Ethan Fuller

Ethan Fuller

I am a passionate young journalist who has used a love of sports — and a hunger for good stories — to write and talk about communities, people and events on local and national levels. My dedication has fueled me in leadership positions in student journalism and as a writer for The Boston Globe, BasketballNews.com and numerous media outlets.

About Me

I consider myself pretty lucky because sports journalism helps me find inspiration anywhere and everywhere, every single day.

Athletes from all walks of life can inspire. Many, like NBA player PJ Dozier, are dream-chasers who sacrifice a normal lifestyle to reach the highest level of their craft. They're often trail-blazers, such as Justė Jocytė, who first squared off against WNBA-caliber basketball players at 14 years old. And in some circumstances, like with Keyona Raines and Hijjah Allen-Paisley, or Jaylynn Conway-Hernandez, or Brandon Eang, they have overcome obstacles most of us can't even fathom.

Journalists can find inspiration without even meaning to. When I sat in the gym of the Mashpee Wampanoag Community and Government Center, amongst a devoted crowd of community members cheering on a majority-Native girls' basketball team, I felt blessed. I first reached out to the basketball team simply because they were good; I never expected to uncover a powerful story about young leadership and a thriving Wampanoag culture.

Google the word "inspire" and you get: "to fill (someone) with the urge or ability to do or feel something, especially to do something creative."

The stories I (and we) find make me feel that indescribable appreciation and spirit. I get to use that feeling and, through storytelling, give it to others. That's so cool.

I currently cover sports for The Boston Globe, where I've worked my way to larger roles since I started as a part-time high school messenger in 2019. I've written about the NBA for BasketballNews.com and CelticsBlog. I graduated Boston University in 2021 and was a borderline-unhinged consumer of Patriot League basketball while working for WTBU, the student radio station.

Since committing myself to sports journalism, I've grown into the understanding that my stories and the way I tell them have real impact on communities and people. Stories can inspire, and they can also spark meaningful conversation and learning. That's why I pursued longform pieces about why girls' basketball players in Massachusetts transfer to NEPSAC schools, and in one of my largest stories, how the wild world of AAU basketball affects kids.

I've used social media and apps like Airr to analyze game film. I've appeared on cable TV, radio and podcasts, and I've carved out a niche as a photographer as well. The modern sports journalist should recognize that they can reach people through so many variations of media and style — while still channeling the principles that got us here. I want my voice and my stories to feel different, new, and powerful as the industry continues its transformation.

Take a look at my work! I hope you feel inspired.

Notable Favorites

The Boston Globe •

Terrence Clarke died three years ago. A tidal wave of elite Mass. basketball players are keeping his memory alive. - The Boston Globe

On Sept. 14, 2019, in Roxbury’s Vine Street Community Center, Clarke committed to play basketball at Kentucky . It was a coronation of sorts for Boston’s homegrown basketball celebrity, one of the top high school players in the nation. But five years ago, Asemota was just a kid with hoop dreams, watching Terrence Clarke light the way. Jason Asemota is one of Massachusetts’ brightest young basketball talents. A four-star wing from Lynn, Asemota just finished his senior season at Hillcrest Prep
BostonGlobe.com •

‘A runaway train that needs structure’: A peek inside the world of youth travel basketball - The Boston Globe

Courts 16 and 17, where the best teams often play, draw the largest crowds. Parents hover along the sidelines, some sneaking glances at sweatshirts in search of a university logo. They put down $70 to watch for the weekend. It’s the opening tipoff of the three-day Atlantic City Showcase, and each one of the 34 courts set up in the Convention Center buzzes with a game featuring girls playing in the U10 to U17 age groups. In all, the May weekend event will feature 517 teams, most having to pay a
The Boston Globe •

How women’s basketball star Harmoni Turner overcame childhood trauma to shine for Harvard - The Boston Globe

For so long, Turner’s poise masked a deep-rooted insecurity, grown from childhood trauma with her biological mother, that defined much of her life. Only recently has the junior felt comfortable sharing. Her swagger shines through in her 20.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 2 steals per game. It gleams when she dribbles into a sharp crossover, throws a flashy pass, or pounces on a steal. It radiates when she drills a 3-pointer and holds an ear to a roaring Crimson fan base, as she did Sat
BasketballNews.com •

Jeremy Sochan, a 'citizen of the world,' sets course for the NBA

Sochan exploded in his second year with the program. He put up 16.1 points, 9.6 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 3.0 assists per game in the summer of 2019, leading Poland to the European Class B title and winning MVP honors in his tour de force through the continent. Sochan had proven himself on one of the largest European stages. But as his name reached scouting circles in the United States, Sochan transferred to La Lumiere High School, a national powerhouse program in Indiana. It featured a loaded r
BostonGlobe.com •

Why are girls’ basketball stars leaving MIAA schools for NEPSAC programs? - The Boston Globe

Within weeks, Donovan had taken a visit to St. George’s School and was blown away by what the Middletown, R.I., boarding school had to offer: smaller class sizes, a sprawling coastal campus, and a highly competitive basketball environment. She transferred, reclassified to the Class of 2025, and recently finished a successful first semester. Donovan was happy with her high school basketball success and her friends and coaches at Duxbury High. But soon after the 2021-22 season ended in March, she
The Boston Globe •

How a philosophy major from Harvard became the best college distance runner in the country - The Boston Globe

But Blanks has an important distinction: He’s probably the best collegiate distance runner in the country. He proudly shows off the bookshelf on his desk packed with philosophy texts. He pivots to the back of his dorm room, where the bike he uses to navigate Cambridge sits. Blanks is majoring in economics and philosophy, and is a music lover, wearing a Pavement T-shirt in front of a Bob Marley poster. On Nov. 20, Blanks became the first Ivy League male runner and first Massachusetts collegiate
BostonGlobe.com •

‘Sacred to our tradition:’ How Mashpee girls’ basketball has embraced Wampanoag heritage and culture within the community - The Boston Globe

The Eastern Sun Singers broke into two songs: one of pride for the Mashpee community, and an honor song for Ryan Hendricks, a former Mashpee Wampanoag student-athlete who was killed in a car accident last October. The group’s verses and the thumping sounds of their center drum echoed around the Mashpee Wampanoag Community and Government Center as a crowded audience watched in reverent silence. MASHPEE — Before the Mashpee High girls’ basketball team tipped off against Hull Friday night, the Fal
BostonGlobe.com •

She was a Brighton girls’ basketball captain living in foster care — and a single mother. Now, she’s headed off to college. - The Boston Globe

“Busy is good for me. And I like it,” Conway said. “I’m not really overwhelmed, because once I have a schedule, I stick to the schedule.” Her schedule is written out weeks, sometimes months, in advance. During the school year, it was the schedule of an 18-year-old Brighton High senior, a basketball team captain, an aspiring college student, a child in the foster care system, and a mother. Jaylynn Conway-Hernandez maps out her month on a giant planner hanging on the wall next to her desk. It’s
BostonGlobe.com •

Drawing upon his family’s perilous flight from Cambodia, Brandon Eang has built a volleyball family at Westford Academy - The Boston Globe

As a coach and multimedia teacher at the high school, the 51-year-old Eang takes pride in his positive impact on young people. Soft-spoken, detail-oriented, yet methodical, Brandon Eang has directed the Westford Academy boys’ volleyball program to the top of the stacked Dual County League. The 6-0 Grey Ghosts take after his positive, experimental, and passionate approach to the learning process. But to Eang, education itself is more than a concept. It’s a complicated, tragic, triumphant journe