Tyler Beraldi of Andover, Mass., grew up idolizing the reporters on the field just as much as the athletes they interviewed. While most coveted names scrawled across trading cards, rosters and jerseys, Beraldi paid close attention to those covering sporting events—his eyes were on the sidelines, not on the starting lineups.

Beraldi earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Massachusetts (UMass) Amherst in 2023. During his undergraduate studies, he spent time as a sports anchor at Amherst Media.

“I got really lucky,” said Beraldi. “A connection put in a good word for me at Amherst Media, and she offered me an interview as long as I sent a sample of my writing.”

Until that point, he felt restricted by the lack of experiential opportunities available to freshmen and sophomores, but this did not curb his determination.

“YouTube was really the thing that, prior to my position now, honed my skills. I’d write my script, track it, edit B-roll and put together a five-to-30-minute video. I didn’t know how to edit audio, so I had to figure out how to write in my voice, speak in my voice and—more importantly—get over the sound of my voice.

“I joined the workforce already working and prepared; I did sound cast for my high school news and used the skills I sharpened through my YouTube channel to impress during my interview because I was practicing all along. At Western Mass News, where I’ve been for more than two years now, it took me eight months to secure my first story, but I received instant praise after. The broad strokes of my skills were there when I started, and what I learned from YouTube—marketing myself independently, monetizing my own content—paid off.

“In this industry, there’s a lot of waiting for opportunities, but I take the ball and run with it every time it’s handed to me because I’ve been dribbling it in my bedroom all along.”

Beraldi began at Western Mass News interning as a production assistant. He slowly scaled the ranks, first as content producer and assignment desk editor, then multimedia journalist and now as weekday morning and sports anchor. He runs sports shows, Frozen Frenzy and Friday Night Frenzy, that streams on digital and linear platforms, which makes it accessible to all viewers.

“During the week, I’m the morning anchor and wake up at 3am,” he explained. “Then, halfway through the week my schedule flips and I work until 11pm for Frenzy. But I really love what we’ve built this sports show to be, and we’ve broadened the coverage we do, too, to make sure more athletics get a platform. For example, we got a tip about a regional bowling tournament in Chicopee, and that wound up being some of my favorite content to date—those lanes were more packed than I-91 at rush hour.”

Earlier this year, he joined the Western Mass News team at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., weekly for coverage of the Patriots’ long-awaited return to the Super Bowl. During those many weeks, he was granted a tour of the locker room and exclusive interviews with players and coaching staff during press conferences, but he found himself more daunted by his contemporaries.

“I spent more time watching my peers in the media room and studying them than watching the players,” Beraldi laughed. “The Pats were superheroes to me growing up, but this was business, and I quickly realized that it was just another interview. I got over the nerves. The jitters subsided. Strangely enough, it was viewing the locker room that reminded me that these players are my age and just as human.”

He quaked in the shadows of larger-than-life presences like Phil Perry and Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports Boston, but he was grounded the moment the conference ensued. They were all hungry for the same answers and determined to find the right hook or angle that would set their writing apart.

“Getting a question in with Mike Vrabel during that Super Bowl run was amazing,” Beraldi recounted. “Both NFL and NBC Sports Boston reposted it, too.”

Throughout the reporting process, a sportswriter plays many roles. Prior to the interview, they are a sleuth. During the interview, they are an analyst. But when they return to the desk? That’s where the magic happens. Beraldi has the added role of being a broadcaster for his own content, too.

“The pressure I felt to do well [during the press conference] was massive, but I reframed the experience as practice for what I hope to achieve one day. When I returned to my own newsroom, everything felt easier because I had proven myself—when I get the opportunity, I know what to do with it.”

Beraldi’s had many milestones so far, like covering the Patriots’ road to the Super Bowl and the 2026 Fenway Park home opener, and he looks forward to more, including the upcoming World Cup games at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. As a Massachusetts native, his gravitational pull to all things Boston teams was inevitable, but the sport around which everything else orbited was boxing.

“Boxing is my whole life,” Beraldi said. “My dad broke the record for the oldest fighter to win his professional debut at the age of 54 just a couple of years ago.”

Beraldi began formal training as a freshman in high school. At UMass, he was captain of the school’s NCBA Division I boxing team under co-head coaches Sean Donnelly and Meiya Berkey. He grew up in the sport’s culture, and loved having consistent sparring partners, a supportive team dynamic and guidance from his coaches.

“Boxing is so much more mental than physical,” he stated. “That means that having good leadership is key. They worked with what I brought to the table and taught me to use what I already had. It was rewarding to work with people that are trying to get into boxing, too, because I had something they didn’t: years of experience. I loved having a group of people with mutual interest and showing them the sport that taught me discipline. I watched the freshmen I sparred with and trained rise to achieve national titles—providing an assist on their journeys was amazing.”

He still visits his alma mater occasionally to assist at sparring practice, but anchoring on the news has forced Beraldi to step back from boxing and quite literally save face, but that doesn’t mean he plans to sit on the sidelines forever.

“Covering Hooplandia last year was one of my favorite stories,” he said fondly. “It’s a huge tournament; you get big names in attendance like Brian Scalabrine, which emphasizes the importance, and the involvement from the Basketball Hall of Fame makes so much sense.

“Springfield is a great place to be a basketball fan. There is no better place for coverage at the high school level, especially between Hooplandia and the Hoophall Classic, and, on a larger scale, Massachusetts is the home of the best basketball team in NBA history,” he said, referencing the Boston Celtics.

When asked if he’d be returning to Hooplandia this year, Beraldi assured our Hoop Scoop reporter that he’d be balancing a microphone in one hand and a ball in the other.

“I want to see the team from 22News on the courts this year,” he laughed. “If they want to keep on ducking the smoke, that’s fine, but I’ll be drafting a team with my friend David Germain at Western Mass News.”

Hooplandia is grateful to the talented sportswriters that visit our 3x3 tourney and festival each year and help us tell the story behind what we do, recalling basketball's start while giving everyone a way to play in its bright new future.