In 2025, there’s almost too much sporting content – from interviews, to social media clips, to tactical analysis and behind-the-scenes insight – but who is really worth listening to?
With less than a year until the start of the 2026 World Cup in North America, which promises to be one of the most watched sporting events of all time under the gaze of President Donald Trump[1], rights holders will be combing through through the airwaves to find the sharpest talents to bolster their coverage.
Here, Daily Mail Sport runs through the fastest rising stars on television, and ranks their potential as the next generation of presenters to become household names, and appointment viewing.
As part of this new world, the presenters’ social media reach and potential for crossover into a range of sports and programmes has also been taken into account – with many of the stars listed burnishing their brand with behind-the-scenes insight into their careers shared on TikTok and Instagram.
But to whittle down the pack from every Tom, Dick and Harriet who has more than 50,000 YouTube subscribers, we’ve stuck to the criteria that they have to have a mainstream presence too. Everyone included will be familiar, to some degree, to an avid sports fan.
Without further ado, here is our Power List of the brightest and best of this new crop. And if you’re not familiar with them now, you will be soon…
15. Ali Drew
Age: 35
Follower count: 151.7k (Instagram: 108k, X: 43.4k, TikTok: 313)
With football often proving a crowded market for an ambitious on-screen talent to muscle their way into, boxing – and its upstart streaming powerhouse DAZN – has become a more profitable hunting ground for stars keen to boost their international profile.
Drew, who once had a stint on MTV dating series Ex on the Beach, is one of the most prolific Fight Night talents.
As well as having a front row view for Oleksandr Usyk[3] versus Daniel Dubois[4], and the Ukrainian’s clashes against Tyson Fury[5], Drew has also been cutting her teeth on the PDC Darts circuit with ITV.
Next-big-thing rating: 7/10
Ali Drew is one of a number of presenters who has found DAZN’s boxing coverage a fertile ground for bolstering their careers
14. Henni Zuel
Age: 35
Broadcasters: Sky Sports
Follower count: 61.2k (Instagram: 57k, TikTok: 4,289)
A former professional golfer turned broadcaster, Zuel’s clarity of expression and hyper-specific analysis of the intricacies of say, Justin Thomas’ golf swing made her a highlight of Sky Sports’ superlative Ryder Cup coverage last month.
Zuel turned pro in 2008, signing to the same agency that represents David Beckham, and won twice on the Ladies European Tour before injuries curtailed her career in 2015 and she began working for Sky.
Having worked with the broadcaster for a number of major tournaments amid innovative changes in how the sport is covered on television, Zuel has handled cutting edge technology alongside can’t-miss insight – and will likely continue to be a presence on the channel for years to come.
She has a helpful mentor in Beckham, too – previously saying: ‘He is an inspiration to me – he has helped me a lot with advice and how to deal with different things. We speak whenever we feel the need to and the one thing he says is, “Just keep focused”. He inspires me to work hard and go the extra mile to achieve things.’
Next-big-thing rating: 7/10
Ex-pro Henni Zuel has taken like a duck to water to Sky Sports’ technology-first golf coverage
13. Alex Hartley
Age: 32
Broadcasters: BBC, TNT Sports
Follower count: 424.3k (Instagram: 194k, X: 183.6k, TikTok: 46.7K)
On the heels of her 2023 retirement from playing, England international Hartley wasted no time becoming cricket’s fastest rising pundit. Confident on both television and radio, Hartley has also dipped her toe into the podcast space, as a co-host of No Balls alongside her former England team-mate Kate Cross.
Hartley remains highly in-demand, and her TikTok following is likely to swell during this winter’s Ashes series Down Under. She has also proven her mettle by refusing to go easy on her former colleagues.
Last autumn, Hartley alienated some in the England women’s camp when she questioned the team’s fitness after their T20 World Cup exit. But after rising above being given the ‘cold shoulder’ by the side when covering the Women’s Ashes at the start of the year, there’s been no denting her desire to stay pitchside.
