To residents of Monroe County, Adam Young may be known for a few different things. Some might know him as a Gibault graduate or a fellow classmate at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.

But to many others, he’s known as the voice of the Gateway Grizzlies baseball team. So much so, Young was recognized in February by the Sportscasters Talent Agency of America as one of the People’s Choice Top 30 Sportscasters in the Nation Under 30.

Young, 25, has been on the air since he was 17, before he even started college at SIUE.

“When I left high school at Gibault, I knew I wanted to go into broadcasting,” he said.

Young said he chose SIUE because of the school’s radio broadcasting program and was able to start at the campus radio station the summer before he started classes.

“I’ve always been a hard worker,” Young said. “I got that from my parents. They always instilled a great work ethic in me.”

At 18, he had the role of “Cardinal Reporter” for the St. Louis Cardinals pregame show on KSLG-AM radio.

Young put everything he had into his career and worked as hard as he could to set himself up for the future when he was done with school.

“I wanted to put myself in a good position to succeed and have a job,” he said. “That’s what I worked for my entire college career.”

Young said the recognition by the Sportscasters Talent Agency of America means a lot to him.

“I put a lot of hours into this and it means a lot,” he said.

Young credits his parents as his biggest supporters, saying they care just as much about his career as he does.

“This is as much their award as it is mine,” he said.

Young keeps busy as a broadcaster even outside the Grizzlies, doing play-by-play at SIUE and McKendree University, along with freelance work for Washington University and public address announcing for Saint Louis University.

Currently, he does Grizzlies play-by-play and is also the Grizzlies’ media relations director.

Sports have always been a huge part of his life — especially growing up in Waterloo. He played basketball and golf at Gibault and has always loved baseball as well.

“My true passion is basketball,” he said. “But I love all sports and getting to do this (announcing for the Grizzlies) and call it a living is what I’ve always wanted to do.”

He remembers being a little boy and calling ball games in his backyard with his buddies.

“I was just always around a microphone and loved sports,” he said. “I’ve always had a pretty good knowledge of them too, so being able to translate it into a career has been so rewarding. I’m lucky, and I realize it every day.”

He still has many aspirations and career goals, but realizes that sports broadcasting is an extremely competitive and tough career.

“There’s just not as many jobs as people who want to do it,” he said. “I know I’m fortunate to have the work I do, but my goal is to call games at the highest level.”

He dreams of calling the “big games” people are always talking about and mentioned the St. Louis Cardinals as well.

Young is very tied to his family, and was quick to mention that his sister was named to an important Top 30 Under 30 list as well. His sister, Nichole Doeschot, who also attended Gibault, was named to the St. Louis Business Journal’s Top 30 Under 30 list over the summer.

Grizzlies fans can catch Young announcing when the season starts up the first week of May by clicking the “Listen Live” tab online at www.gatewaygrizzlies.com.