Stephen Nelson (born March 8, 1989) is an American television personality and play-by-play commentator who works for

MLB Network The MLB Network is an American television sports channel dedicated to baseball. It is primarily owned by Major League Baseball, with Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit, Comcast's NBC Sports Group, Charter Communications, and Cox C ...

and NHL Network.

Early life and education

Nelson grew up in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

and attended Marina High School in Huntington Beach, California. He went on to attend Chapman University, where he majored in broadcast journalism. Nelson was the sports director for

Chapman Radio Chapman Radio is an independent, internet-only radio station run entirely by students at Chapman University in Orange, California. History Beginnings Chapman University has hosted some form of radio organization since 1967. The station bega ...

, where he served as the lead play-by-play broadcaster for school sports games. During his time at Chapman, Nelson interned for KTLA-TV and

Fox Sports West Bally Sports West is an American regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, a joint venture between Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios, and operated as part of Bally Sports, along with its sister network Bally Spor ...

. He also worked as a camera operator and in-game production assistant for the

Anaheim Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

and Anaheim Ducks. In 2011, Nelson graduated magna cum laude from Chapman.

Career

After graduating from Chapman, Nelson worked as a multimedia broadcaster for the

Rockford IceHogs The Rockford IceHogs are a professional ice hockey team based in Rockford, Illinois. They are members of the American Hockey League (AHL), having begun play in the League starting in the 2007–08 season. The team plays their home games at the ...

during the 2011-12 season. Nelson hosted the pre and post-game shows, as well as the intermission reports, in addition to filling in as a play-by-play broadcaster and color commentator. From June 2012 to August 2014, Nelson was a sports reporter and anchor for KEZI-TV in Eugene, Oregon. In August 2014, Nelson joined Bleacher Report as an on-air talent. In March 2018, Nelson left Bleacher Report to join

and NHL Network. In March 2021, after MLB Network declined to renew

Chris Rose Christopher Rose (born January 27, 1971) is an American sportscaster for the NFL Network. He is also a commentator for the Discovery Channel series ''BattleBots'' and podcast host for Jomboy Media. Early life and career Rose, who was born and r ...

’s contract, Nelson was named the new co-host of Intentional Talk alongside

Kevin Millar Kevin Charles Millar (; born September 24, 1971) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) and is a current analyst for MLB Network. He played in MLB for the Florida Marli ...

. In November 2021, Nelson served as the fill-in play-by-play commentator for three

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

games on

NBC Sports Chicago NBC Sports Chicago (formerly Comcast SportsNet Chicago) is an American regional sports network that broadcasts regional coverage of professional sports teams in the Chicago metropolitan area, as well as college sports events and original sports- ...

. In 2022, Nelson became the secondary play-by-play announcer for the MLB Network-produced ''

Friday Night Baseball ''Friday Night Baseball'' is a live broadcast of Major League Baseball (MLB) games on Apple TV+ that debuted during the league's 2022 season. The weekly broadcast is produced by MLB Network, featuring a doubleheader with pregame and postgame an ...

'' on

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

Personal life

Nelson is half-Japanese and attended a Japanese school while growing up. Nelson used Japanese to introduce

Shohei Ohtani , nicknamed "Shotime", is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher, designated hitter and outfielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional ...

at the Commissioner’s Historic Achievement Award ceremony in October 2021. Nelson is married to news anchor Cori Coffin.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nelson, Stephen 1989 births Living people American television sports anchors American television sports announcers Baseball announcers Chicago Blackhawks announcers MLB Network personalities Chapman University alumni American people of Japanese descent Place of birth missing (living people)