Washington Nationals Broadcasters

2026 marks Charlie Slowes’ 22nd season behind a Nationals’ play-by-play microphone. Having called the first pitch in Club history, Daniel Hudson’s historic strikeout to secure the club’s 2019 World Championship and more, Slowes has called some of the biggest moments in Nationals history. Slowes became the original voice of the Nationals on February 24, 2005, in time for the team’s inaugural Spring Training. His trademark taglines of “BANG, ZOOM go the fireworks!” and “A Curly W is in the books!” after Nationals victories soon became part of the Beltway’s baseball lexicon. Joined by long-time partner Dave Jageler in 2006, Slowes is calling his 28th consecutive and 33rd overall year of Major League Baseball.

When baseball returned to Washington, D.C., in 2005, so did Slowes, following seven seasons as an original voice of the Tampa Bay Rays. Slowes first came to the nation's capital in 1986, beginning an 11-year stint as the radio voice of the NBA’s Washington Bullets. Slowes had previously called baseball for the New York Mets (1988 & 1991) on WFAN-AM, the Baltimore Orioles (1989-90) on WBAL-AM, and nationally for NBC-TV and CBS Radio. Slowes also called Triple-A baseball for the Tidewater Tides on radio and TV in 1986, 1988, 1991 and 1992. Slowes is among the many (including legendary Ford Frick Award winner Vin Scully) to enter sports broadcasting after graduating from Fordham University. A native of New York City, Slowes honed his skills on the airwaves of Fordham’s 50,000-watt blowtorch WFUV 90.7 FM. Not long after graduation, Slowes moved to St. Louis and KMOX Radio, where for three years he was exposed to Hall of Fame broadcasters Jack Buck and Bob Costas. Slowes was involved in broadcasts of Cardinals baseball, Cardinals football, Blues hockey and St. Louis University basketball. He has also called boxing for ESPN, MISL soccer for the New York Arrows (1983), college basketball for the University of South Florida and has been a correspondent for MLB Network. Slowes called play-by-play for his third Washington pro sports team when he filled in for John Walton on Washington Capitals radio during the Caps’ Stanley Cup championship run in February of 2018. Charlie and his wife, Tina, have two adult sons, Jim and Alex, with homes in Alexandria, Va., and Palm Harbor, Fla.

Dave Jageler enters his 21st season with the Nationals, teaming with Charlie Slowes since 2006 to form the longest-running radio play-by-play duo in the District. Jageler has been at the mic for the Nationals’ historic run to the 2019 World Series championship, plus four NL East championships, three no-hitters and Max Scherzer’s MLB record-tying 20-strikeout performance. In addition to his work with the Nationals, Jageler calls select MLB games on ESPN Radio. In 2020 and 2023, he was honored by the National Sports Media Association as Washington, D.C.’s Sportscaster of the Year. Jageler joined the Nationals after spending the 2005 campaign as the radio and TV voice of the Pawtucket Red Sox of the Triple-A International League. Prior to joining Pawtucket, he worked in Boston co-hosting an afternoon talk show and serving in various capacities with the Boston Celtics Radio Network, including fill-in play-by-play. Jageler spent six years in Charlotte, N.C., as the voice of UNC-Charlotte basketball and as co-host of a morning drive talk show. While in Charlotte, he built his baseball resume with the Triple-A Charlotte Knights in the 1995, 1996 and 2001 seasons calling play-by-play. Jageler’s voice was also heard in D.C., as he served as a host on the Virginia Tech Sports Network during the 1993-94 basketball season. He has also served as the studio host for Westwood One’s NHL Game of the Week, the Florida State and Texas Longhorns Football Networks, and has done fill-in play-by-play for both the Seminoles and Longhorns. The Windsor, Conn., native is a graduate of Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, where he began his play-by-play career broadcasting Syracuse football and basketball games on WAER, and baseball for the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs on Time Warner Cable and the Empire Sports Network. Dave and his wife, Jennifer, have two children: Jared (24) and Sarah (20).

Now in his 15th season covering the Nationals, Dan Kolko enters his first season as the Club’s full-time television play-by-play voice.

A D.C.-area native, Kolko has been a constant fixture on Nationals broadcasts for the last decade and a half, building relationships with players, coaches and fans with his engaging personality. Over the previous five seasons, he earned play-by-play experience while also serving as host of the Nationals' pre- and postgame shows, providing in-game reporting, and occasionally filling in as analyst on game broadcasts. Kolko has also been a contributor to MLB Network and host on MLB Network Radio; calls college basketball play-by-play for FOX Sports and ESPN; and served as co-host of "The 11th Inning Podcast" alongside Nationals legend Ryan Zimmerman.

