Michael Odom
At one time a biology major during his collegiate studies, Michael Odom instead discovered the perfect formula for a career in journalism.
Care about the people. Care about the subjects. Be a passionate storyteller.
Check, check, check.
For those reasons, as obvious as an above-the-fold headline, Odom is a 2025-26 Tennessee Distinguished Service Award winner.
“That’s what keeps me going, the relationships with players and coaches in West Tennessee,” said Odom, sports editor of the Milan Mirror-Exchange. “I get to see and tell the stories of the some of the best the state has to offer, night in and night out.”
A Jackson, Tennessee, native and graduate of the city’s North Side High School, Odom first became a basketball graduate-assistant at his alma mater before he transitioned into what has evolved into a two-decades-plus journalism career.
But Odom initially was not in a public-facing post at the Sun, for which he answered phones, jotted down box scores and ensured as many young athletes’ names as possible appeared on the newspaper’s Scoreboard page.
When Matthew Borenstein departed, Odom filled the role of high school sports coverage coordinator. He has chronicled Spring Flings and incomparable moments in MTSU’s ‘Glass House.’
Those teams are forever etched into the annals of their respective school’s programs. Odom, however, has proved adroit at humanizing the participants. He originated a series about the young student-athletes in the Jackson area who synergized their faith with athletic competition. He has covered tragedy, as well as triumph.
“I’ve always been a passionate person and one of my passions is high school sports, and getting to tell the stories of these athletes,” said Odom, married to his high school sweetheart, Jean, and now with twin, 17-year-old daughters, Joselynn and Karlee. “I remember back when I was with the Jackson Sun, a kid at Haywood (High School) lost his arm and pitched his senior year with only one arm.
“I started a ‘Faith in Practice’ series, telling stories of West Tennessee athletes and their faith. One girl came back and told me that a small college in Florida saw the story about her faith and offered her a scholarship to come play softball because of her faith story that I wrote about.”
Today, Odom bases his work for the Milan Mirror-Exchange – following his recruitment away from the Jackson Sun earlier this decade by newspaper owner Victor Parkins – but also helps tell the stories in some 10 West Tennessee communities; Brownsville, Fayette and Lexington among them.
“I’ve just always loved sports,” Odom said, “and always had a passion for them.”
TSSAA proudly salutes Michael Odom for his years of work and dedication covering high school sports in Tennessee.
