JIM SZOKE
With over three decades of sports radio and television experience, Jim Szoke returns for his second year as the radio play-by-play voice for East Carolina football. Szoke is in his 30th season on the Carolina Panthers Radio network where he has broadcasted every game in franchise history. A 2022 WBT Hall of Fame inductee, Szoke is also the morning personality for WBT Radio in Charlotte where he has served as the sports director for 30 years. A native of Cleveland, Ohio, he graduated from Bowling Green State University with a degree in journalism.
KEVIN MONROE
Former Pirate defensive standout Kevin Monroe, while in his 22nd overall season on the network broadcast team, joins Szoke in the booth for the 17th-straight year as lead analyst after serving a previous role as sideline reporter. The four-year letterman and All-Conference USA performer was a key member of Pirates’ secondary beginning in 1996, topping the program in interceptions as a junior and senior, and currently shares a school record for the longest interception return with a 100-yarder against Louisville Nov. 14, 1998.
ANDREW BAYES
ECU Hall of Fame punter Andrew Bayes enters his third year as a member of the broadcast team. Bayes was a four-year letterman for coach Steve Logan in the mid 1990s and a consensus All-American punter as a senior in 1999. He led the NCAA with an ECU-record 48.1 yards per punt average in 1999, garnering All-Conference USA First-Team honors after being tabbed second-team all-conference each of the previous two seasons. He completed his eligibility with the highest career punting average (43.5 ypp) in school history and became the first player to average more than 40 yards per punt in four consecutive seasons.
MACEO DONALD
Donald, a four-year lettermen for the Pirates, enters his second year working for the ECU Sports Network broadcasting team and will be roaming the sidelines for every Pirate football game.
DARON VAUGHT
Daron Vaught enters his second season as the play-by-play voice of ECU Men’s Basketball. Vaught arrives in Greenville with an extensive background in broadcasting on the radio and in television for over a decade. Since 2012, Vaught has called games for the Durham Bulls, USA Baseball and North Carolina FC and NC Courage. The Rural Retreat, Va. native has also worked broadcasts for multiple sports on ESPN+ and ACC Network Extra over the course of his 11-year professional career. Vaught graduated from Emory and Henry College in 2012 with Bachelor of Arts degrees in mass communication and English literature. He earned his Master of Arts in interactive media from Elon University in 2014.
DR. GARY OVERTON
Dr. Gary Overton, affectionately known as "Coach O" to those in Pirate Nation, provides color analysis for every home baseball game as well as selected road and postseason events. Overton, a 2004 ECU Hall of Fame inductee, led the Pirate baseball program for 13 years (1985-87) as head coach, compiling an overall record of 427-237-1 before departing as the winningest skipper in school history. He guided East Carolina to five NCAA Tournament appearances, five Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament championships and two CAA regular season titles. Overton mentored 36 all-conference players and was named the CAA Coach-of-the-Year in 1990 and earned East Region Coach-of-the-Year accolades in 1993.
DAVID HORN
Rounding out the broadcast team is network engineer/producer David Horn. The 2024 campaign will mark Horn's 19th year where he serves as booth host in addition to his engineering and production responsibilities.
JEFF CHARLES (EMERITUS)
Jeff Charles had handled football and men’s basketball radio play-by-play duties at East Carolina for 35 year after previously serving in the same capacity at Virginia Tech, Illinois, and Furman prior to becoming the “Voice of the Pirates.” Charles called some of ECU's most memorable games on the gridiron and hardwood, including 15 bowls and over 1,000 basketball contests. He also served as play-by-play announce for ECU Baseball until the late 1990's. He earned North Carolina Sportscaster-of-the-Year honors from the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association in 2000 and 2014, and most recently, was recognized as an honorary alumnus by ECU in the fall of 2015. Charles also worked as sports director at WSB in Atlanta where he was the night-time host of a sports talk show heard throughout 38 states and Canada on the 50,000-watt clear channel station. A Piqua, Ohio native, Charles is a graduate of the Career Academy of Broadcasting School of Columbus, Ohio and received a degree in speech communications from Goshen (Ind.) College in 1975. Charles passed away on Feb. 10, 2023 at the age of 70. In July of 2023, Charles was elected to East Carolina’s Hall of Fame and inducted on Oct. 21, 2023.
