Stosh Cienki

Stosh Cienki was a longtime ESPN Radio producer who spent more than two decades working behind the scenes at the network's Bristol, Connecticut headquarters. Over that span he produced shows, booked guests, trained younger staff members, and in 2024 was named program director of the network's weekend programming. He was widely described by colleagues as one of the most positive and steady presences in ESPN Radio's history, a producer who quietly shaped the on air work of many of the network's hosts.

Cienki's LinkedIn profile describes him as a 25 year ESPN Radio veteran who joined the network in June 2000. Before ESPN he interned with WSUB in New London, Connecticut and with the Norwich Navigators, then the New York Yankees' Double-A affiliate, where he ran the board for game broadcasts. At ESPN Radio he produced weekday shows including Bart & Hahn, The Freddie Coleman Show, Freddie & Fitzsimmons, Canty & Carlin and Spain & Fitz, and most recently Amber & Ian. He was lead producer of the 2015 special espnW Presents: The State of the NFL, which won a Gracie Award, and served on the network's hiring committee. He lived in Cheshire, Connecticut, and was a Missouri native and devoted Kansas City Chiefs and Royals fan.

Cienki's reputation inside the industry rested less on visibility than on the trust placed in him by the hosts and colleagues he worked alongside. Figures who worked with him across different ESPN Radio shows, including Sarah Spain, Freddie Coleman, Bob Picozzi, Field Yates, Bomani Jones and Courtney Cronin, publicly credited him with helping shape their on air performances through preparation, listening sessions and steady guidance. He was remembered as a mentor to board operators and new producers coming up through the network.

Cienki died on 21 October 2026 at the age of 52. According to Barrett Media, he had recently undergone ankle surgery and, just one day before his death, posted an update on Facebook saying x-rays showed no signs of infection. The following day, according to multiple sources, he experienced a pulmonary embolism that resulted in his sudden passing.

News of his death spread quickly through the sports media world, with tributes posted by ESPN personalities and colleagues throughout the day. Bob Picozzi, who worked alongside Cienki for 18 years and lived in the same town and attended the same church, said hearing the news was "absolutely devastating." ESPN itself had not issued a formal public statement on his death as reports first circulated. Cienki is survived by his wife and children, with colleagues across the industry offering prayers and remembrances for his family in the hours after the news broke.