Two years ago, Kaylee Kahn (’24) was reporting on Wildcat athletics for The Optimist. Now, she’s leveraged her ACU experience and lifelong passion for baseball into a dream career, traveling across the country with the Savannah Bananas and telling the stories behind one of baseball’s most entertaining leagues.
Since May, Kahn has worked as a social media marketing coordinator for Banana Ball, producing content that reaches more than 800,000 Instagram followers. Alongside her colleagues, she plans, films and creates content highlighting all six teams in the league.
Opportunities That Opened Doors
Kahn credits her hands-on experience at ACU with preparing her for the role. She encourages students interested in sports media to take advantage of opportunities like The Optimist, ACU’s student-run newspaper, and ACUTV, which gives students experience as on-air hosts, producers and crew for ESPN+ broadcasts.
“Definitely use your resources around you,” she said, “because I feel like a lot of universities don’t have that, or you have to go outside to do those kinds of things.”
ACU’s Department of Journalism and Mass Communication gave Kahn the opportunity to explore nearly every side of the industry.
“I went the broadcast route, I went the writing newspaper route. I did social media, photography, video,” she said. “And I think doing all those different areas has very much helped me in this role.”
While writing for The Optimist, Kahn had the opportunity to cover two significant wins for the women’s soccer team. Traveling with the players, developing relationships and conducting interviews helped her appreciate the storytelling aspect of sports media.
“Being able to tell their story and get the girls excited about what was happening were some of my favorite things,” Kahn said.
Through real reporting and access to professional-quality studios and equipment, Kahn experienced the fast-paced world of sports media firsthand.
The relationships she built at ACU proved just as valuable as the skills she developed. Former ACU baseball coach Blaze Lambert and former Wildcat player Zach Smith (’21), who now plays Banana Ball, helped open the door to her current position.
With those experiences and connections, Kahn felt prepared to launch her career without pursuing an outside internship.
“ACU set me up pretty well because now I’m here,” she said.
Beyond the Viral Dances
Baseball has always been a family affair for Kahn.
“My family has always been a big baseball family,” she said. “Baseball was pretty much always our sport.”
That love of the game makes her well suited for her work on the Banana Ball account. While individual team accounts often feature the viral dances and entertainment that have helped make the Savannah Bananas famous, the league-wide Banana Ball account focuses more on the action on the field, from trick plays and records to statistics and standout performances.
With no shortage of unusual plays and unpredictable moments to choose from, Kahn is constantly looking for new ways to capture fans’ attention.
“How do we make this different?” she asks herself. “How do we make it new for the audience to see? How do we make sure the audience stays engaged?”
One unexpected storyline this season has brought an entirely new audience to Banana Ball.
Banana Ball player Jackson Olson’s appearance on Dancing with the Stars has widened the league’s reach. His professional dance partner, Emma Slater, has even joined him at games, adding another layer of excitement to an already unconventional baseball experience.
“We’ve gotten a lot of extra support that we haven’t had before,” Kahn said. “It’s really neat to see the support from the Dancing with the Stars community and Banana Ball come together and combine.”
From covering ACU soccer games to traveling the country with Banana Ball, Kahn has seen where a willingness to try new things can lead. It’s a lesson she encourages current students to embrace: “Just be fully accepting of every opportunity that comes your way.”
– Kayla Hewitt
Oct. 22, 2026