Michelle Smallmon: Full Biography, ESPN Career, and Facts for 2026
Michelle Smallmon is an American sports broadcaster and radio host. She co-hosts Unsportsmanlike — ESPN Radio’s flagship morning show — every weekday from 6 to 10 a.m. ET alongside Evan Cohen and Chris Canty.
She built her career in St. Louis over more than a decade before earning a national platform. She made history at a local radio station. She is now one of the most recognized voices in American sports talk radio.
This article covers her full biography — where she grew up, how she built her career, what is confirmed about her personal life, and where she stands in 2026.
Quick Bio Table
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Michelle Smallmon |
| Born | August 13, 1986 |
| Birthplace | Belleville, Illinois, USA |
| Age (2026) | 39 years old |
| Raised | Belleville, Illinois (near St. Louis, Missouri) |
| Parents | Tony Smallmon (real estate broker associate); Robin Smallmon |
| High School | Althoff Catholic High School, Belleville, Illinois |
| High school sports | Volleyball — varsity starter as a freshman; co-captain senior year (2004) |
| University | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |
| Degree | Broadcast Journalism, 2008 |
| College sport | Member of the women’s volleyball team at U of I |
| Height | 5 ft 7 in (170 cm) |
| Weight | Approximately 143 lbs (65 kg) — reported, not primary-confirmed |
| Hair color | Blonde |
| Current role | Co-host, Unsportsmanlike, ESPN Radio / ESPN2 (6–10 a.m. ET) |
| Co-hosts | Evan Cohen and Chris Canty |
| Previous show | Karraker & Smallmon, 101 ESPN St. Louis (May 2020–September 2022) |
| Historic first | First woman to have her name on a show at 101 ESPN |
| XFL role | In-game host, St. Louis Battlehawks |
| MLS role | Video content contributor, St. Louis City SC |
| Twitter/X | @msmallmon (44,300+ followers) |
| Marital status | Not publicly confirmed as married |
| Net worth (estimate) | $1 million to $2 million (unverified) |
| Annual salary (estimate) | $100,000 to $300,000 (wide range across sources; unverified) |
Growing Up in Belleville, Illinois
Michelle Smallmon was born on August 13, 1986, in Belleville, Illinois. Belleville sits in St. Clair County in southwestern Illinois, directly across the Mississippi River from St. Louis, Missouri. It is part of the St. Louis metropolitan area. Growing up there meant growing up as a Cardinals fan, a Blues fan, and a sports household.
Her father, Tony Smallmon, works as a broker associate in real estate. Her mother is Robin Smallmon. Both are named consistently across multiple sources. No additional family information — siblings, extended family — is publicly documented.
She attended Althoff Catholic High School in Belleville. This detail is confirmed by legit.ng drawing from public athletic records. At Althoff, she played volleyball at a high level. She made the varsity team as a freshman — a significant achievement at any competitive high school program. By her senior year in 2004, she had become a co-captain of the team.
The volleyball background is more than a biographical detail. Playing at a competitive level through high school requires discipline, communication, and the ability to perform under pressure in front of an audience. All of those transfer directly to live radio broadcasting.
University of Illinois: Journalism and Volleyball
After graduating from Althoff in 2004, Michelle enrolled at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She studied broadcast journalism and earned her degree in 2008.
She was also a member of the women’s volleyball team at Illinois. Playing volleyball at the Big Ten level is a significant athletic commitment. She was managing a journalism degree and competitive athletics simultaneously.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is one of the top journalism programs in the United States. Its broadcast journalism track produces working journalists for major markets. Her degree from that program was the academic foundation for the career she built in St. Louis.
She graduated in 2008. Her professional career began immediately after.
First Job: News Production at KSDK
Her first documented professional role was as a news production assistant at KSDK — the NBC affiliate television station in St. Louis. This is a different medium from radio — television news production — but it is where she learned the technical fundamentals of live media production.
The role at KSDK is confirmed in multiple sources. The specific years she worked there are not precisely documented. It preceded her move to 101 ESPN, which began in 2009.
101 ESPN: Building a Career in St. Louis (2009–2015 and 2015–2022)
In 2009, Michelle Smallmon joined 101 ESPN — the local sports radio station in St. Louis. She stayed connected to 101 ESPN across two separate stints spanning more than a decade.
First stint: 2009–2015 She joined as a producer and on-air contributor. During this period, she produced and appeared on multiple signature shows at the station, including:
- The Fast Lane — co-hosted by Randy Karraker and D’Marco Farr
- The Bernie Miklasz Show — one of St. Louis’s most prominent sports talk programs
Working as a producer means doing the work that nobody sees: booking guests, researching topics, timing segments, and cutting audio. It is the foundation of understanding how a radio show actually functions. Most successful on-air hosts served time as producers first. Michelle did.
Second stint: 2015–2022 (with specific show: May 2020–September 2022) She returned to 101 ESPN and continued building her on-air presence. The defining moment came in May 2020 when she became co-host of Karraker & Smallmon — the station’s morning show.