Kolko covered the Nationals' World Series championship season in 2019 as the host of the "Nats Xtra" pre- and postgame shows. His first full-time television role with the Nationals was as an on-field reporter from 2014-18, where he formed bonds with franchise staples like Zimmerman, Jayson Werth and Max Scherzer, which followed three seasons from 2012-14 in which Kolko provided coverage as a beat writer.

Kolko also covered the Baltimore Ravens for MASN from 2008-11, writing for the network's website and providing on-air analysis. Prior to joining MASN, Kolko worked with Comcast SportsNet in a production role. Born in Silver Spring, Md., Kolko earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication from the University of Delaware. He resides in the D.C. area year-round with his wife, Aly, and their dog, Pablo.

A member of Washington’s 2014 National League East Division championship team, Kevin Frandsen joined the Nationals television booth in 2022 after four seasons as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies radio broadcast team. He was hired by Philadelphia in 2018 and worked select road games on the Phillies Radio Network before his role expanded in 2019 to include the majority of the road schedule along with several home broadcasts. Since 2019, Frandsen has also hosted shows on MLB Network Radio, and from 2016-19, worked on AM radio in the San Francisco Bay area. He co-hosted “KNBR Tonight” on KNBR 680 AM and, prior to that, spent one year as co-host for KNBR 1050 AM’s morning drive show, “The Audible.” Frandsen played nine Major League seasons with the San Francisco Giants (2006-09, 2015), Los Angeles Angels (2010), Philadelphia Phillies (2012-13) and Washington Nationals (2014). A versatile defender and utility player, he saw action at second base, third base, first base, outfield, shortstop and designated hitter during his Major League career. Frandsen is a native of San Jose, Calif., and was selected in the 12th round of the 2004 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of San Jose State University, where he set the program record for career hits (246). Following the passing of his brother, DJ, in 2004, the Frandsen family started the 19 For Life Foundation, created to celebrate the gift that DJ Frandsen was to his family, friends and community. The 19 For Life Foundation is a lasting legacy to DJ’s beliefs in giving back, making a difference, being a man for others and never giving up. Kevin and his wife, Amanda, live in Haddon Heights, N.J., with their daughter, Tenley and son, Daylen (“DJ”).

A native of Derwood, Md., veteran sports broadcaster Alexa Datt returns to the Washington, D.C., area for her first season with the Nationals. Datt most recently served as a host for FanDuel Sports Network Midwest, where she covered the St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Blues. While in St. Louis, Datt spent one season calling play-by-play for the Saint Louis University men’s baseball team, and she made history in early 2025 as the first female broadcaster to call play-by-play for the Cardinals during Spring Training.

Datt also spent time with MLB Network and NHL Network where she hosted several programs including “The Rundown,” “Quick Pitch,” “The Cycle,” and “On The Fly.” She also led the MLB.com daily show “12:25 Live with Alexa” as well as “The Morning Run” for Chicago-based digital sports network 120 Sports.

Datt’s career has also included internships at “America’s Most Wanted” and Comcast SportsNet in Bethesda, Md. She also worked as an associate producer and on-air personality at SportsNet New York, served as the in-stadium host and reporter for the New York Mets, and worked as a sideline reporter for SNY’s coverage of Atlantic-10 college basketball. Datt also co-hosted “Datt’s What She Said with Dani,” a podcast that interviewed baseball’s biggest stars and discussed amusing and heartwarming stories from on and off the diamond.

An alumnus of Magruder High School, Datt graduated from the University of Maryland.

In Memoriam

The Washington Nationals mourn the loss of Craig Heist. Craig passed away on October 10, 2025. Craig was part of the Nationals Radio broadcast team on 106.7 The Fan since 2013. He was a fixture in the press box, in the clubhouse, and on the field as our team celebrated wins. He was a friend to all who met him, and we will profoundly miss his kindness, enthusiasm, and passion for baseball. Known as “Heisty” by friends and colleagues, Craig graduated from Salisbury University in 1983. Over the past 30 years, he covered almost every major sport in the region and was a three-time winner of the Maryland Sportscaster of the Year, as voted on by his peers.

In Memoriam

The Washington Nationals mourn the loss of Pete Medhurst. Pete passed away on January 20, 2025 following a three-month battle with brain cancer. He spent six seasons on the Nationals Radio Network and was the lead play-by-play voice for the Naval Academy Radio Network. The Harwood, MD native was a graduate of Southern High and resided in Churchtown, MD. We will miss Pete on the Nationals radio broadcast and our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Brenda, and their three children Ryan, Cody, and Kelly.