| Spring 2026 Grad Spotlight |
More than 40 years ago, Claire Smith became the first African American woman to cover baseball for a daily newspaper and, later, the first woman to serve as a full-time Major League Baseball beat writer. Despite the barriers she faced on her path to becoming a media legend, it was the stories behind the players, their teams, the coaches, and every inning that fueled her passion for the game.
Decades later, only a few women have followed in Smith’s footsteps. But School of Journalism & Graphic Communication (FAMU SJGC) spring 2026 graduate Alyssa Cooper is poised to add to that legacy. She’s on a mission to be the next woman reporting full-time on “America’s favorite pastime.”
A Tallahassee native and third-generation Rattler, Cooper transformed a teenage love of baseball into career momentum that has led to internship roles with ESPN in production and The Fort Worth Star-Telegram as a sports reporter. She’s also held key student media leadership roles, including sports and news editor at The FAMUAN and associate producer and sports anchor for FAMU-TV 20.
For Cooper, these opportunities represented more than résumé builders. She wants to show others who come after her that success does not require fitting neatly into society’s expectations and that “you can make your own path” as a woman in sports media, just like Claire Smith did.
Despite pressure from people around her to pursue a career perceived as “more stable,” Cooper said her heart was always in being around the game. At 17, and an athlete herself at Lawton Chiles High School, she decided the best way to do that was by telling stories about it.
“I didn’t grow up seeing a lot of people that looked like me reporting on baseball,” Cooper said. “That, to me, was all the motivation I needed to get into writing, because I felt like something needed to change.”
During her time working in student media at FAMU, Alyssa Cooper has emerged as a leading voice in sports coverage.
Cooper said she would not have the tools she needs to follow in Smith’s footsteps without the support of faculty, staff and fellow students at FAMU, an experience that the 10 other Rattlers in her family can vouch for.
“Having people at FAMU SJGC who are available, who are able to support you, and who are willing to invest their time into molding you into a better student, a better woman, and a better journalist is incredibly valuable,” she said, adding that the encouragement she received gave her strength and resolve when she encountered obstacles.
One of those obstacles came when she was not accepted into the Sports Journalism Institute (SJI) the first time she applied a few years ago. The institute is one of the nation’s most prestigious training programs aimed at diversifying sports media.
When her application was not accepted, Cooper could have easily took the advice of naysayers who encouraged her to consider other career paths early on. Instead, she leaned on support from alumni and industry leaders such as mentor LaCrai Mitchell Scott, a producer for the CBS Evening News, and resolved to work hard and participate in other training programs with the goal of applying again.
“You can’t live for other people. You must live for yourself,” Cooper said, reflecting on the wise counsel she has received that has fueled her journey. “You are ultimately the only person who knows what is best for you.
Over the next few years, her contributions as a student journalist landed her invitations to join the Online News Association HBCU Fellowship and the National Association of Black Journalists’ (NABJ) Student Multimedia Project and Short Course.
“From the moment Alyssa entered J-School she’s been determined to pursue her passion for storytelling full throttle,” Scott said. “I knew her drive would serve her and the J-School community well and it’s been a joy to watch her soar. I have no doubt that her tenacity and curiosity will propel her—just as it did during her time in J-School. I can’t wait to see her reporting for the MLB one day. I’ll definitely be rooting for her every step of the way.”
Drive and tenacity have paid off for Cooper. She was accepted into the 2026 SJI cohort and will complete an intensive, multi-week program this summer at the Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University before heading to Minneapolis to gain experience covering high school, collegiate, and professional sports for the Minnesota Star Tribune. She will join the ranks of more than 350 SJI graduates who have benefited from summer fellowship placements and gone on to successful careers at top media organizations nationwide, including MLB.com, The Athletic, Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, ESPN, The New York Times, and The Washington Post.
“Being able to achieve my goal of telling stories about the game of baseball is special to me,” Cooper said. “This is all I’ve ever wanted to do, and that’s why I have invested so much time, energy and effort.”
SJI leaders say they are committed to helping Cooper fulfill her goal of further diversifying baseball journalism and sports media.
“Alyssa’s application stood out because of her diverse storytelling packages and her clear commitment to sports journalism,” said Gregory Lee, an at-large member of the SJI Board of Directors, former president of NABJ, and an award-winning sports journalist and educator. “It is important to have more voices carry on Claire Smith’s legacy. There is only one Black woman currently covering Major League Baseball, and she, too, is an SJI graduate. We will get Alyssa ready.”
With her journalism degree in hand and mentors cheering her on, Cooper said she views this next chapter as the launchpad for fulfilling her dreams.
“I just feel like it’s meant for me,” she said. “The universe has aligned. The stars have aligned for me.”
Gallery
During her time at FAMU SJGC, Alyssa Cooper gained experience working in front of and behind the camera and reporting in newsrooms and in the field.
