‘Scholastic Ball Report’ begins 20th season highlighting high school students
The “Scholastic Ball Report” begins its 20th season this Sunday highlighting the academic and athletic achievements of Kentucky high school students.
“When you think about it, over 20 years, that’s a lot of kids and we’ve had more than 100 of them intern for us and a couple of more coming in this year,” said Gary Ball, host of the weekly show that airs during the fall, winter and spring at noon on CWKYT and is shared with WMYT in Hazard and WBKO in Bowling Green. Segments are also available via WKYT on its YouTube channel and Facebook. “For a TV show, that’s almost unheard of. I guess “Law and Order: SVU” is about the only other one I can think of that’s more than 20 years.”
With more than 600 episodes and counting, Ball estimates the “Ball Report” has interviewed more than 1,500 coaches and 3,000-some Scholar Athletes of the Week.
The show once brought players and coaches into WKYT’s studio in Lexington each week, but since the onset of the pandemic, interviews have been done virtually with Ball and his wife, Brigid DeVries, the show’s executive producer and former commissioner of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association.
This week, the “Ball Report” will feature Paris football coach Tyquan Rice and captains Zian Webb and Jakari Ransom as well as Clark County volleyball coach Kainan Hudson and players Abby Kubican and Kelsey McKeehan.
The show also features highlights of each week’s high school sports action produced by WKYT’s sports staff.
“It looks pretty good when it’s all put together,” Ball said. “We’ve reached a lot of people with it.”
