Greeting my people, I am Tre LaGrone III. I am a student athlete here at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. I have now been living here for around 6 months. So far, I can rate my experience here as an 8 out of 10 there have been lot of up and downs but I feel like I have learned so much about myself as not just a ball player but as a human. I have met many new people and gained a few friends in the process. With baseball being now the most important piece of my life now I can truly say that I am just now starting to get more comfortable with saying that out loud.
I can honestly say if you were to have asked a 15-year-old Tre LaGrone if he would be a division 1 athlete in 3 years, he would 100% have said yes without a doubt. But if you would have said a division 1 baseball player, he would have stared at you with a very odd look on his face. I was born and raised in Reno Nevada my parents who are both from California met there in college. Dad was a football player mom was a basketball player so sports have always been a part of me and my younger brothers lives. I come from a very football and basketball heavy background so those were the two sports I loved most. My love for baseball didn’t come until a lot later.
My family has been with me every step of this journey from Boys n girls club basketball, to SYFL football. and little league baseball. I have many uncles’ aunts and younger cousins I am the second oldest of about 17 grandkids ranging from 19 years old – 6 months old. I have always had God given gifts and talents but it wasn’t always easy for me to understand the grind. But my parents never made feel like I needed to do sports it was always something I have loved and wanted to do. They were always what I call the bumpers to my lane.
My life outside of sports has become a lot more nonexistent you can say now that I have been in college. I have my main few friends back home that I can always talk to and just know we will be good with no matter how long we may not speak to or see each other for especially after seeing someone every single day for years moving here defiantly took some getting used too. I now often find myself playing video games or just listening to music alone or with few friends. I love going out to eat and going to the mall. and I have now more recently found myself getting more into fashion which has never really been my thing but I enjoy having good outfits just in case. Otherwise, you can find me in sweats and a hoodie. I have now even more recently started to stream on twitch it I just of me playing video games but I am just mostly using it to get better with my camera work.
Extra credit
I made my introduction at the start of the semester as a freshman student-athlete who plays baseball. In my initial post, I stated that I was specifically interested in learning about how athletes use social media to build their own personal brands, how the media influences public perception of sports, and how online platforms influence the recruitment and scouting process. Having learned through this course, I've gained more concrete answers to those questions and learned even more than I expected about media's place in our everyday lives—especially for athletes like myself.
My biggest question was how athletes can utilize social media to create their own personal brand. From our class discussions and readings, I learned that Instagram and TikTok allow athletes to engage directly with fans and show them who they are beyond the game. After viewing the documentary The Social Dilemma, I realized how powerful algorithm-based websites can be—not just for sharing content, but also for controlling the way audiences see us. We also briefly spoke of the importance of being genuine on the internet, something influencers and athletes have to weigh very heavily in order to gain the trust of people and build an actual following.
My second question was about how the media affects people's perception of athletes and sports. The readings on media framing opened my eyes to how stories can be framed based on race, gender, or just even the sport itself. A good example was the lecture I delivered on Serena Williams and how she was portrayed by the media compared to other athletes. That opened my eyes to how even coverage of college sports can be shaped by larger social narratives. I see now how important it is to realize that when reading news stories or watching sports programming.
Finally, I was interested in how online platforms are affecting recruiting and scouting. We discussed how Hudl and even Twitter/X have become necessary for high school players trying to get noticed. This resonated with me because I've actually used Twitter to share highlights and updates myself. Ever since listening to guest speakers and classmates talk about how recruiters monitor social media, I am even more careful about what I put out there and how it might be interpreted as a player and as a person.
Reflecting on the whole semester, I've realized that media isn't just something we consume—it's something that builds identity, relationships, and opportunities, especially for student-athletes. Whether branding, perception, or recruitment, media is part of nearly every function of my life. I'm learning in this class with a greater comprehension and more techniques to use media ethically and effectively. I also enjoyed the manner in which the class helped me learn to question the virtual world I am immersed in daily.
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