Ryan Baker

Ryan Baker is the sports director at CBS News Chicago.

He joined the station in April 2008 as the lead sports anchor on the weekday evening newscasts at 5, 6 and 10 p.m. He also spent five years as an anchor on the morning news.

Baker's career highlights include covering historic World Series wins for both the Cubs and White Sox, and three Stanley Cup championships for the Chicago Blackhawks. He also reported from Athens during the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Prior to coming to CBS, Baker worked at WMAQ-TV/NBC 5 from 2003-2008 as a sports anchor and reporter. He hosted Sports Sunday and Bears Game Day and Game Night Live.

Before returning to his hometown of Chicago, Baker was the Sports Director at WKMG-TV in Orlando, Florida (1995-2003). He was twice voted "Best Sportscaster" by Orlando Magazine, and hosted "The Ryan Baker Show" on Sports Radio 740 the Team and "Inside Magic". Previously he worked at KFMB-TV in San Diego and began his broadcasting career in Champaign, Illinois, at WCIA-TV and WICD-TV.

Baker was born in Chicago Heights and raised in south suburban Phoenix. He graduated from Thornridge High School in 1987 and received his B.S. in Journalism from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 1991.

While at U. of I., Baker was a student basketball manager for the 1989 Flyin' Illini Final Four team. He served on the Illini Leadership Council, and was the 2013 Chicago Illini of the Year. He is a board member with Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicago and Northwest Indiana, active with the Chicago chapter of the American Diabetes Association, and volunteers his time and talent with various local charities. He is also a member of the National Association of Black Journalists.

Baker, his wife Jessa, and daughters Grace and Rose, reside in Glenview.