As Director of Communications for Guilford College Athletics, Bryce Johnson spends most of his waking life shining a light on the College’s hundreds of student-athletes. Earlier this month, the light swung his way.

Bryce was named to the College Sports Communicators 30 Under 30 Class of 2025, a national honor recognizing young professionals who’ve already proved they can handle the strange, high-velocity blend of storytelling, crisis management, digital strategy, and late-night stat crunching that defines modern athletic communications. It’s the kind of distinction that finds people like Bryce precisely because they’re too busy working to look up.

He joins counterparts from all divisions of the NCAA as well as the NAIA, athletic conferences and even a Canadian institution. Institutions represented include UCLA, Maryland, Clemson and Iowa and smaller colleges like Washington and Lee, Denison, Bates and Stevenson.

Since arriving at Guilford in February 2024, he’s quietly become the narrator of the Quakers — shaping the digital tone, running social media, managing the website, overseeing media relations, and handling the day-to-day communication needs of 21 varsity teams. He’s the guy balancing the communications plan in one hand and the game-day stat sheet in the other.

When the announcement landed, Bryce responded in the way only a behind-the-scenes lifer does: by immediately redirecting the spotlight.

“I am incredibly honored as a member of the 30 Under 30 Class of 2025,” he says, before shifting into gratitude mode. “I am grateful to so many individuals who have played a role in my growth, both professionally and personally. Specific thanks go to my graduate assistants who have been alongside me since my arrival at Guilford.”

And then he went where he always goes — back to the student-athletes, the coaches, the colleagues, the people whose stories he spends every day telling.

“Most of all, [thanks] to the numerous student-athletes, coaches and colleagues who I have had the distinct pleasure to cover and grow alongside during my time as a professional,” Bryce says. “At the end of the day, I just strive to put my head down, work hard, go about things the right way and make their experience better one write-up, graphic and game at a time.”