Goalie to Announce Women's Basketball

By Ryan Mahoney, Associate Reporter

If you follow Bronco Athletics, chances are you've come across the last name Nash. Certainly you've heard of famed basketball player Steve Nash, a two time NBA MVP and Santa Clara graduate. A name you might be getting more familiar with is John Nash, of the Bronco water polo team and soon to be play-by-play announcer for the women's basketball team.

Is he related to Steve Nash? "The answer is yes," John Nash said in an interview. "However, he owns a roofing company in the South Bay. Sometimes people are a bit disappointed." 

Despite no relation to the famed Steve Nash, no one can be disappointed with John making quite a name for himself in the Santa Clara Athletic Department. The Orinda native will be entering his fourth year as a goalie for the Bronco Water Polo team, but he's involved with Bronco sports in far more ways than just the pool.

Recently, it was announced that Nash will be taking over play-by-play duties for the women's basketball team.

"I looked at it as an opportunity to get involved in media relations, meet some people, and work in sports," said Nash.  

Nash has done all that and more. Some students will recognize Nash from his work as the co-host of the "Bronco Weekly Sports Wrap," a series of weekly YouTube videos, along with Santa Clara soccer player Lauren Matheson. 

"The idea is to give other students, and family and friends of Santa Clara Athletics an inside look at Santa Clara sports and what's on tap for Bronco Athletics," said Nash.

He expects the "Sports Wrap" to be even better this year with basketball player Denzel Johnson taking over some hosting duties, and appearances from several other athletes.

Nash finally got a chance to try his hand at play-by-play announcing last season. "Since I was six-years-old, I've always known that I wanted to get into play-by-play broadcasting," he said.

Without much experience to go off of when he filled in for last year's regular announcer, Nash got his first taste as a play-by-play broadcaster. 

"I didn't realize how much preparation it took," said Nash. "A lot of time you have to spend four or five hours preparing for a two hour broadcast." 

Despite some early tribulations, Nash was more than willing to accept the post.

There will be no rest for Nash, a three-time Western Water Polo Association All-Academic team member, but he is grateful for the many opportunities. 

"I'm really looking forward to it," said Nash. "Calling as many games as possible will be a great experience, and it will be a lot of fun to visit the other WCC campuses." 

Contact Ryan Mahoney at rmahoney@scu.edu.