2025 Hoop Dream Co-Hosts
& Special Guests
Join us as we celebrate the game of basketball with an unforgettable event, led by inspiring voices on and off the court.
Meet Our Co-Hosts & Special Guests
Brad Stevens
President of Basketball Operations, Boston Celtics
Brad Stevens was named the eighth President of Basketball Operations for the Boston Celtics in June 2021, following eight successful seasons as Head Coach. He was recruited to ABCD Hoop Dreams by his predecessor, Doc Rivers, and is now in his eighth year as co-host of the event.
As head coach, Stevens guided the Celtics to a 354–282 (.557) record over 636 regular season games, including seven straight playoff appearances (2015–2021) and three trips to the Eastern Conference Finals. He ranks fourth in franchise history for most wins by a head coach, behind only Red Auerbach, Tommy Heinsohn, and Doc Rivers. His 78 playoff games coached and 38 playoff victories are fifth most in team history. Stevens was named NBA Eastern Conference Coach of the Month three times and served as head coach of the Eastern Conference in the 2017 NBA All-Star Game.
Before joining the Celtics, Stevens led Butler University to national prominence, compiling a 166–49 record with four regular season championships, three league tournament titles, and six postseason appearances. He became the only coach in school history to guide Butler to the NCAA Division I national championship game—achieving the feat twice. Along the way, he earned two Horizon League Coach of the Year awards and set multiple NCAA records for most wins by a coach through his first two, three, four, five, and six seasons.
A native of Indiana, Stevens graduated from DePauw University in 1999 with a degree in economics. A four-year member of the DePauw basketball team, he received the program’s Coaches Award his senior year. He and his wife, Tracy, live in Massachusetts with their two children, Brady and Kinsley.
Bob Ryan
Award-winning Journalist
Bob Ryan has been a legendary voice in sports journalism since starting as a Boston Globe intern in 1968. He covered the Boston Celtics beginning in 1969, a role that launched a career spanning more than five decades across basketball, baseball, football, golf, and the Olympics. Over the years, Ryan has reported from 29 NCAA Final Fours, 20 NBA Finals, 18 golf majors, 10 Super Bowls, and 11 Olympic Games—including the iconic 1992 “Dream Team.”
Though he retired from full-time reporting after the 2012 London Olympics, Ryan continues to write 30–40 Sunday columns annually for the Globe. He is also a familiar face on ESPN, having been a panelist on Sports Reporters since 1989, a mainstay on Around the Horn since its launch in 2002, and a frequent substitute host on
Pardon the Interruption.
His career honors include induction into four Halls of Fame—the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame (Curt Gowdy Award), the USBWA Hall of Fame, the New England Basketball Hall of Fame, and the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame. He is also a recipient of the PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Sports Writing and the Associated Press’ Red Smith Award.
The author of 12 books, including his acclaimed autobiography SCRIBE: My Life in Sports, Ryan has collaborated with Celtics legends John Havlicek, Bob Cousy, and Larry Bird. Beyond journalism, he has been a proud supporter of Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) for more than 35 years.
Aneesah Morrow
Forward, Connecticut Sun
Aneesah Morrow, drafted 7th overall by the Sun in the 2025 WNBA Draft, concluded her rookie campaign with the Connecticut Sun by establishing herself as one of the most impactful first-year players in the WNBA, averaging 7.7 points, a team-leading 6.9 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. Among all WNBA rookies in 2025, Morrow ranked second in rebounds per game, ninth in scoring, ninth in steals and sixth in blocks, underscoring her well-rounded contributions on both ends of the floor. She also recorded 14 games with double-digit scoring and posted eight double-doubles. The Chicago native etched her name into franchise history by becoming just the second rookie to finish a season with at least 300 points and 280 rebounds, joining her teammate and former Rookie of the Year Tina Charles.
