14 May 2025 Sixteen-year-old blind student beats odds again by broadcasting Trojan Baseball
LITTLE ROCK — Dallas Cathey has amazed his parents since before he could walk. Friday night, he wowed a live worldwide audience. The 16-year-old Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired student served as the color analyst for Little Rock’s baseball game vs. the University of Tennessee at Martin at Gary Hogan Field streamed live on ESPN+. Cathey was born blind but hasn’t used his disability as an excuse. Over the years, he has become a devout baseball enthusiast, in part, by attending his younger brother Holden’s travel baseball games.
“I think I could have done better, but I set high standards for myself and am my biggest critic,” said Cathey, who is from Warren, a small, rural town in southeast Arkansas. “For the most part, I think I did well. I loved it. I expected there to be a lot more silence. I didn’t think it was going to be as fun as it was.”
Cathey, who made his broadcast debut on the worldwide streaming service, was a hit based by comments on social media.
“I decided from the beginning, I wanted it to be more fun for him than anything,” said Little Rock’s ESPN+ play-by-play voice Max Coltrane. “I was impressed, he did a great job, and I don’t think quality ever took a backseat on the broadcast. We bounced off each other well, and he picked up the game well listening to the PA announcer to hear each batter introduced and had the stat sheet in front of him. It was super enjoyable, and we were at ease with each other. I think he definitely brought something unique to the broadcast.”
The experience was made possible after a query from Gina McDonald, Cathey’s work study supervisor at ASBVI. She was trying to place Cathey with a summer internship. Knowing his love for baseball, she tried to match him with the Miracle League of Arkansas, an organization that allows disabled children a place to play baseball. Cathey actually plays in that league in Monticello. Miracle League Director Peggy McCall said there wouldn’t be any summer opportunities because the season ends in June, but she suggested calling Brandy Dixon, the Little Rock Associate AD for Marketing and Engagement.
In turn, Dixon worked with Little Rock Broadcast Director Hannah Ford, who manages the ESPN+ broadcasts, and Coltrane. Cathey initially was going to sit in on the May 6th game against UCA, but it was canceled due to weather. Luckily, Cathey was available on Friday night and called that game instead.
“I failed on the [internship] placement, but I think I did better,” McDonald said. “My husband said, ‘How is that going to work?” I said, “I am eight years into this job, and [the students] have shown me if they want to do something, they are motivated and they will find a way. I’ve learned not to question it.”
Holly and Jeff Cathey were excited when Dallas was born. However, around the seven-week mark Jeff Cathey realized his son wasn’t tracking him.
The couple decided to take the infant to Arkansas Children’s in Little Rock. It was there that doctors determined Cathey was blind. He then spent some time at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn., as doctors ruled out a cancer diagnosis.
“It’s one of the most gut-wrenching things that could happen,” Holly Cathey said. “We sure were not prepared for that. When we noticed he wasn’t tracking, we were thinking glasses or something like that.
“Coming out of St. Jude, that was the best news we could have. We didn’t know what to do, and we didn’t have any kids, so we didn’t know how to raise one.”
The Catheys decided they weren’t going to raise their son “in a soft home,” and they challenged him. That has resulted in an attitude of independence and fearlessness. Most that have known him barely notice he’s blind, his mom said.
He’s learned to play the piano and drums and lives by himself in a dormitory at the Blind School campus more than two hours away from his parents.
With McDonald’s tutelage, he works in the school’s library and enjoys talking baseball with the former softball player.
“He’s something special,” McDonald said. “He is a sophomore and has college goals and doesn’t want to sit around. He wants to work. He doesn’t want to take it easy. He’s always asking, ‘What are we doing today?’ He’s always attacking the day, which I love. He’s just an All-American kid with a big heart. All the kids [at the school] are special. Dallas just happens to be extra special.”
McDonald notes that she has eight students ready to graduate from the school this month and none of them has college plans. She said some want more training, especially those that once had sight, before pursuing a degree. Not Cathey, he isn’t deciding if he will attend college but where.
And after Friday night, it may very well be at UA Little Rock to pursue a broadcasting career. The preparation began with a lunch meeting with Ford and Coltrane the day before. When he arrived at the ballpark, it was another meeting with Coltrane and producer Nick Blanford.
Then, it was off to meet Trojans head coach Chris Curry. Cathey was excited to learn about Curry’s path through minor league baseball. Curry said he got used to riding buses and would have rather flown like players get to when they reach the Major Leagues.
“I was impressed with Dallas,” Curry said. “In talking with him just a little bit, you can tell he is a student of the game – very knowledgeable. It was a real honor that he wanted to call one of our games. We hope to see him back here again.”
Cathey was at ease from the beginning of the broadcast. He and Coltrane agreed that Cathey would introduce each Trojan batter with their stats and hometown. Coltrane called the game more as if the broadcast were on radio with more description to aid Cathey, but he really didn’t need it.
“A couple of times he knew a ball was fair or foul just by the sound it made coming off the bat,” said Coltrane, a 23-year-old UA Little Rock student, who also serves as the play-by-play voice for Trojans soccer games. “Late in the game, I said there was a full count, and he corrected me and said it was a 2-2 count. He was so sharp in the booth and kept up with everything very well.”
A three-hour baseball broadcast leaves plenty of room for conversation, and Cathey didn’t disappoint. Coltrane relayed a story to the viewers Cathey told at the lunch meeting. Cathey, a Los Angeles Dodgers fan, told Coltrane he actually fell asleep during Game 5 of the World Series and realized when he woke up the Dodgers had clinched the crown. He couldn’t celebrate because all of the other students in the dormitory were sleeping.
When Coltrane said he felt a similar exuberance when his beloved Texas Rangers won their first World Series in 2023, Cathey was quick to point out the 2011 Fall Classic when the St. Louis Cardinals cheated Coltrane from seeing his team celebrate with an improbable comeback.
“I don’t like the Cardinals too much,” Cathey said on the broadcast. “That’s something we probably can both agree on.”
McDonald told her pupil on the way to the ballpark that they could leave before the game was finished, if he wanted. He told her he’d never leave early and “was praying for extra innings.”
Visiting with him following the game, it was evident he wished the night had lasted forever.
“I think that was great,” Cathey said. “Hanging out with them in the press box, them telling me I was one of them now – that was great. I felt like I belonged in that press box. I really did feel like I belonged in that press box. We all got together and talked and laughed, and then we announced. We had a break and laughed, and then we announced.”
