The National Sports Media Association (NSMA) has named Ole Miss play-by-play announcer David Kellum as Mississippi Sportscaster of the Year for the ninth time in his career.
Kellum, a native of Oxford and Ole Miss alum, is in his 34th year as the “Voice of the Rebels” and has been associated with Ole Miss broadcasts for 46 years. He became the play-by-play announcer for Rebel baseball as a freshman student at Ole Miss in 1978 and is one of only a few announcers in the SEC handling play-by-play for football, men’s basketball, and baseball.
Though Kellum received the accolade, he credits other employees within the Ole Miss network, whom he considers teammates, for their hard work and dedication to ensuring that the broadcasts are high-quality. Kellum says he is honored to be able to represent them.
“It’s special. You get voted on by your peers in the state. It’s a good thing and exciting to be able to win,” Kellum said. “It’s an honor. We’re a team. We’ve got a lot of people that go into the success of the Ole Miss network. It was neat that I was able to win that [award] and represent them.”
In 2022, Kellum was touted for his final call of game two of the College World Series championship in which Rebels pitcher Brandon Johnson recorded a strikeout, thus securing the first-ever national title in Ole Miss baseball history.
Prior to the game, Kellum was asked if he had a script prepared if Ole Miss happened to win it all. The longtime sportscaster did not have anything prepared. He was determined to call the game in real time and let the moment come to life right in front of his eyes — and it did.
“I had a couple of my friends in the league call me that morning, wish me the best, and ask, ‘You got something prepared to say?’ I said, ‘Heck no. I’m not doing that. I’ll screw it up if I try to read something. I’m just going to call the game,'” Kellum continued. “I just basically described what I saw and didn’t blow it. It was really cool for me, in my career, having done this so long, to get that opportunity.”
SportsTalk Mississippi’s Richard Cross was named NSMA Mississippi Sportscaster of the Year in 2018.
