Jackie MacMullan is a nationally-recognized and award-winning sports columnist, author and commentator. Jackie is a senior writer for ESPN and a regular panelist on Around the Horn. A former Boston Globe writer and editor contributes to multiple ESPN programs. Jackie is one of the most respected voices on the NBA, and can also be heard on The Ringer. Jackie played Division I college basketball at the University of New Hampshire and played high school basketball in Westwood, Massachusetts where her coach was PCA/NE’s 2020 Positive Impact Legend Kathy Delaney-Smith. Jackie and Kathy have become lifelong friends, and serve together on the Board of the nonprofit Shooting Touch, a PCA partner committed to using the power of sport to bridge the opportunity gap for kids and for women in Boston and Rwanda.

An encouraging coach can have a lifelong positive impact on a young athlete. Kathy Delaney-Smith encouraged Jackie MacMullan, as a high school junior, to start playing basketball. Jackie went on to play D1 basketball at the University of New Hampshire. Kathy told Jackie she could do whatever she wanted fueling her confidence to pursue her dream of becoming a sports reporter. Jackie is a national award-winning sports journalist.