Lander Wins Peach Belt Sports Information Staff of the Year

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – For the second time in four years and the third time overall, the Lander sports information staff has been named the Peach Belt Conference Sports Information Staff of the Year, as announced Tuesday evening at the league's annual awards banquet.

The staff consists of Director of Athletic Communications and Lander alumnus Turner Kirby, who is finishing his fourth year with the department, assistant sports information directors Hailey Franklin and Jason Guth, both finishing their second years, and creative/video graduate assistant Julie Szmitko.

Lander previously earned the award in 2023 with Thomas Holland, Hunter Julius, Kirby and then-graduate assistant Amanda Scott, and also captured the honor in 2016 under Lander Hall of Famer Bob Stoner. The award is voted on by the sports information staffs throughout the Peach Belt Conference.

During the 2025-26 academic year, the staff covered all 27 varsity sports across more than 200 events, including seven NCAA Tournament appearances, four conference championships and two regional championships.

The department also hosted the first and second rounds of the Peach Belt Conference men's and women's soccer championships, the NCAA Division II Women's Soccer Southeast Regional Championship, the 2026 NCAA Division II Super Region II Wrestling Championship, the 2026 Peach Belt Conference Men's Basketball Championship and the opening weekend of the 2026 Peach Belt Conference Baseball Championship.

In April, Kirby, Franklin and Guth traveled to Indianapolis to cover the Lander men's basketball team's appearance in the 2026 NCAA Division II National Championship game, producing content throughout the event across Lander Athletics social media platforms.

During the 2025-26 academic year, Lander Athletics social media accounts on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube gained more than 2,000 combined followers. Since the summer of 2024, when the current staff began working together, the department's total social media following has increased by more than 20 percent.

In addition to day-to-day coverage responsibilities, the staff, alongside game operations graduate assistant Matt Weyer, oversees a group of more than 15 student workers who assist with all aspects of game-day operations, including broadcasts on the Bearcat Broadcasting Network. During the 2025-26 season, the network produced nearly 150 broadcasts that totaled more than 80,000 viewers. The 2025-26 year also saw the return of Lander Athletics events being streamed on YouTube.

"This award is a testament to our staff and the amount of work they put in at all hours of the day, especially behind the scenes that most people do not see," Kirby said. "It also shows the amount of pride that not only Hailey, Jason and Julie have, but also the pride of our student workers and game-day staff who help us put on the best product we can both in person and online. Anyone who helped us in any role this year, from the administration that is at every game to people who worked just one game, all played a role in this, and I cannot be more grateful for each and every one of them."

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