Dream come true: USC’s Alyssa Lang makes ESPN ‘SportsCenter’ debut

Back in high school, Alyssa Lang said her best friend wrote a prediction in her yearbook: That Lang would one day host an episode of “SportsCenter.”

Over the weekend, that dream came true.

Lang, a 2015 University of South Carolina graduate and current studio host and reporter for the SEC Network, anchored her first episode of ESPN’s flagship television show on Friday night alongside co-anchor Michael Eaves.

Lang and Eaves also anchored “SportsCenter” from ESPN’s Bristol, Connecticut studios on Saturday night, touching on everything from college baseball to the NHL playoffs to Caitlin Clark’s WNBA preseason debut.

Lang — considered one of the rising stars in the sports broadcasting industry — took to social media over the weekend to express her gratitude for what she described as an “amazing weekend.”

“My best friend wrote about this moment in our high school yearbook and it really came true,” she wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter) late Friday after her “SportsCenter” debut.

Hundreds of fans and coworkers also took to social media over the weekend to congratulate Lang, who joined the ESPN-owned SEC Network in 2018 and has become one of the faces of the network as a studio host and sideline reporter.

“Congrats Alyssa! I stayed up all night after my first one in 2000, too. Soak it all in. Great to have you on the squad!” SportsCenter anchor Stan Verrett wrote.

“Great to see one of the mainstays of @SECNetwork get this opportunity,” ESPN vice president of PR Bill Hofheimer wrote.

“Things we love to see … Like a seasoned vet @AlyssaLang!” ACC Network host and reporter Taylor Tannebaum wrote.

South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer also gave Lang a shout-out, writing in a post on X: “Love this !! Great job @AlyssaLang — Have fun but get back down here to SEC country soon … Way to represent @UofSC”

So did USC women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley: “Congrats to our very own @AlyssaLang ! I know you will homer us every chance you get! Go Cocks!!”

A rising star

Lang’s May 4 and May 5 “SportsCenter“ appearances were another feather in the cap for a television personality who’s experienced a rapid rise in the industry since her time at USC.

Lang worked as an intern and weekend sports anchor at WLTX, Columbia’s local CBS affiliate, while in undergrad at South Carolina and transitioned into a full-time role at that station postgrad. She also spent two years at First Coast News in Jacksonville, Florida before joining the SEC Network in fall 2018.

During her six years at SEC Network, Lang has established herself as one of ESPN’s top young talents. She co-hosts the Wednesday night talk show “Out of Pocket” with Andraya Carter during football season, rotates in on the flagship studio show “SEC Now,” does sideline reporting for SEC football and basketball games and is a regular on the network’s SiriusXM radio show.

In the summer of 2021, Lang (who grew up in Huntersville, North Carolina outside Charlotte) also signed a multi-year contract extension with ESPN to continue in her roles at SEC Network.