Louis Fernandez

Raleigh

Executive Producer at WRAL-TV (Raleigh, NC)

WRAL Sports Reporter | 919 | Try-hard extraordinaire | He/Him ✉️ : [email protected]

Articles

Extra Effort: Millbrook's Annaka Boyd leads as captain on and off the field

3 weeks ago | highschoolot.com | Louis Fernandez

Millbrook High School's Annaka Boyd has been playing soccer for a while now. "Since I was in a car seat, so a long time," she laughed. On the pitch, Boyd stays moving. "She runs for days, she has these big giant lungs that let her run up and down the field," said Millbrook soccer coach Derek BlackwelderAll that energy has a positive spin to it.
Extra Effort Award: Gaby Mizelle's drive for greatness from Garner to Virginia Tech

4 weeks ago | highschoolot.com | Louis Fernandez

Garner Magnet High School senior Gaby Mizelle stands in the batters box. Swing after swing flies off her bat and over the outfield fence. Assistant coach Morgan Jones watches on. "She is probably the greatest athlete Garner has ever had," Jones said. "I try to just put all my effort into it, play with no regrets, play aggressively," Mizelle said. The Trojan is a highly touted recruit, a softball savant at shortstop, on her way to play at Virginia Tech in the fall.
Extra Effort Award: Kaylen Sykes loves to lead at Pine Forest High School

1 month ago | highschoolot.com | Louis Fernandez

Meet Pine Forest High School junior Kaylen Sykes"I have to refer to her as KK," said teacher Jennifer Button, "because that's just how I've known her since she stepped into Pine Forest High School."Well - KK stands front and center for the Trojans. On the soccer field, she was the conference offensive player of the year, finishing with 21 goals and 9 assists. "She's a born leader, she doesn't do it boisterously or anything like that.
Extra Effort: Triton High School's Berkley Campbell brings big heart to softball

1 month ago | highschoolot.com | Louis Fernandez

A weekday afternoon during the school year? Chances are you'll find Triton High School's Berkley Campbell with glove in hand. "Nothing compares to softball, it just doesn't, the girls that I get to play with, they're just, you don't get it anywhere else," Campbell said. All-conference, All-district, but talk to her coaches, they say it's what's inside that makes her special. "I think the biggest thing with Berkley is her compassion, not just for softball, but everything around her.
WNBA dreams come true for local women's basketball stars :: WRALSportsFan.com

2 months ago | wralsportsfan.com | Louis Fernandez

NC State's duo of Saniya Rivers and Aziaha James go in the first round of the WNBA Draft, Rivers to the Connecticut Sun and James to the Dallas Wings.
UNC's Alyssa Ustby and Maria Gakdeng get WNBA training camp invites

2 months ago | wralsportsfan.com | Louis Fernandez

Two of North Carolina women's basketball's biggest playmakers are getting a chance to make a WNBA roster. Maria Gakdeng and Alyssa Ustby have signed contracts to attend WNBA training camps, the program announced on Tuesday night. Gakdeng heads to the Atlanta Dream while Ustby goes to the Los Angeles Sparks. One player under head coach Courtney Banghart at Carolina has made a WNBA roster: Stephanie Watts in 2021. Gakdeng spent two seasons with the Tar Heels after transferring from Boston College.
NC State's Saniya Rivers reflects on journey to the WNBA

2 months ago | wralsportsfan.com | Louis Fernandez

It's Tuesday morning and things have yet to slow down for former NC State do-it-all guard Saniya Rivers. She was drafted No. 8 overall in the 2025 WNBA Draft. She rides in a limo to greet media at the facilities of her new team, the Connecticut Sun. Is a whirlwind of a weekend finally starting to sink in? After a long pause, she finally answers. "Slowly. It's slowly starting to hit me. I It's just so surreal. A lot of, oh my, I can't really put them into words," Rivers said.
Extra Effort: Julie Selig shines in every season for Fuquay-Varina High School

2 months ago | highschoolot.com | Louis Fernandez

Julie Selig and sports at Fuquay-Varina High School. Hard to separate the two. Fall, winter, spring, she's played every season since her freshman year. Cross Country, swimming, softball, even flag football this year. "She's always playing a sport here and always has a smile on her face. In the classroom, outside the classroom, Julie is just to me the perfect student-athlete in Fuquay-Varina High school," said director of athletic James Mountford.
Duke senior Reigan Richardson handles the pressure that comes with expectations

Mar 28, 2025 | wralsportsfan.com | Louis Fernandez

Duke senior Reigan Richardson's favorite memory in Durham? Her final game at Cameron Indoor Stadium: Senior Night. "Being able to do it just around the group of girls you've been playing with for the past years, it just felt like a different kind of special for me, especially with my entire family being there as well," Richardson said. A 2021 McDonald's All-American, Richardson started her career at Georgia before transferring to Duke as a sophomore.
Apex Friendship's Indya Nivar talks journey back to North Carolina

Mar 28, 2025 | wralsportsfan.com | Louis Fernandez

Indya Nivar, welcome back to North Carolina. "Really taking in every moment, because I love being back. I think that's what I needed to do after that first year at Stanford," Nivar said. The junior guard spent her freshman year on the west coast with the Cardinal before transferring to UNC last season. Now in her second year as a full-time starter, she's helping guide the Tar Heels back to the Sweet Sixteen.