Kyle Tucker returns to sports media, joins 247Sports as Director of Basketball Content

Kyle Tucker made it 17 months before college basketball dragged him back in.

The longtime college basketball writer left The Athletic in August 2024 after 21 years in sports journalism, calling it “the toughest decision of my life” before joining Elevate Sports Ventures as Story Director. He spent the fall and winter working with NFL, NBA, and NHL teams on fan experience strategy for new stadium and arena projects.

But at some point over the past year and a half, Tucker apparently realized he’d rather be covering games, even as college basketball devolved into something an NIL-fueled, transfer-portal free-for-all that barely resembles the sport he left behind.

“You might’ve noticed college basketball is kind of epic right now,” Tucker posted Tuesday on X. “Not covering it was making me itchy. So … let’s do it.”

247Sports announced Tuesday that Tucker is joining as Director of Basketball Content, bringing one of the sport’s most respected voices back to the beat he covered for more than two decades. He’ll write features, columns, and insider notes while building a multimedia presence across the platform.

“Michael Corleone said it best: Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in,” Tucker said. “College basketball has never been more compelling. Never messier either, I know, but messy is compelling. The combination of tension and talent in the sport right now means there are countless great stories to tell. I can’t wait to tell them.”

Tucker spent six years at The Athletic as Kentucky’s beat writer and a national college basketball reporter, building a reputation for unflinching coverage of John Calipari’s program. When one-and-done stopped working, and Kentucky kept flaming out in March, Tucker wrote about it. When Calipari’s roster construction became a problem, Tucker said so. That kind of coverage didn’t always play well with blue-blood fanbases, but it made Tucker essential reading for anyone who wanted to understand what was actually happening in Lexington.

Before The Athletic, he spent seven years each at The Courier-Journal and SEC Country covering the Wildcats, plus another seven covering Virginia Tech football for The Virginian-Pilot. His last story before leaving journalism was a feature on former Kentucky star Willie Cauley-Stein about surviving a near-death experience and rebuilding his life. Tucker later said he chose that story deliberately as his final one because it captured everything he valued about the job.

“Everyone in college basketball knows Kyle Tucker is special,” said 247Sports Vice President of Content Adam Stanco. “I personally admired his work for years because of his authenticity, originality, and fearlessness. His voice resonates, and that is the highest compliment for any creative. Through his written work, podcasts, and multimedia opportunities, our 247Sports subscribers are going to feel his impact immediately.”