Where careers tip off

Last week on the University of Dayton campus, students were counting down the hours until the end of their last class before spring break. But over the weekend, as campus emptied, a small group of students were gearing up for the week ahead — to work the First Four games at UD Arena.

Sophomore Carson Caprella, a communication major, got his media badge early on Monday afternoon as he slung his big Cannon camera over his shoulder, preparing to shoot the first round of open practices for Flyer News.

`"Being able to get an opportunity like this — where there's people who are working at such a professional event — being able to learn from those people and build my portfolio; it’s just an honor and a blessing,” he said.

This is his second year spending his break working the Final Four; he was a videographer for Flyer News last year. But as a big sports fan himself, he wants to see the action up close. 

“It’s great seeing all the teams, specifically Miami (Ohio). I’m very excited for that,” he said. 

Undefeated in the regular season, the Miami (Ohio) Redhawks have had a phenomenal showing this year and drew a big crowd at open practice Tuesday. But perhaps no one is more excited to see them play Wednesday night than senior photography major and UD Magazine student photographer Maggie Endres.

In anticipation of her working the First Four, she filmed herself live-reacting to the announcement on Selection Sunday for her social media. She audibly gasped and clamped her hand over her gaping mouth in shock that the Redhawks were headed to Dayton.

“I’m excited to see Miami (Ohio)!” Endres said. “I have a lot of friends who go there, plus they’ve had an absolutely insane season. It will be fun to watch and shoot the game on the floor.”

This is Endres’ second time at the tournament working for UD Magazine, taking photos of the teams and fans. As she graduates in May, Endres has aspirations of a career in photography and has especially enjoyed opportunities to shoot basketball.

“This has been very helpful for my career; to have a taste of the environment and building connections with different people from different universities, hearing their points of view and getting my name out there for when I graduate,” she said.

Like Endres, Flyer News reporters T.J. Thompson and Gabriel Ward, both senior journalism majors, are hoping to break into sports journalism after they graduate in May. They’re hoping to gain some marketable skills and publish a few articles to add to their portfolio. Both students are eager for their first time working the tournament.

“I’m going to the practices and the press conferences, asking questions to the players, then trying to find a way to connect it back to Dayton and write stories for the paper,” said Thompson.

Ward was able to ask the Lehigh University head coach, Brett Reed, about the influence of his father in his coaching career during his press conference Tuesday afternoon. Ward grew up in the same Michigan small town where Reed’s father once coached at the local community college.

“He (Reed) is from where I’m from, so it’s kind of cool hearing him talk about his dad, who’s a coaching legend in that area where I lived for the first 13 years of my life,” he said. 

As the First Four games get underway, a new generation of storytellers is building its own future — asking questions, capturing moments and learning, in real time, what it means to do the job for real.

The First Four isn’t just crowning potential champions. It’s helping create them right here at UD.

Photos by Ava McConnell ’28, Maggie Endres ’26 and Mo Anwari ’27