Next-big-thing rating: 7/10
Former cricketer Alex Hartley (left) has transitioned seamlessly to broadcasting after retirement
12. Jaydee Dyer
Age: 32
Broadcasters: CBS Sports, Amazon Prime
Follower count: 44.9k (Instagram: 28.4k, X: 15.7k, TikTok: 812)
With the sheer number of games reported on live during a typical episode of Soccer Saturday, it’s rare that a journalist can rise above a talented pack.
But that was the case when Dyer’s commentary during a clash between Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest went viral two years ago. So impressed were fans on social media by his accurate relaying of events that when it was announced that Dyer would be moving on that summer, commenters called out Sky Sports for their ‘criminal’ decision.
Dyer soon settled at the freshly relaunched TNT Sports, and since then, has been on a steady upswing. He now plies his Champions League trade with the perpetually viral CBS Sports Golazo in the US, and helped launch NBA on Amazon Prime this season. Plus, he’s one of boxing’s most reliable guns-for-hire.
Next-big-thing rating: 8/10
Jaydee Dyer’s Soccer Saturday clips were unmissable but the journalist has now found his footing at CBS Sports
11. Hannah Wilkes
Age: 35
Broadcasters: Sky Sports
Follower count: 17.2k (Instagram: 9,397, X: 7,922)
There are few better training grounds for a master-of-all-trades presenter than the constant churn of Sky Sports News, and Wilkes has parlayed her proficient hosting of the flagship show into a raft of other roles, including anchoring coverage of The Hundred this year.
But even more intriguing is her role covering the NFL, with American football’s European games this autumn a chance for the star to lead coverage of a sport where she has become an unmissable fixture for British audiences.
Next-big-thing rating: 8/10
Hannah Wilkes is a bright light for women in the NFL due to her myriad hosting duties for Sky
10. Jolie Sharpe
Age: 24
Broadcasters: Sky Sports
Follower count: 267.8K (Instagram: 128K, X: 32.6K, TikTok: 107.2K)
Sharpe was a jobbing presenter working for her side Chelsea’s fan television channel – and, more esoterically, Crufts – before an unexpected career Fairy Godmother arrived in the form of her appearance with Daily Mail Sport.
Our interview with Sharpe after England’s last-gasp 2-1 semi-final victory over the Netherlands at last summer’s Euros was viewed more than 43 million times.
Far from languishing as a one-hit social media wonder, the 24-year-old parlayed the surprise exposure into a year defining herself as one of the Gen-Z presenters-to-watch.
Roles including presenting Sky Sports’ brand-new Baller League, and rounding out the broadcaster’s teams at the US Open and NFL in London suggest that Sharpe is becoming the go-to name producers call in a bid to inject coverage with the youth factor.
Next-big-thing rating: 8.5/10
After going viral last summer for appearing in a Daily Mail Sport social media clip, Jolie Sharpe has more-than extended her 15 minutes of fame
9. Isa Guha
Age: 40
Broadcasters: BBC, Fox Sports
Follower count: 515.6k (Instagram: 236k, X: 277.7k, TikTok: 1,912)
While there are innumerable former sporting heroes plying their trade as pundits for mainstream broadcasters, only a handful of them have made the grade on this list – and Guha is a cut above.
As well as a seamless transition from the crease to the airwaves as a valued member of BBC’s Test Match Special, Guha has also been the one of the lead presenters at Wimbledon for the past two years.
Guha’s time in the spotlight hasn’t been a bed of roses: the 40-year-old had to weather a hail of controversy last year when she dubbed Indian cricketer Jasprit Bumrah the ‘most valuable primate’. But still heavily backed by the Beeb, Guha will likely be a fixture on the channel for years to come.
Next-big-thing rating: 8.5/10
Isa Guha has proved she is no one-trick pony, with the former England cricketer also leading the BBC’s Wimbledon coverage
8. Olivia Buzaglo
Age: 32
Broadcasters: DAZN, talkSPORT, Sky Sports, TNT Sports
Follower count: 299.3K (Instagram: 84.9K, X: 145K, TikTok: 69.9K)
Years on from writing her university dissertation on equality and gender in sports broadcasting, Buzaglo’s subsequent career has been praxis as she’s turned herself into one of the most prolific presenters in the new wave.
