Ball State University freshman Mason Plummer of South Bend is among the youngest writers for Fansided, a network with 300-plus sites of national sports news and entertainment, and thousands of people already read his articles every week.

Writing about Notre Dame athletics as a high school student and later the European Soccer Team Chelsea FC, Plummer knew he needed a university that would keep fueling his momentum. He is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in journalism, and since his first day on campus, he’s been setting ambitious goals for the future.

“I want to be the next big name that graduates from the journalism program here — like the next David Letterman or Jason Whitlock,” Plummer said. “I need all the experience I can get to achieve my dreams of working for ESPN, CBS, NBC, or Barstool.”

An avid sports fan and journalist, Plummer fused his two passions when he earned his first career-focused job at age 17. Just a senior in high school, Plummer first wrote for IndySportsCoverageND, and was then recruited for the Slap the Sign website on Fansided. For Slap the Sign, he covers everything Notre Dame athletics, from game previews to recaps and player profiles. His stories typically average 6,000 views, and during football season, can peak at 30,000 reads per article.

But Plummer’s true love is Chelsea FC. His five-year long obsession with the team inspired him to connect with writer Khaled Abdallah at The Pride of London, a Fansided site that solely covers Chelsea FC. Abdallah relayed an application for the paid job to the college freshman, who earned the additional writing position shortly after.

At both Fansided sites, Plummer livestreams games, but he has had the opportunity to travel and see a Chelsea FC game live. “Easily the best day of my life,” Plummer said, was when he attended a Chelsea FC match against the Real Madrid during Chelsea’s United States Tour and wrote a story about the game.

Writing one or two articles per week for each site, Plummer, a full-time student, says the workload is “a challenge, but one I welcome and enjoy.” He believes he’s reaped the rewards of hard work through his job and classes.

“Ball State journalism classes have helped me tremendously so far in my short career,” he said. “Ball State has an extraordinary journalism and communications department, and that’s what drew me here. The resources I have at my fingertips here do not compare to any other school in the area. Anything I need here, I have.”