Autumn Johnson, a 2018 graduate of Kennesaw State University (KSU), has developed a career in sports journalism after beginning her journey as a nervous public speaker in college. Initially pursuing exercise science at KSU to stay close to basketball after playing at Evans High School near Augusta, Georgia, Johnson shifted her focus after managing the university’s women’s basketball team and realizing her passion for storytelling.
“That experience was a blessing in disguise because it caused me to pivot to something I truly loved, and that was storytelling and connecting with players,” Johnson said. “The coaching staff really encouraged me to pursue it, and I decided right then to make the leap.”
Johnson credits KSU’s partnership with ESPN+ for giving her an early opportunity in broadcasting. She created interview reels using equipment from the university’s technology services, conducting impromptu interviews with student-athletes to demonstrate her abilities.
“I wanted to show them that I can talk to these athletes and connect with them,” Johnson said. “I wanted to make sure they didn’t have a reason to say no. Fortunately, they saw right away there was something in me, and that meant so much.”
Her dedication included late nights preparing for interviews—a commitment remembered by fellow alumna Jaye Wallace.
“She’d be inside her dorm until 2 a.m. preparing questions and watching game film with people,” Wallace said. “She would go the extra mile to prepare for something that wasn’t even going to air, but that’s how dedicated she was to the craft.”
As a student reporter, Johnson covered major events such as the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship between Georgia and Alabama. During this period, she met sports journalist Cari Champion.
“I stand on the shoulders of what she created,” Johnson said. “She knocked down the door so I can walk in. It’s so important as a woman in this space to do that the same way my mentors have done for me, so that others can follow in our footsteps.”
Johnson started her professional career at ABC-affiliate WJBF in Augusta as a sports and news reporter before joining the NBA 2K League as both reporter and host during the pandemic-induced surge in esports viewership.
“I’ll never forget my mentor, Matt Arden, telling me that people want to know Autumn the person and not Autumn the broadcaster,” she said. “I still hold onto that. That taught me that you resonate with people when they can see you for your true, authentic self. I felt like I could really let my hair down and just be me.”
Her work led her next to digital hosting roles with NCAA women’s basketball coverage and later as an analyst for ION Media Networks’ WNBA broadcasts—at a time when league attendance reached record highs according to ESPN.
“I remember covering an Atlanta Dream game at Georgia Tech’s McCamish Pavilion and there being very few people in the stands,” Johnson said. “Just this season, I covered a game at State Farm Arena and looked up to see fans all the way up to the rafters. There was not an empty seat in the house.”
Johnson also organizes the AJTV Women in Television Summit each year in Atlanta—a networking event drawing female sports journalists from several states—and makes mentorship central by recognizing trailblazers.
“The fact she can get these powerful women in one room together is a testament to her and the relationships she’s built in the industry,” Taylor Snow ’17 said. “She’s been very intentional with creating a community around her, a community she can lean on for advice. She reciprocates that for others looking for their big break.”
“I want every woman to know they have someone to lean on,” Johnson added. “If I can make it a little bit easier for them, that makes me happy. I know I’ve done my job if I can continue to reach back and bring someone else along.”
This story appears alongside other alumni features in Summit Magazine.
