Editor’s Note: Connor Seuferling is a sports editor at the Daily Evergreen, but this does not factor into the story’s content.

While most students made the long drive home for spring break, six hand-picked members of the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication found themselves on a different kind of vacation. For five days in March, they visited ballparks in Peoria, Scottsdale and Mesa, Ariz. following the Mariners, Athletics and Rockies as the teams prepared for the 2025 MLB season.

Spring training is not only preseason for the athletes but preseason for the media as well, making it the place for young reporters to both get access and get quality reps outside of class.

“I’m really looking for more opportunities to get students out practicing their skills,” said Murrow College professor Wendy Raney. “Spring break is such a good time to do that because they have that free time so it all kind of just fit.”

Raney created the trip in 2023, hoping to provide an experimental learning opportunity for her students. As a professor of sports journalism and strategic sports writing, she has worked to expand resources for students, going so far as to pioneer the Sports Journalism course at the Murrow College.

While in Arizona, students got in-depth access to players, coaches, staff and broadcasters. Most days saw the group getting up around 6 or 7 a.m. and arriving at ballparks at 9 a.m.

They met with the communications teams, who showed them around each team’s complex, meeting staff and getting to see behind-the-scenes of Major League Baseball. Students then had the opportunity to sit in on press conferences and interview players they were interested in. They also migrated up to the press box to watch the game, getting the chance to talk to journalists and broadcasters in their natural habitat.

The overall goal of the trip was simple: get students to develop their reporting skills in a risk-free environment. How do you do that? Push them out of their comfort zone.

“I was pushed out of my comfort zone a lot,” first-year broadcast news student Connor Seuferling said. “At first, I felt reserved about going up to anybody (but) eventually I mustered up the courage to go up to Rick Rizz.”

Sophomore broadcast production student Avery Anderson reported similar benefits when she was pushed outside her comfort zone.

“It improved my interviewing skills 300%,” Anderson said. “I’m scared of getting out of my comfort zone a little bit, but I got to talk to a bunch of high-level MLB players that I’ve looked up to forever … boosting my confidence all around.”

Raney said the discomfort is an important part of the trip’s benefits.

“They’ve got their classmates who are assisting and supporting them, so it is testing them at a really high level but in a supportive environment,” Raney said. “They’re definitely outside their comfort zone, but almost immediately they are doing things they never imagined they could.”

While on the trip, students got to work on their journalism skills, pursuing stories and conducting meaningful interviews.

“My favorite interview was Max Muncy,” Seuferling said. “I loved this guy. I kind of connected the dots myself, but his teammate Jacob Wilson was also teammates with him in high school. So, it was kind of cool to see them come back together on the A’s, and now they are the starting middle infielders for the team.”

“I was doing a story on one-knee stances for catchers and got to talk to several different catchers, including Blake Hunt,” Anderson said. “I talked with him for about 10 minutes about catching mechanics and why one knee down helps and the differences between that and a traditional stance … he dove into why it is so important to have modern mechanics and be a part of how the game is evolving.”

Being able to chase these stories in a media environment that welcomes them and gives them room to breathe is an invaluable learning opportunity for students. Raney said she intended for the trip to be an extension of the classroom, letting students learn while getting to enjoy one of the best preseason events in sports. In the end, students came away from the trip with numerous lessons in the field of reporting, but more importantly, a confirmed sense of their career choice.

“Finding those new perspectives … kind of reaffirmed that this is the industry that I want to work in,” Anderson said. “Whether that is baseball operations or journalism, I am on the right track.”

Seuferling found similar affirmation that working in baseball could be a potential career path.

“What it affirmed the most is that there is going to be a place for me somewhere,” Seuferling said. “It told me there were options and that baseball will be a great opportunity.”

Although the trip focused on growing students’ skills, they also had room for a little fun. Specifically, getting dirty sodas from Swig, a fountain-soda chain founded in Utah.

“We like to joke that the best memory was going to Swig,” Seuferling said. “It was constantly coming up in conversation, you know, ‘what’s your Swig order?’We did a drink review and it was super fun.”

Whether it was watching spring training games, interviewing players or even getting drinks at Swig, the students returned from Arizona with an abundance of stories and a new perspective on their careers. Anderson summed it up best calling it “one of my best experiences overall.”