RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) Department of Intercollegiate Athletics announced on Monday that long-time Valley sports broadcaster Mark May will serve as the play-by-play announcer, long-time Valley football announcer Aaron Saenz will provide color commentary, and UTRGV senior Jaeda Rael will serve as the sideline reporter for UTRGV football home game broadcasts on ESPN+.
 
Mark May
Honored five times by the Texas School Public Relations Association for best live sportscast, including four times for football, May has been a part of the Valley sports broadcasting scene since Dec. 1985, when he began serving as the color commentator for radio broadcasts of legacy institution Pan American University men's basketball. After three seasons doing color, May became the halftime host for the 1988-89 season before moving into the play-by-play role from 1989-91. He also spent two seasons calling Pan American baseball games on the radio starting in 1989, when he was on the call for Hall of Fame head coach Al Ogletree's 1,000^th win. May called basketball games for legacy institution UT Pan American once again on local television from 2000-02.
 
A 1991 graduate of UTPA, May served as an assistant sports information director and sports editor for the university newspaper as a student. He got his first full time job as the sports director for NewsTalk 710 KURV before working as a sportswriter at The Monitor from 1993-2000. May has worked in communications for McAllen ISD since then and has served as the play-by-play announcer for McAllen ISD's three high school football teams since 2008 in addition to basketball, soccer, softball, and basketball since 2015 and baseball since 2024.
 
May's experience broadcasting Valley high school football dates back to 1988, when he did color for Edinburg on the radio. Over the next two seasons he did play-by-play for Weslaco and then Harlingen on the radio before returning to Edinburg CISD in 1992.
 
Originally from Edinburg, May has been a significant part of local professional sports broadcasts as well, serving as the play-by-play announcer for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers since 2018, RGV FC from 2021-23, and the RGV Silverados in 2007-08. He has also been a member of the RGV Sports Hall of Fame Board of Directors since 2020.
 
Aaron Saenz
Saenz started in broadcasting in 2011 as a color commentator for Harlingen CISD football games alongside UTRGV football English-language radio announcer Joe Bowling. Since then, Saenz has continued to broadcast high school games around the Valley, Coastal Bend, and throughout South Texas, providing both play-by-play and color commentary.
 
Saenz grew up in Rio Grande City, the son of Ruben Saenz Jr., who was coaching at Rio Grande City High School (1982-86) after a playing career at Southland Conference opponent Stephen F. Austin. The Saenz family moved twice, including to El Paso in 1997, leading Saenz to his first opportunity as part of a football broadcast, working as a spotter for UTEP radio broadcasts while attending Eastwood High School. Saenz went on to play football at Sul Ross State, UTRGV's inaugural opponent, while studying communications. After two years playing for the Lobos, Saenz returned home to the Valley continue his studies at South Texas College while working as a football official for TASO.
 
Outside of football, Saenz has significant experience in public speaking as he is currently serving as a pastor at BT Church.
 
Jaeda Rael
Rael enters her second season as the lead sideline reporter for UTRGV Athletics. Rael was the sideline reporter for the majority of UTRGV basketball games during the 2024-25 season before earning a spot as the sideline reporter for the Southland Conference Basketball Tournaments. After basketball season, Rael took over as the sideline reporter for UTRGV baseball broadcasts, handling sideline duties for Southland Conference Tournament bracket play as well.
 
Rael began broadcasting live games in the fall of 2024 as the color commentator for UTRGV volleyball. She began getting on-air experience while hosting V60 in 2023-24 and V Cap in 2024-25, both of which were short videos recapping the previous week in UTRGV Athletics on social media.
 
Rael has been a part of the UTRGV Athletics broadcast team since the fall of 2023, when she started working behind the scenes as part of the production crew. Even as Rael began providing analysis for volleyball broadcasts, she continued to serve as a camera operator for soccer broadcasts.
 
Rael has experience serving as a football sideline reporter, doing so with KWES during the fall of 2024. She also served as a reporter for news packages on KWES and the master of ceremonies for the 6A State Champion Panther Parade after the Weslaco softball team won the 2024 state title.
 
In addition to working the sidelines during football season, Rael will continue to serve as a sideline reporter for other UTRGV broadcasts and provide color commentary for volleyball.
 
Originally from Weslaco, Rael initially attended Centenary College to play volleyball. After a career-ending injury, though, Rael volunteered in the Centenary athletics communication office before transferring home to UTRGV.
 
Rael is a mass communication major with a concentration in broadcast and is expected to graduate in the spring of 2026.

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