The naming of that show was historic. She became the first woman in 101 ESPN’s history to have her name in a show title. That is a confirmed fact from the ESPN Press Room’s official biography of her. It is not a minor achievement — show titling reflects both recognition and investment from station management.
She co-hosted that show from May 2020 until September 2022, when she departed for ESPN’s national network.
The ESPN Press Room: What the Official Record Shows
The most authoritative source for Michelle Smallmon’s career is the ESPN Press Room biography, published and maintained by ESPN itself.
Key confirmed facts from that official record:
- She is the co-host of ESPN Radio’s signature morning show Unsportsmanlike, 6–10 a.m. ET
- She is “a former ESPN radio producer with extensive experience on both the local and national level”
- She “returned to the national ESPN Radio network as a host in 2022”
- She was the in-game host for the St. Louis XFL team, the Battlehawks
- She “did extensive video work with the city’s MLS team, St. Louis City SC”
- She “became the first woman to have her name on a show in the station’s history” at 101 ESPN
The ESPN Press Room biography does not confirm her birth date, hometown, parents, or educational background — those details come from secondary sources. But her career history is confirmed at the primary source level.
Unsportsmanlike: The National Show
Unsportsmanlike airs Monday through Friday from 6 to 10 a.m. ET on ESPN Radio and ESPN2. It is one of ESPN’s flagship morning programs. She co-hosts alongside Evan Cohen and Chris Canty.
She joined the national show in 2022. The move took her from a respected local platform in St. Louis to one of the largest sports media networks in the world.
She has interviewed some of the biggest names in professional sports through this role. Confirmed interviews include Tom Brady, LeBron James, Mike Trout, and Patrick Mahomes — a cross-sport list that reflects the breadth of the show’s access.
One detail confirmed through her Twitter/X profile: she joined the platform in March 2009 — the same year she joined 101 ESPN — and identifies herself publicly as “@espnradio, @siriusxm ch 80, @espn 2” in her bio, reflecting the multi-platform distribution of the show.
Historic Roles Beyond Radio
St. Louis Battlehawks (XFL) She served as the in-game host for the St. Louis Battlehawks, the XFL franchise in St. Louis. This is a live stadium presentation role — different from radio hosting and requiring a different set of on-camera and crowd engagement skills.
St. Louis City SC (MLS) She contributed video content for St. Louis City SC, the MLS expansion team that began play in 2023. This role expanded her work into streaming and digital video content.
Both roles confirm she operates across radio, television, stadium presentation, and digital video — a multi-platform broadcaster, not a radio-only personality.
Personal Life: What Is Confirmed
Michelle Smallmon keeps her personal life private. This is consistent across all sources.
Marital status: She is not publicly confirmed to be married. Multiple sources confirm she is not publicly known to be in a relationship. One source describes her as unmarried. No spouse, partner, or romantic relationship is confirmed in any public record.
Physical stats: Her height is reported as 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm) across multiple sources. Her weight is reported as approximately 143 pounds (65 kg) by legit.ng. Neither figure is confirmed from a direct primary source — no interview where she states these numbers has been identified. Both are estimates from entertainment biography sites.
Charity work: She is confirmed as a participant in the New York City Marathon on behalf of the V Foundation for cancer research. She was also part of The Young Professionals for the St. Louis community, per legit.ng.
Sports fandom: She is a documented St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Blues fan. Her St. Louis sports connections are genuine, not performative — she grew up there and built her career there.
Salary and Net Worth: What Sources Say and Why It Varies
This section requires more transparency than most sources provide.
Net worth estimates:
- Most sources: $1 million to $2 million
- This range is consistent and reflects career earnings over more than a decade at local and national ESPN
Salary estimates — where sources conflict significantly:
| Source | Salary Estimate |
|---|---|
| criticalhit.net | ~$100,000 annually |
| inthebiblethe.com | ~$100,000 annually |
| celebcluch.com | $300,000–$500,000 annually |
| infozceleb.com | $100,000–$300,000 |
| blessingspower.com | $150,000–$250,000 |
The wide gap between $100,000 and $500,000 reflects the fact that no source has confirmed her actual contract terms. ESPN does not publish host salaries. Michelle has not disclosed her salary publicly.
The most credible range — based on what is known about ESPN Radio co-host compensation generally — is $100,000 to $300,000 annually. The $300,000–$500,000 range from celebcluch.com appears inflated and is not supported by comparable benchmarks for ESPN Radio hosts at her level.
All figures should be treated as estimates only.
Key Conflicts in the Record
Her 101 ESPN tenure dates: The ESPN Press Room bio says she spent “four years with 101 ESPN earlier in her career from 2009-2015.” Some sources suggest she continued at 101 ESPN through 2019 or 2022. The most consistent reading is that she had two distinct stints — 2009–2015 and then returning around 2015–2022 — but the precise dates vary across sources.
The co-host on Unsportsmanlike: Some sources name the co-hosts as Evan Cohen and Chris Canty. One source mentions Clinton Yates. The show’s format and co-hosting lineup has evolved. Evan Cohen and Chris Canty are the most consistently confirmed names.
Salary figures: As noted above — a $400,000 gap between the lowest and highest estimates reflects genuine uncertainty, not different reporting of the same confirmed number.
