After a post-game interview with ESPN Gainesville’s, age 22 Talia Baia went viral on social media, Florida Gators guard Bennett Andersen garnered a lot of attention off the court
The incident occurred during Florida’s resounding victory over the Maryland Terrapins in the Sweet 16 on Thursday, 87-71. Baia went into the Chase Center locker room to speak with Andersen as the team celebrated their promotion to the Elite Eight.
Who is ESPN Gainesville sports reporter Talia Baia, bio, age, height, education, college, job and Instagram
She started by praising him for a crucial two-pointer that contributed to the Gators’ triumph. However, as Andersen responded to her inquiries, viewers noticed how he smiled at her during the interview, leading one admirer to remark, “I think a young man fell in love.”
Many others joked that the rising March Madness star not only won a game but also “fell in love” when the brief encounter went viral.
Talia Baia was born in December 2003 in Gainesville, Florida. In 2021, she received her diploma from Newport Harbor High School.
Now, she is a student at the University of Florida studying media journalism and sports from 2021-2025, according to her LinkedIn page. Baia identifies herself on the platform as a sports enthusiast and states that she has extensive experience in live TV, show production, and scriptwriting.
She is a passionate sports lover with a ton of experience covering college and high school sports. During her time at UF, she has reported for ESPN Gainesville, doing sports anchoring at WUFT News, and creating content for companies like Sports in :60, Inside the Gators, The Breakdown, Reptile Report and Barstool Sports.
According to her LinkedIn profile, Talia Baia began working for PBS as a sports reporter in 2022. In addition to conducting interviews, she was responsible for running the outlet’s social media accounts and posting content to increase its visibility. She started working at Reptile Report in a similar capacity the same year. She interned at the University of Florida as a journalist.
She joined the organization about four years ago and has since continued to work for various platforms concurrently, including ESPN. She has worked for the outlet as an MLB Spring Training Reporter and multimedia journalist. As an intern with Barstool Sports, Baia also manages social media sites like Instagram and TikTok by posting reels, images, and graphics. Since February 2023, she has worked with Inside the Gators as a sideline reporter.
The guy behind me in the Gator shirt is my new spirit animal pic.twitter.com/19H2B9Imv6
— Talia Baia (@talia_baia) March 31, 2025
Talia Baia, who now anchors sports on WIUFT News, spent over three months working as a production assistant. For the outlet, she has produced and hosted a program called The Breakdown.
Talia joined CBS Sports as a freelancer in November of the previous year and worked there as a broadcast associate in 2024.
Talia uses Instagram in addition to X and LinkedIn to stay in touch with everyone. On the latter, where she has nearly 22,000 followers, she is active and posts pictures from her travels to cover various events.
Caught up with Bennett “Buckets” Anderson after the game on what he looks forward to in the Elite 8!
“Hopefully these guys take care of business so I can play again, hopefully I can get another bucket” pic.twitter.com/bo31tHqabg
— Talia Baia (@talia_baia) March 28, 2025