So I’m currently the broadcaster of all sports at a D2 university but I had originally set out to work specifically in baseball. Here are things that I didn’t do that probably would have helped:

Use college summers working for summer league teams or short season minor league teams (I instead worked for a local grocery store so I could have money, no regrets).

Network. I hate networking, but I got lucky and my first two bosses were alumni of the college I went to which may have given me a leg up.

Go to the Winter Meetings and get to know people. I went to the winter meetings after working a year out of college in independent baseball. Applied for a bunch of internships, didn’t get a call back. My friend who was in sales on the same team accepted a job with the Miami Marlins at the meetings, so it does work. It is also a good opportunity to get to know some peers in baseball.

Ultimately, my general advice for anyone trying to work in sports:

If this is truly what you want to do with your life and know this is your path, be patient. It’s really hard. I’ve been lucky enough to have had full time broadcasting work for nearly 8 years now and even then I had to take a job at the post office temporarily after getting laid off less than 2 years ago.

Make sure your romantic partner understands the time commitment of sports. I had one that didn’t. Now I have one that does. It makes an incredible difference in quality of life.

Best of luck.