MATTHEW EHLER

Matthew Ehler is an MLive/Kalamazoo Gazette sports reporter who earned his degree in integrated public relations/journalism at Central Michigan University in May 2019.

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Ehler has over seven years of experience as a reporter, covering college, high school and professional athletics, including beginning his career at the Grand Haven Tribune (2020-23) and now at MLive, where he covers Western Michigan University athletics and more than 30 high schools. In 2025, he led the entire MLive sports team in monthly content views (197,000) and finished 175% to goal with 2.07 million total views -- while also ranking second on the team in subscriber growth (228% to goal).

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At MLive, Ehler covered WMU hockey's first-ever NCAA national championship and WMU football's MAC title in 2025 -- filing live updates, shooting original photography and chasing enterprise angles. Ehler's hockey championship coverage earned an MPA award for sports writing, and a separate viral prep football story drove nearly 2 million cross-platform views on its own.

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Here are four stories from Ehler on the beat from 2023-26:

National champs! Western Michigan hockey’s dream season ends with first title

MAC champs! Grit, ground game and defense send WMU to first MAC title since 2016

‘Horrifying’ incident leaves Michigan high school football player with spine fractures

Doctors doubted he’d survive. Now he’s pitching on one leg for a Michigan prep baseball team

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AWARDS

Ehler has won a total of five in the Michigan Press Association's Better Newspaper Contest, including a pair in 2025 for sports writing (second place) and sports feature (third place), one in 2023 for sports writing (third place) and two more in 2021 for sports feature (second place) and sports photo (second place).​

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REFERENCES

Please contact for a list of references.