WILSON, N.C. – The Coastal Plain League announced the Wilson Tobs as the winner of the inaugural Best Broadcast Production award. In 2021, the Tobs media department was headed by Director of Media Relations & Broadcasting James Stanley and his staff: Broadcast Producer Ryne Barnes (Intern) and Social Media Manager Camryn Lees (Intern).

“This award was selected from a poll of teams around the league, league officials and technical support staff,” the Coastal Plain League said in a press release. “While there are a number of impressive broadcasts in the CPL, the Tobs stood out amongst their peers for their consistency in both quality and content creation.” The League continued, “Most importantly, their production always ran smoothly night-in and night-out with minimal-to-no technical difficulties throughout the season.” 

Viewers of Tobs broadcasts this summer were treated to a five-camera setup, in-game player highlights from previous games, in-game live replays of the action, a pitch speed clock, pre-recorded pregame shows with interviews and numerous graphics from pitcher profiles to segments dedicated to Tobs sponsors. Stanley and Barnes tried to find ways every night to relate better to their viewers, regardless of what team they supported. This led to thorough pre-broadcast research on Tobs opponents and creative displays of opposing team graphics for lineups, starting nine, pitching changes and much more.

“Generosity from our sponsors allowed us to have the budget to put together an award-winning broadcast,” said Stanley. “Winning this award would not have been possible without their support or the huge amount of support Ryne, Camryn and I had from General Manager Mike Bell and the Tobs ownership.”

A 2020 graduate from the University Missouri School of Journalism, Stanley resides in Columbia, Missouri with his fiancé Gabby Krause and their two Boston Terriers Shiloh and Arlo. 2021 marked the sixth year for Stanley in college summer ball. Prior to this summer he had experience in the M.I.N.K League and Northwoods League between three different teams. When he is not broadcasting college-level baseball over the summer, Stanley works for a number of mid-Missouri colleges including Lincoln University (NCAA-DII), Columbia College (NAIA), William Woods University (NAIA) and Westminster College (NCAA-DIII). Additionally, local television cable viewers can watch Stanley on Mediacom’s MC22 where he broadcasts high school sports.

“I felt research was especially important because fans and family members of the opposing team make up a good chunk of our viewership,” Stanley told the CPL. “I really wanted to make the viewers from the other team, whether they were just a fan or family of a player, feel at home when they tuned-in to our broadcast.”

He continued, “Ryne is one of the four best producers I have worked with and even though this summer was his first year producing, I never had to worry about the production running smoothly.”

Barnes, a local senior at Barton College, is studying Sports Management with a minor in Broadcast Video. After he graduates, he hopes to continue working in the field of sports broadcast production. His ultimate dream is to eventually be a part of a Major League Baseball club broadcast production crew.

“Ryne is one of the four best producers I have worked with in the over 700 broadcasts I have been a part of in my career,” emphasized Stanley. “Even though this summer was his first year producing I never had to worry about the production running smoothly, which was huge each night so I could focus on the play-by-play.”

A senior at East Carolina University studying Communications with a concentration in Public Relations, Lees hopes to one day work full-time in social media and public relations for a non-profit or within the sports industry.

“I am extremely proud of our staff and how much they accomplished this year,” Tobs General Manager Mike Bell said. “I knew the Tobs had something special going when we hired James on to be our Director of Media Relations & Broadcasting.”

He continued, “We were then very fortunate to bring on Ryne and Camryn who had particular skills that we knew would contribute in a big way. From there I let James and his staff run with their creativity and watched them deliver game after game. Tobs Roll!”