Sports romantic takes passion, talent to Scranton

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Whatever it may be, Dylan Price is ready for the next magical moment in sports history. It doesn’t matter if it happens at a high school basketball game or Game 7 of the World Series, Price wants to be there.

The second-year Penn State journalism major talks about sports with a giddy smile and a twinkle in his eye. It’s a passion that began as a child during weekly conversations with his grandfather, he said. It will continue this summer in Moosic, Pennsylvania, when Price becomes the rare sophomore to work in the booth of the Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders.

“How can you not be romantic about sports?” Price said with the widest of grins. “At the end of the day, there are sports stories that you'd almost think were written in a script, because they can't be real, but they are.”

With two years to go before his Penn State graduation, Price has already built up an impressive stat sheet. He has always been enamored by the storylines of sports, but unfortunately there weren’t many outlets for burgeoning sportswriters in his hometown of Monticello, New York. So, he made his own.

Growing up, Price talked to his grandfather on the phone every Sunday. There were ESPN and sports websites, but this was Price’s introduction to extreme sports fandom – a Yankees fan (Price) and a Mets fan (his grandfather) retelling and reflecting on the past week’s games. It wasn’t just baseball. It was all sports. Price even helped his grandfather with his weekly NFL picks.

“He never did it for gambling or for betting,” Price said. “I think it was a competition with my grandmother. I was his inside informant every week.”

Just before turning 10 years old, his grandfather passed away. Price lost his outlet. He participated in multiple sports in school — cross country, golf, indoor track, and trapshooting, or, as he describes them, “sports you probably wouldn’t watch on Saturday or Sunday.” He enjoyed playing the sports, but knew he was no blue-chip athlete, he said.

One of those magical moments

One day when he was 13 years old, one of those magical moments happened at the Palisades Mall in West Nyack, New York. It wasn’t on a court or a field, but Price had an experience that set his sports career on a new, higher trajectory.

“My dad is a foreman for an electrical company, and he went to Puerto Rico to help after Hurricane Maria,” Price said. “It was around Christmas time, and he was away. So, to perk me up, my mom took me to the mall for a Miguel Andújar signing. He was a prospect for the Yankees.”

While in line at the event, Price revealed his deep knowledge of the Yankee organization to a nearby attendee. He talked about the farm system, the current star pitchers and whether the rotation could hold up over the long season.

“The guy looked at me and my mom and said, ‘I have a sports website. I'd love to see your kid do something for it,’” he said. “He offered me a job to start writing for him unpaid and then eventually paid covering the Yankees and the Jets. It was a lot of luck that started it all.”

In less than a year, Price wrote 100 articles for the site. He then started his own podcast, called “Ambitious with Dylan Price.” On the show, he interviewed an impressive roster of guests, including NFL players, college football coaches, racecar drivers and even former U.S. senators. Soon after that, he was freelancing about New York sports for another publication.

He accomplished all of this before becoming a student at the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications where, he said, things really started to blossom.

Signing with Penn State

“With all the opportunities available to me … I earmarked Penn State as my dream school,” Price said. “I looked at other schools, but there really was no doubt. University Park was going to be where I called home for four years, and the experience has been incredible.”

There were countless activities, groups and resources to choose from at Penn State, but Price wanted to “hit the ground running” and “put my all into just one.” He chose CommRadio, the student-run, online radio station.

Price quickly moved through the ranks, starting with play-by-play for sporting events at State College High School, to calling, producing and writing about 14 Penn State varsity programs.

“Dylan has a work ethic the likes of which I've rarely seen in my 20 years at Penn State,” said Jeff Brown, CommRadio general manager and a lecturer at the Bellisario College. “He is very driven, knows what he wants out of life and knows that he has to work his butt off and keep his nose clean to get there.”

Dylan is one of three student general managers at CommRadio. His highlights for the past year are calling the Michigan State football game and providing the historic play-by-play for Jalen Pickett’s 2,000th career point during the men’s basketball game versus Illinois.

This summer, Price takes his talents to AAA baseball. The RailRiders are part of the Yankees organization, often the last stop before the major leagues. He credits his internship last year with Bold Gold Media Group for making the connection. He says it’s hard to believe he will be working the booth for his favorite baseball team’s minor league squad so early in his career.

“I didn't think there was any chance that they’d want a sophomore kid. I don’t have the most play-by-play experience. I’m still learning,” he said. “I had other things lined up. I didn’t think they were going to pick me, but it worked out and I am going to spend the summer in Scranton.”

Being a diehard Yankee fan, Price is familiar with the RailRiders. He knows a lot of big-league talent makes its way through Scranton, and he’s ready to be part of the magic that makes moments memorable and seasons historic.

“It’s going to be busy, and I am really excited,” he said. “I will be writing, interviewing and broadcasting. I’m going to get the opportunity to try my hand at play-by-play. It’s surreal.”

Price said he wants to be involved in every possible part of game day, to be a sponge and to soak up every moment. If that means it will be one of the busiest summers of his life.

“Game on,” he said. “I’m ready to go.”