Bio

Troy Baranik enters his first semester as the new Sports Information Director at Columbia College (SC). This is Troy's second stint at an NAIA institution while he has worked at all levels of college divisions: Div. I, II, III.

The 12-year sports information veteran joined the Koala athletic staff in March of 2024 after serving as the Sports Information Director at nearby Allen University, a Division II institution in Columbia, SC for two years (2022-24). Baranik also helps out with SID duties at Clinton College, a NCCAA school in Rock Hill.

Baranik brings knowledge and understanding of today's sports info world and the ability to wear many different hats, having helped Div. III NC Wesleyan College Athletics navigate the ever-changing world during the Covid-19 global pandemic from 2018-2022. Baranik was the primary statistician and media for all 16 of Wesleyan's sports.

A native of Laurinburg, NC, Baranik is a 2011 graduate of St. Andrews University in Laurinburg, where he received his bachelor's degree in Sports & Recreational Studies and was a four-year letterman on the Div. II wrestling team. Baranik also served as the sports information director at St. Andrews from 2012-2018 during their transition to the NAIA and was in charge of 21 different sports at one time. 

Baranik got his start as an intern in the Penn State University athletic communciations department during the 2011-12 season as he helped with football, volleyball, soccer and wrestling. He also worked at ESPN Radio 1450 in State College during this time.