The No. 1-seeded Florida Gators won the national championship after beating the No. 1-seeded Houston Cougars 65-63 on Monday evening. It was the Gators' third national championship in their history and the first one since their double in 2006-2007.
One of the faces that has become popular during this historic season for the Gators is Florida student reporter Talia Baia, who has gone viral for some of her interviews with the players.
On Tuesday, she posted a clip on X from the press box during the national championship game showing her reaction after Walter Clayton Jr. forced a turnover from Houston's Emanuel Sharp to win the Gators the game. She revealed why she did not celebrate despite her school winning the national championship.
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"'No cheering in the press box' but level 1,000,000 difficulty because the team you’ve been covering all year just won the natty," Talia Baia tweeted.
Baia's post was in response to clips of her celebrating the Gators' natty win later with some players. Cincinnati Bengals' ESPN reporter Ben Baby critiqued Baia's celebration with the players on X.
"I do not envy the next generations of sports journalists who will also have to be content creators to command an audience. But that doesn’t mean compromising on basic fundamentals like not pulling for the team you cover," Ben Baby tweeted.
How Florida Gators' ESPN reporter went viral
Talia Baia has been covering the Florida Gators throughout the season and has accumulated a total following of 34,000 across X and Instagram as the season has progressed.
She first captured the attention of college basketball fans during the 2025 NCAA Tournament when her interview with Gators star Bennett Anderson after their victory over the Maryland Terrapins in the Sweet 16 went viral on X. In the clip, Andersen seemed enraptured by Baia, leading to college basketball fans making lighthearted jokes about the pair's interaction.
After the Gators' Final Four win against the Auburn Tigers, Baia and Andersen addressed their viral interaction.
"It's been pretty funny, I just gotta enjoy it for what it is," Anderson said. "[I'm] only gonna be famous for like a week, so I'll take it."
Talia Baia is a sports and media major at the University of Florida. She juggles her studies with her position as a social media manager for Barstool Sports and as a reporter for ESPN Gainesville. She has also worked as a reporter for WUFT TV and as a broadcast associate for CBS Sports.