Morrow came to Connecticut after finishing her decorated collegiate career at Louisiana State University (LSU). The 6-1 forward played her freshman and sophomore seasons at DePaul University before transferring to LSU for her last two seasons. During her senior campaign, Morrow led LSU with 18.7 points per game and led the NCAA with 13.5 rebounds per game, marking the second time in her career doing so (13.8 rpg as a freshman in 2021-22). Morrow also set an LSU single season record with 1,211 minutes played. Furthermore, Morrow cemented herself in the NCAA DI history books, finishing her collegiate career second all-time in double-doubles (104), third all-time in rebounds (1,714) and 25th all-time in scoring (2,852). Morrow earned a plethora of honors over her time at LSU and DePaul including the Katrina McClain Award (2025), First Team All-America (WBCA, Wooden Award, USBWA) (2025), First Team All-SEC (2024, 25), Freshman of the Year (Big East, USBWA, WBCA) (2022), SEC All-Defensive Team (2025) and First-Team All-Big East (2022, 23).
Aaliyah Edwards
Forward, Connecticut Sun
Aaliyah Edwards concluded her sophomore campaign in the WNBA averaging 4.6 points and 4.2 rebounds on 40% field goal shooting in a Connecticut Sun uniform. Edwards joined the Sun after spending the beginning of her WNBA career with the Washington Mystics. She was drafted by the Mystics as the sixth pick overall in the 2024 WNBA Draft and averaged 7.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.0 assists on 18.5 minutes per game during her time in Washington. The 6-3 forward played four seasons with the University of Connecticut Huskies and averaged 13.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game over 132 career games. Edwards left Storrs with a plethora of honors including WBCA All-American (2024), USBWA Second Team All-America (2024), AP Third Team All-America (2023), All-BIG EAST First Team (2023, 24), BIG EAST Most Improved Player (2023), BIG EAST Sixth Woman of the Year (2021) and BIG EAST All-Freshman Team (2021). At the time she left Storrs, Edwards also ranked 15th in program history in scoring (1,861), eighth in rebounds (1,020) and sixth in double-doubles (35). Edwards helped lead UConn to four BIG EAST Regular Season and Tournament Championships, along with three NCAA Final Fours and one NCAA National Championship game appearance. The Kingston, Ontario native has also represented her country at the international level, notably being the youngest member of the 2020 Canadian Olympic squad in Tokyo and making a second appearance in the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Jennifer Rizzotti
President, Connecticut Sun
Jennifer Rizzotti is a Connecticut native and the current President of the Connecticut Sun in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). She joined the Sun after five seasons as the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at George Washington University and 17 seasons as Head Coach of the University of Hartford Women’s Basketball program, where she compiled a 316-216 (.594) record and was named America East Coach of the Year three times. Inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013, Rizzotti is well-known in basketball circles around the world, most notably as an assistant coach to the USA Basketball Women’s National Team, with whom she won a gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Jen is also currently the USA Basketball 3x3 Women’s National Team head coach and added 2023 USA Basketball 3x3 Coach of the Year to her resume after leading three 3x3 teams to gold at the 2023 FIBA 3x3 World Cup, the 2023 3x3 Women’s Pan American Games, and the 2023 FIBA 3x3 Americup. In 2024, Rizzotti led the 2024 USA 3x3 Women’s National Team to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where the team earned a bronze medal and won 2024 USA Basketball 3x3 Coach of the Year for her performance.
As a student at the University of Connecticut, Rizzotti first vaulted into the national spotlight as the starting point guard for the Huskies' first national championship team in 1995 with an undefeated 35-0 record. A former All-American and the NCAA Regional Most Outstanding Player after her junior and senior seasons, in 1996 Rizzotti virtually swept the postseason awards as Big East Player of the Year, Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year, the Associated Press Player of the Year, the Honda-Broderick Cup for Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year, the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award recipient, and the Wade Trophy winner. Rizzotti graduated as UConn's career leader in assists (637) and steals (349) and still ranks fourth and third all-time in those categories. Rizzotti played eight seasons of professional basketball following her graduation from UConn in 1996, winning two WNBA championships with the Houston Comets. Rizzotti has two sons, Holden and Conor.
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