ESPN/ ACC Analyst, Host of MSG Network, Podcast Host of 'Buckets, Boards and Blocks'

Monica McNutt | Biography 2021

McNutt co-hosted ESPN Radio’s halftime and post-game shows of the NBA Finals in July 2021

• By Reena Chikanbanjar
• Update : April 07, 2022

---

Monica McNutt is a sports analyst at ESPN and ACCN. She also hosts 'MSG PM' at MSG Network.

Who is Monica McNutt?

Monica McNutt is a basketball analyst, host, and podcaster. She started her professional career in sports journalism as a Freelance Writer at The Washington Post. Monica McNutt then worked for NBC Sports Washington, American Sports Network, and Fox Sports before landing a job at ESPN/ACC Network. She served as one of the basketball analysts during the NBC Olympics in 2021. She is a host of the popular show MSG PM at MSG Network. Monica also co-hosts the podcast Bucket, Boards and Blocks.

Early Bio and Education

Monica McNutt was born on 24 October 1989 in Suitland, Maryland, to hoop referee and author Kevin and mother Desiree McNutt. Growing up, McNutt got interested in basketball due to her father and considered him her first coach. She attended The Academy of the Holy Cross, a catholic high school in Kensington, Maryland. She was an All-Met player during her high school. 

After finishing high school, McNutt graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Language and Literature and General in 2011 from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. At the University, McNutt joined the Georgetown Hoyas Women’s Basketball Team as a guard and helped lead the team to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Sweet 16 tournament.

In 2013, she earned a Master’s degree in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Maryland College Park in College Park, Maryland‎.

Early Career

McNutt interned for five months at NBC Sports from January to May 2011 and honed her skills in producing sports news for television. She then began her professional journalism career in October 2011, joining The Washington Post as a Freelance Writer and On-Cam Talent. At The Washington Post, McNutt started her weekly blog called ‘Transition Game,’ where she wrote articles that guides high school athletes who want to pursue basketball careers in college. She also wrote high school sports features and hosted web segments and interviews. She served The Washington Post for more than one and a half years. 

She then joined NBC Sports Washington in June 2013 and started working as a Digital Media Producer. During her eight months of tenure at NBC Sports Washington, McNutt produced and created sports content for the network, web, and digital platforms, including social media. From 2013 to 2018, she worked in different media outlets such as Prince George’s Community Television, WJLA.com, American Sports Network, BeIN Media Group. In December 2018, she began working for Fox Sports, where she covered Big East and Big 12 as a Basketball Analyst.

ESPN/ACC Network

McNutt joined ESPN/ACC Network in October 2019 as a College Basketball Analyst. She then started serving as a studio analyst on ACCN’s nightly news show All ACC and the network’s signature basketball show Nothing But Net. She also serves as a game analyst for the 2019-2020 women’s basketball season. 

In November 2020, McNutt co-hosted the ACC Women’s Basketball Tip-Off alongside Kelsey Riggs and Kelly Gramlich. She was then hired for ESPN’s prominent sports roundtable discussion show Around the Horn on 17 February 2021. McNutt was one of the basketball analysts in the NBC Olympics in June 2021. In July 2021, she co-hosted ESPN Radio’s halftime and post-game shows of the NBA Finals with analysts Kevin Winter and P.J. Carlesimo.

MSG Network

In May 2019, she joined MSG Network as a co-host for the nightly sports talk show MSG 150, in which she highlighted the big stories in sports and provided expert analysis on the team New York Knicks. She also hosted MSG AM in November 2020. On 12 July 2021, she began hosting the revival of the weeknight show MSG PM, which features conversations with renowned guests and focuses on top stories interrelating sports, culture, and entertainment. 

Podcast

McNutt co-hosted a podcast titled 26 Minutes With Clinton Portis from August 2018 to December 2019. On 11 April 2019, McNutt started co-hosting a weekly podcast, Bucket, Boards and Blocks, alongside fellow ESPN analyst King McClure. The duo shared their experiences on the podcast. “The pod reflects the love I have for the game and all of its players because buckets are buckets,” McNutt told The Athletic about the podcast via email in April 2019.

‘On Her Turf’

On 29 July 2021, McNutt appeared in a round table discussion segment of an episode titled ‘The Burden We Face’ of the podcast On Her Turf alongside Olympic gold medalist Michelle Carter and podcast hosts MJ Acosta-Ruiz and Lindsay Czarniak. 

They discussed the pressure Black women face in sport following Simone Biles’s highly publicized decision to step away from the women’s gymnastics final. Before withdrawing from the game, Biles posted on Instagram that she felt like she carried the “weight of the world on her shoulders at times.” The weight indicates the pressure that Black athletes hold due to the excellence that is expected from them. 

Biles later said that she withdrew from the game for her mental health. On the podcast, McNutt, Carter, and hosts talked about the importance of representation in sports and measures needed for regular conversations about mental health.