What Is Confirmed vs. What Is Unclear
Confirmed (from ESPN Press Room or multiple reliable sources):
- Born August 13, 1986, Belleville, Illinois
- Parents: Tony (real estate) and Robin Smallmon
- Althoff Catholic High School — volleyball, co-captain 2004
- University of Illinois, Broadcast Journalism degree, 2008
- College volleyball team member
- First job: KSDK news production assistant
- Joined 101 ESPN 2009 — producer and on-air contributor
- Shows: The Fast Lane, The Bernie Miklasz Show
- Co-host, Karraker & Smallmon, May 2020–September 2022
- First woman to have her name on a 101 ESPN show
- Joined national ESPN Radio as host in 2022
- Co-hosts Unsportsmanlike, 6–10 a.m. ET, ESPN Radio / ESPN2
- In-game host, St. Louis Battlehawks (XFL)
- Video content contributor, St. Louis City SC
- Ran NYC Marathon for V Foundation
- Twitter/X: @msmallmon (joined March 2009)
Not confirmed:
- Exact salary
- Marital status or relationship
- Height and weight (reported but not primary-source confirmed)
- Whether she has children (no public documentation)
- Her exact 101 ESPN departure and return dates
Final Word: Earned Every Step of the Way
Michelle Smallmon did not get a national radio show because she went viral. She got it because she spent 13 years learning how radio works from every angle.
She was a producer before she was a host. She was a co-captain of a volleyball team before she was a co-host on a morning show. She made history at a local station in St. Louis before she made it to the national stage.
She is 39 years old. She is on one of the biggest sports radio platforms in the United States. She built that position through years of work that never made a headline — producing shows, cutting audio, booking guests, and developing the kind of sports knowledge that can carry four hours of live radio every morning.
Her career is a case study in how to build something durable in a competitive industry. Not through controversy or social media virality. Through craft, consistency, and showing up.
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FAQ: 12 Real Questions About Michelle Smallmon
1. Who is Michelle Smallmon?
Michelle Smallmon is an American sports broadcaster and radio host. She co-hosts Unsportsmanlike — ESPN Radio’s flagship morning show — from 6 to 10 a.m. ET alongside Evan Cohen and Chris Canty. She is a former ESPN radio producer with experience at both local and national levels. She was born on August 13, 1986, in Belleville, Illinois.
2. How old is Michelle Smallmon?
She was born on August 13, 1986. As of 2026, she is 39 years old.
3. Where is Michelle Smallmon from?
She was born and raised in Belleville, Illinois — a city in southwestern Illinois that is part of the St. Louis, Missouri metropolitan area. She built her professional career in St. Louis before moving to a national ESPN platform in 2022.
4. Where did Michelle Smallmon go to college?
She attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she studied broadcast journalism and graduated in 2008. She was also a member of the women’s volleyball team during her time there.
5. What show does Michelle Smallmon host?
She co-hosts Unsportsmanlike on ESPN Radio and ESPN2. The show airs Monday through Friday from 6 to 10 a.m. ET. Her co-hosts are Evan Cohen and Chris Canty.
6. What is Michelle Smallmon’s historic achievement at 101 ESPN?
When she became co-host of Karraker & Smallmon in May 2020, she became the first woman in 101 ESPN’s history to have her name in a show title. This was a documented first confirmed by ESPN’s official press room biography.
7. How did Michelle Smallmon start her career?
She began as a news production assistant at KSDK, the NBC television affiliate in St. Louis. She then joined 101 ESPN in St. Louis in 2009 as a producer, where she worked behind the scenes before transitioning to on-air roles. She produced and contributed to shows including The Fast Lane and The Bernie Miklasz Show before co-hosting Karraker & Smallmon.
8. What other sports broadcasting roles has Michelle Smallmon held?
Beyond radio, she served as the in-game host for the St. Louis Battlehawks in the XFL. She also contributed video content for St. Louis City SC, the MLS expansion team. She has interviewed major sports figures including Tom Brady, LeBron James, Mike Trout, and Patrick Mahomes.
9. Is Michelle Smallmon married?
Her marital status is not publicly confirmed. She has not disclosed a spouse, partner, or relationship in any confirmed public interview or social media post. She keeps her personal life private.
10. How tall is Michelle Smallmon? She is reported to be 5 feet 7 inches (170 cm) tall. Her weight is reported as approximately 143 pounds (65 kg) by legit.ng. Neither figure is confirmed through a direct statement from Smallmon herself.
11. What is Michelle Smallmon’s salary?
Her salary is not publicly confirmed. Estimates range from $100,000 to $300,000 annually across the most cited sources. One source estimates $300,000–$500,000, but this appears high relative to comparable ESPN Radio benchmarks. ESPN does not publish host salaries and Smallmon has not disclosed her compensation publicly.
12. What is Michelle Smallmon’s net worth?
Her net worth is estimated at $1 million to $2 million as of 2026. This reflects over a decade of career earnings in sports broadcasting at local and national ESPN platforms. No verified financial document is publicly available. All figures are estimates from entertainment biography sites.
