Former ESPN analyst LaPhonso Ellis joining Big Ten Network

Months after being let go by ESPN, college basketball analyst LaPhonso Ellis has landed at another network.

On Monday, the Big Ten Network announced Ellis was joining its men’s college basketball game coverage for the 2023-24 season.

Play-by-play announcers for the network’s slate of games include Brandon Gaudin, Jason Horowitz, Kevin Kugler, Jeff Levering, Connor Onion, Cory Provus, Dave Revsine, and Jason Ross Jr.

Ellis joins a stable of game analysts that also includes Stephen Bardo, Robbie Hummel, Shon Morris, and Bruce Weber.

Bardo and Hummel will also call Big Ten games for NBC on Peacock this season.

In the studio, Mike Hall, Rick Pizzo, and Revsine host coverage, with John Beilein, Rapheal Davis, Mike DeCourcy, Hummel, Andy Katz, Trent Meacham, and Weber joining as analysts.

Additionally, BTN announced coverage plans for women’s college basketball games this season. Hall, Sloane Martin, Kylen Mills, and Matt Schumacker will call play-by-play on women’s games, with Shimmy Gray-Miller, Meghan McKeown, and Christy Winters Scott working as analysts. In the studio, Justine Ward hosts women’s coverage, with Gray-Miller and Autumn Johnson working as analysts. Like Bardo and Hummel, both Martin McKeown will also call Big Ten games on Peacock this year.

NBC’s Big Ten coverage on Peacock includes Jac Collinsworth, Noah Eagle (whose addition as reported last week), and Terry Gannon on play-by-play of men’s games, with Bardo, Tre Demps, and Hummel working as analysts. Ahmed Fareed, Jordan Cornette (laid off by ESPN in the same round as Ellis), and Josh Pastner will work as the primary studio team for men’s games. On the women’s side, Cindy Brunson, Martin, and Zora Stephenson will serve as play-by-play announcers, with McKeown and Julianna Viani serving as analysts. The studio coverage for women’s games will be hosted by Carolyn Manno, joined by reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year Aliyah Boston and McKeown.

The biggest news from both of these releases is BTN hiring Ellis, who was part of ESPN’s layoffs earlier this summer after years as part of the network’s college basketball coverage. It’s a strong hire for the network, given Ellis’ prominence at ESPN prior to being let go.

[Big Ten Network, NBC Sports]