Alumna Alex Curry shares her journey from SDSU to Angels’ sideline reporter

Los Angeles Angels first baseman Albert Pujols steps up to the plate, with two outs and bases loaded against the Minnesota Twins on June 3, 2017, at Angel Stadium.

With two strikes, he swings and hits a grand slam, picking up his 600th career home run.

Alex Curry, Angels sideline reporter, and San Diego State alumna is there to cover this historic event.

It’s moments like these that solidify Curry’s love for sports broadcasting.

The Manhattan Beach native developed a combined passion for sports and theater at a young age. Throughout her childhood, Curry was involved in a wide variety of sports.

Soccer cleats were replaced with tennis shoes.

Volleyball spanks were exchanged for a bathing suit and swim cap.

Whether it was on the pool deck, field or court, Curry had experience with it.

However, her skills extended beyond just athletics.

Curry had an affinity for the arts and grew up participating in theater where she learned to love public speaking — a skill that has aided her in entering the field of sportscasting.

“I love performing, I love talking,” she said. “I’m a really quick memorizer. I can figure out what I want to say in my head and just say it.”

These interests later followed her in her days at SDSU.

During her freshman year, Curry was a production assistant at Joe Lewis Production Company, which allowed her to continue to incorporate some aspects of theater into her life.

As a sophomore, Curry joined the SDSU women’s club soccer team. In 2006, the team brought home a National Intercollegiate-Recreational Sports Association national championship title.

“It was awesome to kind of get back in with everything,” Curry said. “I was starting to get the production and the sports world back in my life.”

These commitments came with sacrifice. Much of Curry’s time was spent not only on set, in the classroom and on the field, but also in her car.

Curry was constantly commuting between Los Angeles and SDSU in order to stay on top of her work as both a PA and a student.

Inspiration strikes, turning a San Diego classroom into a Los Angeles studio

Things changed her junior year of college.

After a project for Joe Lewis Production Company was cancelled, Curry was forced to reevaluate her current situation.

An SDSU writing class provided her the perfect opportunity to do so.

Curry was assigned a paper asking her to write about her career objective, as well as the steps she needed to take to get there. It was through this assignment that Curry began to fully acknowledge that she wanted to be a TV host.

“I’d never actually said it out loud,” she said regarding her professional goals. “I always knew what I wanted to do, but I think I was too scared to actually say it.”

Curry knew she needed to find an internship, which she later scored with Fuel TV, a television network featuring action sports.

“I absolutely loved it, from day one,” Curry said in memory of her days at Fuel TV. “I walked in the door and kind of told them I wanted to be a host on camera, and they were like ‘Okay, get in line, so does everybody else.’”

Her time with Fuel TV taught her a lot, and it was here that Curry performed her first-ever standup on the streets of Melrose while on assignment. Her time in front of the camera allowed her to get a taste of the excitement that goes along with being on television.

“I had a lot of work to do. Once I figured out what it was, I was like ‘Oh, I need to get better at this. Like a lot better at this,’” she said. “But it was exhilarating.”

This initial standup served as a sort of catalyst for Curry, who then spent much of her senior year at SDSU working towards improving her reporting skills. She used the internet to her advantage, gathering different news stories and filming herself covering whatever events she had selected from Google that day.

“I would record myself reading and practicing into my camera every single day, and watch it back until I felt like I had a good handle on reading on camera, and smile talking, and cadence and inflections and everything like that,” she said.

Preparation and opportunity make for a lucky equation

After graduating from SDSU in 2010 with a bachelor of arts in media studies and a minor in marketing, Curry moved back home and began attending Marki Costello’s hosting academy in order to continue to gain experience. Outside of this, Curry started to construct a reel for herself covering live events for free, while also working as a bartender to save up cash for the academy.

That’s when a little luck came into the picture for Curry.

“One of my favorite quotes that kind of perfectly explains my life is: ‘Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity,’” Curry said.

This luck came in the form of a FOX Sports producer.

What happens next sounds like the beginning of a bad joke, and goes something like this: a producer walks into a bar…

…and presents Alex Curry with an opportunity that would change her life.

Their encounter ended with Curry pitching a show to the producer, which later turned into an opportunity to cover the World University Games in China for FOX College Sports in 2011.

“That was the first step in the door, but just such a strange way,” she said. “I had five years of behind-the-scenes experience, internships, networking. I did the hosting academy and everything…and I ended up meeting the person that helped me get in while I was bartending.

“But I was so prepared for that moment that I was able to perform.”

Persistence leads to an outpouring of opportunity

Once Curry returned from China, a flurry of jobs came her way, one of which was the position of host for “Angels Weekly” on FOX Sports West.

During this time, Curry also worked as a co-host of Tailgate 48 on the Big Ten Network and was a sidelines reporter for the Pro Beach Volleyball series and Red Bull Signature series on NBC Sports.

Two years later, Curry became the sidelines and rinkside reporter for the Angels and Los Angeles Kings.

“It was such an awesome feeling to know that all the hard work and everything that you’d worked for, like finally…nothing’s happening, and then all of a sudden everything pays off,” she said.

The beauty of sportscasting: From substantial events to sports drinks

Curry recalled one of the most special moments she’s experienced in her career thus far.

After the tragic death of Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs in 2019, Curry had the opportunity to cover the game where the team honored Skaggs’ life. That night, she bore witness as the Angels threw a no-hitter in memory of their fallen teammate.

“It was one of the most magical things to watch unfold and be a part of, and watch this team find some sort of closure in the craziness that happened,” she said.

Aside from unforgettable experiences, Curry has also gotten herself into some “sticky” situations on the job.

During her first season as a full-time sidelines reporter for the Angels, Curry was conducting a post-game interview after Chris Iannetta’s walk-off home-run in the 12th inning when she was doused with a celebratory Gatorade shower.

“After that, I learned very quickly to never do an interview with my back to the dugout,” she said with a laugh.

This is just one of the many valuable takeaways Curry has gained from her time as a sidelines reporter.

While learning to dodge Gatorade is critical, the real lesson is in the importance of dedication.

“You have a chance to be better every single day,” she said. “You have to do something, one thing every single day to better your craft and better yourself.”

Additionally, Curry recognizes the significance of persistence for anyone interested in pursuing a career within this industry.

“If you hear a no, don’t let it bring you down. Let it inspire you to work harder and be better, and prove people wrong with your work ethic,” she said. “And if you’re prepared and persistent and polite, the hard work will eventually pay off.”

Editor’s note: This article was updated at 12:44 p.m. on April 30.