senior at Carson-Newman, he took over the media relations responsibilities of the beach volleyball program.

Gifted with a camera, Wieczorek has shot for all sports at Carson-Newman. 

The summer before joining the athletic communications staff post grad, he worked as a production intern with the Tennessee Smokies.

Wieczorek will handle media relations for Carson-Newman cross county, beach volleyball and tennis. 

Finally, Jones makes her way to Mossy Creek from Tusculum where she was a four-year player with the Tusculum women's soccer program.  She graduated summa cum laude with a 4.0 GPA with a bachelor of psychology with a concentration in behavioral health.

She is a four-time Charles Oliver Gray Scholars Listee, a four-time member of the President's List and a four-time member of the Dean's List. She also received recognition as a four-year member of the Athletic Director's Honor Roll and the South Atlantic Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll.

"Katlyn is intelligent and impressive," Cavalier said. "We may have to work with her on her baseball scoring ability, but her drive to learn and stay within collegiate athletics speaks well to her upbringing.  You know you're getting someone of quality if they spent time around Dom Donnelly (Tusculum's SID)."

Jones has studied spirituality and religion's impact on health as a research thesis.

Her father is Doug Jones, former Tusculum baseball coach and the Pioneers' current director of athletics.  

Jones will be in charge of media relations for swimming and track and field.