Ryan Ruocco (; born November 18, 1986) is an American television and radio sportscaster. He serves as a play-by-play announcer for the NBA, WNBA, and women's college basketball 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 ...

, and the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

and

Brooklyn Nets The Brooklyn Nets are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Brooklyn. The Nets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), ...

on YES Network. He hosts the podcast ''R2C2'' with former Yankees all-star pitcher CC Sabathia. He previously hosted the '' Stephen A. Smith & Ryan Ruocco Show'' on ESPN Radio 98.7 FM.

Early life and education

Ruocco is a native of Fishkill, New York. He is a graduate of Hackley School in Tarrytown, New York, and

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

. As a student at Fordham, Ruocco called Rams football and basketball on WFUV.

Career

ESPN

Ruocco serves as a lead television play-by-play broadcaster for the NBA, WNBA, and NCAA Women’s College Basketball on

. Ruocco began working for

and ESPN New York 98.7 FM in 2008 as a contributor on '' The Michael Kay Show'' and as a substitute host on various

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...

shows. He was a fill-in host prior to 2008 for ESPN Radio and anchored '' ESPN Radio SportsCenter'' and was a correspondent for the NFL Network. He also called college football and basketball games for

and also does play-by-play duties for '' The NFL on ESPN Radio'' beginning in 2013 with three other play-by-play men Marc Kestecher,

Sean McDonough Sean McDonough (born May 13, 1962) is an American sportscaster, currently employed by ESPN and the WEEI Boston Red Sox Radio Network. McDonough has play-by-play experience for all four major professional sports leagues in the United States an ...

, and Bill Rosinski. In 2020, Ruocco was the first play-by-play announcer to use the correct pronouns for New York Liberty star Layshia Clarendon, who is non-binary, when describing Clarendon’s baskets and rebounds, compelling a progressive and inclusive shift for gender norms in sports. 2024 WNBA Finals Game 1 NYL vs

In 2023,

formed a second core NBA broadcast team for the 2023–24 season, with Ruocco as play-by-play and former NBA players Richard Jefferson and JJ Redick as analysts. The team would call the '' NBA Sunday Showcase'' series on ABC (replacing Mark Jones and Doris Burke), plus work together for other marquee events throughout the season and into the NBA playoffs.

YES Network

Ruocco joined the YES Network in 2007 as the

statistician. He is the secondary play-by-play television announcer for the

and

. He joined the Nets broadcast team in 2011. He also does select college basketball games for YES and was the host of ''This Week in Football'' for the YES Network, which focused on the New York Giants and

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

. His analysts were Howard Cross, Gary Myers, and Ross Tucker. Ruocco debuted as a lead play-by-play broadcaster for the YES Network when he called a series between the

and

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

in June 2015. During the 2019 baseball season, Ruocco stepped up as the main voice of the

on the YES Network. In addition to Ruocco’s regular slate of Yankees broadcasts, he took over for YES Network’s play-by-play broadcaster Michael Kay as he underwent vocal cord surgery. Ruocco also filled in for the legendary radio sportscaster John Sterling on WFAN in July 2019 when he took off his first radio broadcast after working 5,060 straight Yankees games since 1989.

R2C2 Podcast

Ruocco co-hosted the podcast R2C2 alongside former New York Yankees all-star pitcher CC Sabathia. Sabathia and Ruocco welcomed athlete and celebrity guests for wide-ranging conversations. In 2023, R2C2 held its final episode after six years.

Personal life

Ruocco became engaged to private equity executive Andrea Ferzoco in January 2019; they were married in a private ceremony in November 2020, and Andrea gave birth to a daughter named Everly in September 2021. His son Remy James was born on June 14, 2025.

Awards

*Liberace Award 2008 *Fish for Breakfast Nominee 2014 *New York Emmy Award, Best Live Sports Series (Brooklyn Nets) 2014 *New York Emmy Award, Sport Event/Game - Live/Unedited (New York Yankees) 2017 *New York Emmy Award Nominee 2017, Talent: Sports Play-by-Play *New York Emmy Award Nominee 2018, Talent: Sports Play-by-Play *New York Emmy Award Nominee 2019, Talent: Sports Play-by-Play *New York Emmy Award, Best Live Sports Series (Brooklyn Nets) 2019 *New York Emmy Award Nominee 2021, Talent: Sports Play-by-Pla

*New York Emmy Award Nominee 2022, Sports Program - Live, “Field of Dreams�

*New York Emmy Award Nominee 2023, Talent: Sports Play-by-Pla

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruocco, Ryan 1986 births Living people American people of Italian descent American radio sports announcers American talk radio hosts American television sports announcers Brooklyn Nets announcers College basketball announcers in the United States College football announcers ESPN people Fordham University alumni Fordham Rams football announcers Major League Baseball broadcasters NBA broadcasters NFL announcers New York Yankees announcers People from Fishkill, New York Women's National Basketball Association announcers YES Network American sports podcasters Hackley School alumni WFUV people Loyola University Maryland alumni