Jade McCarthy (born July 20, 1980) is an American sportscaster who is a former anchor on

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

's ''

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is an American television sports news broadcasting show broadcast by ESPN. Originally anchored by Chris Berman, George Grande, Greg Gumbel, Lee Leonard, Bob Ley, Sal Marchiano and Lou Palmer, it premiered on Septem ...

'' and former host of ''NESN Daily'' on

NESN New England Sports Network, popularly known as NESN , is an American regional sports cable and satellite television network owned by a joint venture of Fenway Sports Group (which owns a controlling 80% interest, and is the owner of the Boston ...

Early life

McCarthy was born in

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located roughly west of Downtown Boston, and comprises a patchwork of thirteen villages. The city borders Boston to the northeast and southeast (via the neighborhoods of ...

. As a child, she rode horses competitively for ten years. She grew up near

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

and attended

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...

Career

McCarthy started her career at

WGGB-TV WGGB-TV (channel 40) is a television station in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with ABC, Fox, and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Gray Media alongside low-power CBS affiliate WSHM-LD (channel 33). The two stations share ...

in Springfield,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. She then moved to WAFF, the NBC affiliate in

Huntsville, Alabama Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...

. She was a sports anchor at

WCAU WCAU (channel 10) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is owned and operated by the NBC television network through its NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jersey–licensed ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, where she won numerous Sports Emmy Awards. McCarthy joined

in early 2010; she was a part-time host and reporter for ''

SportsDesk New England Sports Network, popularly known as NESN , is an American regional sports cable and satellite television network owned by a joint venture of Fenway Sports Group (which owns a controlling 80% interest, and is the owner of the Boston ...

''. After ''SportsDesk'' was canceled, she became the host of the network's new show ''NESN Daily''. McCarthy left NESN in August 2011 after her husband, Gordon Stead, got a job in Philadelphia. McCarthy returned to TV in September 2012, joining ESPN as an anchor for ''

.'' On April 26, 2017, it was announced that ESPN was laying off around 100 on-air personalities, with McCarthy being one of the victims. McCarthy joined NBC Sports Boston in September 2018 as host of the ''Opening Drive''

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

pregame show. In 2022 she began doing a podcast for Sports Spectrum, a podcast network that tells "stories where sports and faith connect".

Personal life

McCarthy is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

. McCarthy and Stead had a son in October 2011. They welcomed their second child, another boy, in August 2015. Their third child, a daughter, was born in July 2017.

References

External links

Jade McCarthy's blog - NESN.comESPNMediaZone Bio
Sports in Boston Mass media people from Newton, Massachusetts Living people 1980 births New England Sports Network people Mount Holyoke College alumni 21st-century American journalists {{US-journalist-1980s-stub