After starting at Premier League Productions as a footage logger, Buzaglo crossed over to the other side of the camera and now roves as a pitch-side reporter, presenter, co-host and interviewer for a slew of broadcasters.
Newly signed to TNT Sports this season and with a talkSPORT show to boot, Buzaglo is now dipping a toe into Champions League coverage – prompting comparisons to channel standouts like Laura Woods and Jules Breach – and with that assignment comes a new world of behind-the-scenes content for her feverish TikTok followers.
Next-big-thing rating: 8.5/10
A diehard Chelsea fan, Olivia Buzaglo has risen steadily since first featuring on the club’s fan television channel
7. James Lawrence Allcott
Age: 39
Broadcasters: DAZN, ESPN
Follower count: 162k (Instagram: 30.2k, X: 73.9k, TikTok: 58.2k)
While Allcott’s stronger presence on YouTube than mainstream broadcasting keeps him outside the top five of this list, the creator is unlikely to see his screentime limited for too long.
After accruing over 400,000 subscribers to his JLA programme on the streaming platform, and a slew of fans of his Ripple Effect podcast, Allcott was selected to helm DAZN’s Club World Cup aftershow The Press this summer.
And interestingly, Allcott was charged with launching the next-next-generation too, presenting the BBC’s Gen Z talent search programme Last Pundit Standing alongside Troy Deeney in July.
Next-big-thing rating: 8.5/10
James Lawrence Allcott appeared on DAZN’s Club World Cup coverage and is poised to break into mainstream broadcasting
6. Kelly Somers
Age: 34
Broadcasters: BBC, Channel 4, DAZN
Follower count: 151.4k (Instagram: 90.9k, X: 57.4k, TikTok: 3,194)
Somers’ inclusion in the pack almost feels like a gimme, as the journalist is arguably one of free-to-air TV’s most familiar faces.
But having entered the conversation at the end of last year as an outside, but credible, contender to take over from Gary Lineker as a Match of the Day host, it’s clear that Somers’ place in the firmament can’t be ignored.
The 34-year-old had already stepped into the legendary presenter’s shoes during his tenure, and like Lineker, is a regular at major domestic and international tournaments, including last year’s Paris Olympics.
The BBC are clearly aware of her crossover appeal too, and are working hard to make her one of their household names – she was even called up to weigh in on a badger sighting on an episode of Springwatch this year, VAR-style.
Next-big-thing rating: 9/10
Kelly Somers is one of the more established figures of the next generation but her star continues to rise
5. Ade Oladipo
Age: 43
Broadcasters: DAZN, talkSPORT, Amazon Prime
Follower count: 61.2k (Instagram: 25.9k, X: 28.9k, TikTok[6]: 5,489)
Like many featured on Daily Mail Sport‘s power list, Oladipo cultivated his career outside of the parameters of mainstream media, launching his own boxing-centric YouTube[7] channel in 2017.
But Oladipo, who won 2021’s Audio Productions Award for Best New Voice, was destined for crossover – and is now one of the most recognisable broadcasting faces in the sport thanks to his hosting of DAZN’s Boxing Show.
Oladipo is also a long-time talkSPORT fixture, first hosting daily Premier League[8] show The Social in 2020, and now appearing on The Transfer Insiders, and the broadcaster’s Fight Night coverage.
Keen to capitalise on their seizure of the rights for the new-look Club World Cup, DAZN also spotted an opportunity to make Oladipo one of the faces of their coverage in the United States – not the worst dress rehearsal for next year’s World Cup… [9]
Next-big-thing rating: 9/10
Ade Oladipo (right) gave a tremendous audition for a key role as part of next year’s World Cup broadcasting team in the United States this summer
4. Emma Paton
Age: 34
Broadcasters: Sky Sports
Follower count: 369.2k (Instagram: 275k, X: 94.2k)
As darts has exploded with the meteoric rise of talented teenager Luke Littler, so has its genial broadcasting face.
After an unlikely chance encounter with WWE superstar Triple H[10] seven years ago, Paton rocketed up the ladder at Sky Sports before taking over the biggest job in darts at the World Championships from Laura Woods in 2022.
With the sport going into overdrive – viewing figures for this year’s World Championships were up 39 per cent year-on-year – Paton has won herself legions of fans, as well as boosting her standing at the broadcaster.
