Cassandra (Cassie) Negley ’13 is currently traveling around the country reporting on the WNBA playoffs for Yahoo Sports in a year where the league finished one of its most successful seasons. Television viewership (ESPN) this season increased 170%, in large part due to rookie sensation Caitlin Clark.
“Before (Clark) you could talk to almost any player you wanted. The best example I can give is that I was at the 2023 WNBA Finals in Dallas and the scrum (media members) had about 15 people,” Negley said. “2024 came around and in Albany you could not move around that locker room at all.”
Negley (right) reporting from the Yahoo Sports news desk.
Negley started on the “quick strike team” at Yahoo in 2018, where she worked the news desk covering almost any topic that would fall under breaking news. Eventually, her editor asked members of the team if they could cover any topic, what would they choose? Each writer was allowed to carve out some time each week to cover their topic. Negley chose the WNBA, covering the latest updates and making videos from her home.
“There are not many full-time women’s basketball writers in the country and I’m now on my second year as a full-time WNBA basketball writer,” Negley said. “Alongside the WNBA season I cover the offseason, draft lottery, free agency, and the college season.”
Negley currently manages a live blog for Yahoo Sports, keeping fans up to date with everything that is happening in the WNBA. During the playoffs, she spends a lot of her workday at the team’s practice facility keeping up on the latest news or injuries, talking with coaches and players, or attending media scrums (an improvised press conference). In between, she talks with her editor to bounce around potential story ideas.
“On game day I typically get up early and check in at the event. I see if there are any updates. If there is an injury, when are they expected back? Is somebody new stepping in with the first team?” Negley said. “For playoffs, you always need to think ahead on story lines. What does it mean if New York wins their first championship? Or if Las Vegas wins their third, how can we cover that background?”
Negley filming an interview with Caitlin Clark
While Negley has always known that she wanted to be a sportswriter, it wasn’t until she attended SUNY Brockport that she realized what sports she was interested in covering.
“I always had a passion for covering athletes and good teams,” Negley said. “I found myself wondering why our women’s softball or soccer teams were not getting as much coverage. I realized it was easier for me to cover them because they weren’t getting that attention.”
Negley started writing for The Stylus her freshman year as a sportswriter before quickly moving into the role of the sports editor. During her senior year, she became the Editor in Chief of the paper, writing columns and overseeing the entire publication.
“It’s so cliché, but take advantage of your opportunities,” Negley said. “Write for The Stylus. Try out the TV or radio station. Build your relationships. It is such a simple thing, but when I was at Brockport, I saw a lot of people were not doing it.”