DANVILLE, Va. -- Averett University Director of Athletics Communications Dominik Pocrnja completed his staff with the hiring of Thomas Heaney '25 as athletics communications graduate assistant.

Prior to joining the staff, Heaney served as Director of Broadcasting for the Danville Otterbots during the summer of 2026, as he handled play-by-play duties for the team's home games.

Before that, Heaney spent four years as a student worker for Averett Athletics. During his time as an undergraduate student, he completed more than 300 live broadcasts as a lead play-by-play and color commentator. He also worked in other game-day production roles including camera and scoreboard operations. For his contributions, Heaney was twice recognized with the athletics communications service award at Averett's Night of Champions in 2024 and 2025.

Heaney formally was a member of the Cougar baseball team from 2021-22. In this time, he appeared in 16 games out of the bullpen, in which he recorded eight strikeouts over 16.2 innings.

Hailing from Kernersville, North Carolina, Heaney graduated from Averett with a bachelor's degree in communications in December 2025. He is currently pursuing his master's in business administration from Averett.