The former 400m runner now fronts weekday magazine programme The Premier League Show, and was an integral part of their US Open coverage from New York too.
Next-big-thing rating: 9.5/10
Dubbed the ‘Queen of Darts’ for her role at Ally Pally, Emma Paton has proven she has broad appeal across Sky’s sports
3. Joe Thomlinson
Age: 31
Broadcasters: Sky Sports
Follower count: 257.6k (Instagram: 27.1k, X: 65.9k, TikTok: 164.6k)
Like many of the most successful sporting creators, Thomlinson’s rise involved him wearing more than just his presenter’s hat.
Now, he does that for Sky Sports, as the head producer of their Football Daily and Saturday Social offerings, two programmes designed to capture the YouTube audience that projected Thomlinson to social media stardom.
By taking a leading role behind the camera as well as in front of it, Thomlinson could well shape the broadcaster’s agenda across more than just its football coverage.
But that’s not to say he’s a slouch with the microphone in his hand; the 31-year-old is an impressive host of Sky Sports’ One on One podcast, and frequently gets the nod to sit down with some of the Premier League’s biggest stars.
Next-big-thing rating: 9.5/10
As both a producer and a presenter, Joe Thomlinson is paving the way for more social media crossover stars in the mainstream
2. Nieve Petruzziello
Age: 25
Broadcasters: DAZN, CBS Sports, Sky Sports
Follower count: 385.2k (Instagram: 170k, X: 132k, TikTok: 83.2k)
It’s easy to find Petruzziello, aka StuntPegg, on social media. All you have to do most weeks is follow the trail of comments lauding her for having ‘owned’ one of her sparring partners on any of the rotation of punditry shows she features on for DAZN or Sky Sports.
In a divided online universe, StuntPegg is the great unifier, seemingly one of the few talking heads venerated by all for her sharp opinions and articulate commentary.
Nieve Petruzziello (AKA StuntPegg) is universally admired for her articulate football viewpoint
Petruzziello further distinguished herself over the summer to another chorus of adulation on social media by being one of the few pundits to back Chelsea against Paris Saint-Germain in their Club World Cup final.
While Petruzziello’s relatively limited work with mainstream broadcasters (compared to her very strong presence on YouTube, which features videos as strong on cultural commentary as tactical analysis) keeps her from the top spot, betting on her continued upwards trajectory feels like a no-brainer.
Next-big-thing rating: 10/10
1. Alex Aljoe
Age: 33
Broadcasters: Amazon Prime, DAZN, Sky Sports
Follower count: 70.4k (Instagram: 44.6k, X: 25.8k)
Alex Aljoe is blazing a new trail in broadcasting with her staggeringly multi-lingual approach to player interviews
The journalist was the only UK correspondent able to speak to Chelsea starlet Estevao in the aftermath of his late winning goal against Liverpool
Ginger Rogers outdanced Fred Astaire because she did everything he did backwards and in high heels. Aljoe does everything her talented peers can do – but in Spanish, in French, in Italian and in Portuguese.
The broadcaster has become an international favourite on the back of her inclusion in Amazon Prime’s football coverage, where she is happy to translate players’ answers and speak to them in their native language.
Not only does it impress, it might even get her the scoop as otherwise shy players with a different mother tongue open up. This was the case when she became the first broadcaster to interview Chelsea’s latest teenage sensation Estevao Willian after his late winner against Liverpool.
But Aljoe doesn’t rely on her trilingual status alone. Her incisive questions and fast-paced style, which is based on her instructions to players to keep answers short and impactful, has made her post-match interviews unmissable.
And you can hear her on your local podcast network too – she’s just launched a new La Liga podcast with Gary Lineker’s Rest is Football stable. We wonder if she’ll be following Gary’s path in the broadcast world before long?
Next-big-thing rating: 10/10
References
- ^ Donald Trump (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ ITV (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Oleksandr Usyk (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Daniel Dubois (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Tyson Fury (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ TikTok (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ YouTube (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Premier League (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Club World Cup (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ unlikely chance encounter with WWE superstar Triple H (www.dailymail.co.uk)