When Athletic Director Ty Pattison sent a request last year for a middle schooler to announce the starting lineups at a basketball game, Kamden Gentry answered the call.
Now, the seventh grader is a mainstay at middle school games, bringing energy to the crowd. Gentry said he would do it every day if he could.
“It just feels awesome,” Gentry said. “Being able to stay in the loop with Eudora sports, it still makes me happy.”
His goal is to hype up the crowd and help create a fun atmosphere for the game. He keeps his voice quiet and normal for the visitors, before lowering his voice and upping the volume to announce the Cardinals’ players.
It’s all about bringing joy to those watching the game, he said.
Pattison said when Gentry started announcing it seemed to come naturally to him.
“Kamden tried it, and he was hooked,” Pattison said. “The students recognized he was so good at it.”
He takes after Kansas City Chiefs’ radio broadcaster Mitch Holthus, whom Gentry was introduced to when he started watching Chiefs’ games five years ago.
“He says things that will stay with people forever,” Gentry said.
Gentry still remembers the first game he watched, a 2019 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, despite an injured Patrick Mahomes. He watched with his grandfather, which showed him the power of sports to bring people together. He knew he wanted to get involved.
“It just brings people to joy, happiness, makes friendships,” Gentry said. “Really cool. Everybody can talk about it and relate to it.”
His mom, Sarah Gentry, said she watched his grandfather take on a new love for the Chiefs as her son did, creating a bond between the two.
“He’ll go over to Grandpa’s and they’ll watch the sports and they’ll have snacks,” she said. “And that’s just kind of their little time together. That’s just the two of them.”
As Gentry’s love for sports grew, so did his knowledge. He researched sports stats, coaches, media and more. He also worked as a basketball manager last season, which allowed him to remain close to the sports world.
“His presence kind of made our team feel kind of more like a family,” eighth grade basketball coach Tyler Blackburn said. “And, you know, now with him calling the lineups, he kind of sustains that feeling of closeness, especially in the home games.”
Blackburn said he loves being able to get as many people involved in sports as possible. Even if they aren’t playing, everyone involved gets to learn from the process and build relationships.
“Not everybody’s going to be able to play varsity basketball,” he said. “But we want to get as many kids involved as possible.”
Gentry hopes to spend the rest of his life around sports, either using his research skills to become a sports analyst, or his vocal energy to become a professional announcer.
“Just seeing him so excited and so passionate about it, I love that,” Sarah Gentry said. “And I’ve had several members of the community come up to me and tell me what a great job he does and how much they enjoy watching him.”
Pattison said similar to some of Gentry’s idols — Holthus, who is known as the voice of the Chiefs, and Brian Hanni, known as voice of the Jayhawks — Gentry is starting to cement his own status.
For the basketball team, Gentry’s voice makes home games special. He gives the Cardinals a unique environment that helps make home games feel like home.
“It makes it feel like the game is kind of more centered on, like, the students and their experience, which is what it should all be about,” Blackburn said.
Reach reporter Cuyler Dunn at [email protected]
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