Kenny Kott, a longtime sports-talk radio producer at 97.1 The Ticket, has died.
Kott died Saturday at the age of 32, Ticket host Mike Valenti announced on the air Monday. Kott was a producer for Valenti and Rico Beard’s afternoon drive-time show, and frequently contributed on-air analysis, particularly when the topic turned to his beloved Red Wings.
The Ticket said Kott suffered a “medical event” in early June that left him hospitalized for the last few weeks. Valenti delivered an emotional tribute to Kott on the air Monday.
“We’re heartbroken,” Valenti said. “Genuinely, I’m struggling to find the words for this.”
“He’s a part of our dysfunctional family.”
Kott, a Utica Eisenhower High School graduate, was promoted to a board operator at The Ticket in December 2017, and he’s been long been a staple on the popular “Valenti Show with Rico,” weekdays from 2-6 p.m.
He was known for an infectious laugh and his deep hockey knowledge, proudly accepting his coworkers’ moniker of being a member of the “Hockey Elite.” As a kid, he took selfies with the Stanley Cup and Steve Yzerman. Ken Kal, Red Wings radio broadcaster, wrote on social media, “Kenny was a big hockey fan and also knew the game.”
“I just want you to know what we truly thought of Kenny, beyond the jokes and the ball-breaking and the rest,” Valenti said on air Monday. “I would always bust his chops, like, ‘Man, what do you want out of life? What is it you want, so I can help deliver this?’ And he would say, ‘No, I just always wanted to be part of a radio show.’ And I’d say, ‘OK, well, you did that, and you’re part of the best one. So, what’s next?’
“I would always push him, and I said this to his wife, the reason I pushed him so hard is because I believed in him more than he believed in himself.”
Kott got married in the summer of 2025.
Jeff Riger, a host at 97.1, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday: “Kenny was a natural at radio and a tremendous human being. Being gone so young is not fair.”
David Hall, a producer at 97.1, worked alongside Kott for six years.
“I’m going to miss him,” Hall said on the air Monday. “It’s a huge loss for us, because as Mike said, we are a team. We get on each other, we get at each other, but we all love each other, and that’s the important part.
“We loved Kenny.”
Last month, 97.1 The Ticket host Pat Caputo died after a battle with pancreative cancer. He was 67.
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Kenny Kott, producer at 97.1 The Ticket, dies at 32: ‘We’re heartbroken’
Reporting by Tony Paul, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Tony Paul, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
