Gary Hill Jr. was working toward a degree in something he only half-heartedly wanted to do for the rest of his life. Then, something clicked.
“It was almost like a lightning strike,” he says. “That’s a really stupid reason not to go after the dream: being practical.”
Hill, a Tacoma native, decided to transfer to Washington State University to pursue his dream: broadcasting for his favorite team. After working behind the scenes of the Mariners broadcast and occasionally filling in on the radio, he finally got his shot in the booth in 2025.
“It’s so special, and doing it in my hometown, close to my family and friends that are here, with the team I grew up loving, it’s indescribable,” says Hill (’00 Comm., Psych.). “I pinch myself every day. I’m thankful for it every day.”
On his first day at WSU Pullman, he walked into student-run radio station KUGR and got his start calling volleyball. He eventually began calling basketball, football, and baseball. “KUGR was phenomenal,” he says. “I would not be here without the experiences I got there.”
Public speaking was challenging. “My personality is a little different from most people in my business because I’m not outgoing. For the most part, I’m an introvert,” Hill says. “That class made a real difference for me early on.”
His favorite class: baseball history. But he credits journalism classes as most impactful. “They sharpened my writing and thinking skills, and have helped me over time, not only as a broadcaster but in all the other stuff I do,” says Hill, who called baseball for the University of Washington and basketball for the Evergreen State College right out of college.
That led to being a finalist for the radio play-by-play position with the Seattle Storm. While he didn’t get that job, he was recruited for a producer position with the Sonics.
A year later, the Storm job opened again, and Hill took the opportunity. He also parlayed his experience into working for Seattle University, University of Puget Sound, 710 ESPN Seattle, and UW—often in overlapping roles—before eventually working for the Mariners.
He started filling in as a pre- and post-game host, working his way to full-time as a producer and engineer in 2018. Hill says his WSU experience doing pre- and post-game shows was invaluable preparation for his initial work with the Mariners.
Now, he’s part of the Mariners radio broadcast, partnered with his childhood icon. “I’m in the booth with Rick (Rizzs) every day, the guy I grew up listening to.”
He says he’ll never forget being on the call for Mariners pitcher James Paxton’s no-hitter in Toronto. Paxton is Canadian, and Hill says it was special to be a part of that game when even Blue Jays fans started cheering for Paxton as he chased history.
Last season, the Mariners came one game away from their first World Series appearance in franchise history. “Just to be on the call for some of these all-time moments is incredible to me, and I take the responsibility so seriously in those moments because they mean so much to Mariners fans.”
When he isn’t traveling with the team, Hill spends as much time as possible in Burien with his family: wife and high-school sweetheart Mary, teens Finley and Baker, and dog Satchel Blue.
At work, a collage of baseball cards, all Hall of Famers, adorns his office. “My goal is when guys come in, they sign their baseball card,” says Hill, who also spruced up the radio booth at T-Mobile Park. “My goal is for our radio booth to feel like a museum to the Mariners for visitors.
“I just love it. I love the game, the preparation, and finding and telling stories. That’s the motivation. I just want do everything I can to make the listening experience great for Mariners fans.”
Will Arthur is a senior broadcast news major from Littlerock.