Broadcaster Nathan Barnett Moves Up to Double-A Frisco

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (OCTOBER 20, 2015) - Pelicans play-by-play broadcaster and Media Relations Manager Nathan Barnett has been promoted within the Greenberg Sports Group, and is headed to the Frisco RoughRiders, Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, where he will serve as Manager of Broadcasting and Media Development. Barnett, 26, spent the past two seasons as the Media Relations Manager and Broadcaster for the Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Pelicans, the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The Pelicans are a sister franchise of the RoughRiders as part of Greenberg Sports Group, led by Frisco CEO & General Partner Chuck Greenberg. 

Barnett is a native of Dallas, Texas, and returns home to the Dallas-Ft. Worth market in Frisco, Texas. After his first season with the Pelicans in 2014, Barnett was promoted to a full-time position in December 2014. He served as the "Voice of the Pelicans" for all 276 Pelicans regular season games and 13 postseason games the last two seasons and, this season, called the first Mills Cup Championship for the team since 2000. In addition to broadcasting games, Barnett handled media relations duties, working as the primary liaison between the team and the local and national media and also assisted in the team's ticket sales efforts. He also worked to streamline efforts with the sales, marketing, and promotions teams to gain national media exposure for nine different campaigns and initiatives during his tenure in South Carolina, including "Prostate Cancer Awareness Night" in 2014, a promotion that was covered internationally in both Canada and the United Kingdom.

"It is bittersweet to be leaving Myrtle Beach," said Barnett. "I love the people here: in the front office, the fans, and the players and coaches with the Chicago Cubs. This place has enabled me grow in countless ways and has changed me for the better, and for that, I am very thankful. I hope that I have helped make the organization better in my time here, and I have no doubt that great things will continue to happen. The professional and intelligent way that people go about their business with the Pelicans should be a model for the industry."

"Furthermore, I am thrilled to being staying in the Greenberg Sports Group family with the move to Frisco. Thank you to [Pelicans Chairman and Managing Partner] Chuck Greenberg and [Frisco RoughRiders General Manager] Jason Dambach.

In September, Barnett was named Carolina League Broadcaster of the Year in a vote by his peers. During histime in Myrtle Beach, the Pelicans' Twitter followers went up 200%, Facebook likes jumped 60%, and the team's Instagram account went from 844 followers in March 2014 to over 3,200 at the end of the 2015 season. He was part of the most successful sales effort in the 17 years of the franchise, posting the highest average attendance in team history with 15 sellouts and two postseason single-game attendance records.

With the move, Barnett joins a distinguished list of former Pelicans broadcasters who have accomplished careers in professional and collegiate athletics:

• Bryan Dolgin (1999-2001) has eight years of Minor League and Independent baseball experience and was the Pre and Post Game Show host and fill-in play-by-play broadcaster for the Texas Rangers from 2010-2012.
• Gary Griffith (1999-2006 with Pelicans) has nearly 30 years of Minor League Baseball play-by-play experience in six different leagues. He currently serves as the voice of Newberry College Men's and Women's basketball.
• Jon Laaser (2008) is the voice of Virginia Tech and Director of Broadcast Operations. After his time with the Pelicans, he called games for the Double-A Montgomery Biscuits and Richmond Flying Squirrels and collegiately with Virginia Commonwealth University.
• Tommy Thrall (2009) is currently the broadcaster for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Double-A, Southern League). 
• Tyler Maun (2009-2011) is an Editorial Producer for MiLB.com and Marketing and Communications Coordinator with the Australian Baseball League. After his time in Myrtle Beach, Maun spent a season behind the mic for the Altoona Curve (Double-A, Eastern League).
• Joel Godett (2012) is the Assistant Director of Broadcasting and Multimedia for Ball State University Athletics.

Barnett joined the Pelicans after a season as the Media Relations and Broadcast Assistant with the RoughRiders in 2013. Prior his time in Frisco, he spent six years in Southern California, including two seasons with the Ontario Reign, the now-AHL (AAA) affiliate of the LA Kings. He was part of a sales staff that led the league in attendance for a third straight year during the 2011-2012 season and held the position of Broadcaster and Account Executive during the 2012-2013 season, calling both home and away games for the team. His previous baseball broadcasting stops came with the Palm Springs POWER (Southern California Collegiate Baseball League) and the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters (Northwoods League). He has also filled in on SMU Women's Basketball broadcasts and served as a sideline reporter for High School football in McKinney, Texas. A graduate of Pomona College in Claremont, California, Barnett helped found the Claremont Colleges broadcasting program in 2011 as a student and received his degree in Politics.

The Frisco RoughRiders were purchased by an ownership group led by Pelicans Chairman and Manager Partner Chuck Greenberg and RoughRiders President Scott Sonju in 2014.

The 2015 season was the 17th season for the Pelicans franchise and first as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. For information on tickets to see the Pelicans in 2016, please call (843) 918-6000, e-mail [email protected], or visit www.MyrtleBeachPelicans.com.

About the Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Chicago Cubs and play their home games at TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The park has ranked in the top four in all of Minor League Baseball by Stadium Journey in each of the last four seasons. The same publication also placed the Pelicans in the Top 100 Stadium Experiences in all of sports in each of the last four years and the best in the Carolina League for four straight seasons as well. In May 2015, TicketReturn.Com Field at Pelicans Ballpark won the 2015 TripAdvisor.com Certificate of Excellence award. The Pelicans are the defending Mills Cup Champions, winning the title in 2015 as well as 2000 and co-Mills Cup championship honors in the inaugural 1999 season. The Pelicans have made nine postseason appearances behind 11 half-season Southern Division championships, including the first half of the 2015 season, as well as five Southern Division titles, most recently in 2015. For more information on the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, please contact the Pelicans at (843) 918-6000 or emailing [email protected].

 

About the RoughRiders

The Frisco RoughRiders are the Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers and play their games at beautiful Dr Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, Texas. The team was founded in 2003 and has finished first among all Double-A franchises in attendance in each of the last 11 seasons (2005-2015). In August 2014, the RoughRiders were purchased by an ownership group led by Chuck Greenberg and Scott Sonju. The new ownership group has spearheaded numerous major franchise improvements, from a completely new team identity to massive additions and upgrades to Dr Pepper Ballpark, including a giant new video board, sound system, sports bar, team store, improved food service and menu, and a complete overhaul of in-game entertainment. More than 130 former RoughRiders players have gone on to play Major League Baseball, including All-Stars Chris Davis, Elvis Andrus, Adrian Gonzalez and Ian Kinsler. For more information on the Frisco RoughRiders and Dr Pepper Ballpark, please visit RidersBaseball.com.