CHARLESTON – Mia Henkins is no stranger to West Virginia girls’ high school basketball, the state tournament, or the Charleston Coliseum.
But the 2026 WVSSAC girls basketball tournament was unlike any other for Henkins, a junior guard at Waynesburg University who also studies Sports Announcing with a minor in Public Relations.
Instead of suiting up to take the court in Charleston as she did for multiple years for the Morgantown High girls’ team (including helping win a state championship in 2023), Mia spent the week interning with WV MetroNews as a member of the radio broadcast team.
“I never truly knew what I wanted to do when I was younger, but I’ve always loved writing, and my dad told me to look into sports broadcasting or announcing because I loved to talk,” Henkins said. “My sophomore year of college, I was looking to add an internship, and MetroNews was always on my mind as a company I could reach out to.”
Henkins called multiple tournament games live on the MetroNews Radio Network, including the Class A state championship game between St. Mary’s and Gilmer County alongside radio legend Fred Persinger.
Last summer, Mia had the chance to gain experience working with WAJR as a producer for multiple shows and newscasts.
She joined MetroNews in the winter for her first experience behind the mic, calling hoops.
“I did two games that winter, and then they approached me about coming to help out at the state tournament, and I was very excited,” Henkins said. “It’s easily my favorite week of the year when the tournament comes around.”
Although familiar with the process of the state basketball tournament, Mia was looking through a different lens this year, having to prepare a different type of scouting report for her games.
“It was different not waking up and going to a practice or being focused on one single game or opponent at a time,” she said. “When I came as a player with MHS, we would only watch the teams we would possibly end up playing in the tournament, but this year it was really awesome to be able to see every class play and all the talent we have around the state in girls basketball from quad A to single A.”
On the court with Waynesburg this season, Mia averaged 9.5 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.5 assists, shooting 40% from the field and 85% from the free-throw line. She scored in double figures 12 times for the Yellow Jackets, including a career-high mark of 20 on February 4 against Saint Vincent.
Henkins hopes to continue gaining the invaluable experience she has thus far through her work with MetroNews and in student media at WU.
“I would love to work with MetroNews again next summer, maybe doing some new things there, and I think I will be back for the girls’ tournament again next year,” she said. “After school is over, I think I would like to continue to get a master’s degree, and eventually find a job working in play-by-play.”
