Jess Sims Hosts Brilliant Debut of Courtside Alt-Cast at 2026 NCAA Women’s Final Four

Peloton instructor Jess Sims is making waves in sports broadcasting this spring with a dual role at the 2026 NCAA Women’s Final Four Basketball Tournament in Phoenix. The Peloton tread instructor has been named both sideline reporter for the tournament’s main broadcast and host of ESPN’s brand-new Courtside alt-cast, marking a significant expansion of her media presence that has been building steadily for years.

Jess Sims’ Sideline Role at the NCAA Women’s Final Four

Jess Sims takes the sideline reporter position for the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, working alongside play-by-play broadcaster Beth Mowins and analyst Debbie Antonelli. The assignment spans from the First and Second Rounds in Ann Arbor, Michigan, through the Final Four and National Championship in Phoenix, giving Sims prime visibility throughout the tournament’s most prestigious games.

Sims is no stranger to the college game, having served as a sideline reporter for some of the season’s most high-profile women’s basketball matchups, and she is also a weekly contributor to College GameDay Built by the Home Depot, where she spotlights standout athletes and coaches.

If you want the full backstory on how she got here, our earlier coverage of Jess Sims’ Women’s March Madness assignment lays it all out.

Courtside Alt-Cast Debut at the NCAA Women’s Final Four

The NCAA Women’s Final Four presentation includes ESPN’s brand-new Courtside alt-cast, presented by AT&T. Jess Sims hosts this innovative new offering, which airs on Friday, April 3 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2, and Sunday, April 5 at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN.

The Courtside alt-cast replaces the long-running Bird and Taurasi Show, which ran for six years. With both Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi stepping back from active play and moving on to other ventures, ESPN opted to reimagine the format with a wider rotating panel placed directly at courtside. Awful Announcing has a great deep dive into the new format and what it means for ESPN’s women’s basketball coverage, which you can read here.

The alt-cast brings fans directly into the action as the crew sits courtside, playing off the electric energy of the games, crowd, and more.

A Star-Studded Courtside Lineup

Sims is not going it alone. Olympic bronze medalist Ilona Maher joins the Courtside crew for both semifinal games as well as the championship, while WNBA stars Natisha Hiedeman and Courtney Williams, known as the StudBudz, serve as analysts during both semifinals. WNBA Champion and Finals MVP Chelsea Gray joins Sims and Maher for Sunday’s Championship game. ESPN content creator Katie Feeney rounds out the team, handling roaming interviews and fan reactions.

ESPN SVP of Production Meg Aronowitz described the vision as delivering a fresh, authentic perspective by placing the group right at courtside to create an immersive experience capturing the arena’s energy alongside insight, personality, and fun.

The Final Four in Phoenix

The 2026 NCAA Women’s Final Four takes place at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix. Fans can tune in to watch the four No. 1 seeds, UConn, UCLA, Texas, and South Carolina, take the court as a champion is set to be crowned. The National Championship game airs on ABC on Sunday, April 5 at 3:30 p.m. ET.

A Broadcasting Career That Keeps Growing

This dual role at the NCAA Women’s Final Four is the latest chapter in a media journey that started well before Phoenix. Sims joined College GameDay in 2022 and quickly became a fan favorite. She expanded into men’s college basketball in 2024 as a Saturday Primetime sideline reporter alongside Dan Shulman and Jay Bilas, and was named a Rising Sports Media Star by Awful Announcing that same year.

All of that work has led to this: hosting the debut of a major new alt-cast format on one of women’s basketball’s biggest stages.

Are you planning to be there or tune into Courtside at the NCAA Women’s Final Four this weekend?

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