The man behind the voice of “Inside the ‘Ville”
Ian Johnson, Staff Writer
Photo Courtesy of Gary Wenzel
When you turn on a North Greenville University sports game, there’s a good chance you’ve heard his voice. For the last four years, Gary Wenzel has been the main play-by-play announcer for NGU athletics.
Wenzel grew up in Reading, Pennsylvania. At a young age, he discovered his love for sports, especially baseball. During high school, he played baseball, but he knew his chance of going pro was very unlikely.
“When I was a kid, I knew if I’m not gonna be a pro athlete, then I want to be a sports commentator,” said Wenzel.
He described how he watched sports games almost daily as a kid. This is where he initially learned how to commentate. During his sophomore year in high school, he began his broadcasting career on a cold October night.
“The first game I commentated, I was a sophomore at Schuylkill Valley High School, and it was a football game,” said Wenzel. “It was on top of the press box. The wind was blowing my papers around and everything.”
He summed up his first experience by saying, “I’m sure it wasn’t great, but I knew that I still loved to do it.”
After high school, he decided to go to North Greenville University for several reasons.
“I always wanted [to go to] a Christian school that had sports broadcasting. I knew I could get on the mic right away as a freshman and call sports games.”
Josh Milner, associate athletic director for gameday operations and athletic advancement at NGU, talked about his initial thoughts of Gary.
“My first introduction to Gary was the summer before his freshman year. He came in with confidence. He knew he could do it,” he said. “Little did I know he would become the voice of Tigerville behind a lot of our broadcasts.”
Over the years, Wenzel has experienced the ups and downs of a commentator. When he first started, the biggest challenge was commentating during basketball games.
“I’d never call a basketball game going into college,” said Wenzel. “It was tough because I didn’t know basketball all that well. I had to quickly learn, and it was a struggle at first.”
While he struggled at first, he would get comfortable with it.
Milner stated, “The biggest growth I’ve seen is the pride that he takes in the broadcast that he does behind the scenes. Always striving to be the best that he can.”
Wenzel said the thing that helped him the best was getting reps at commentating and constantly learning about sports.
He also noted the importance of writing in the broadcasting field.
“If you can’t write, you’re not gonna make it in this field, because it all comes down to writing in proper grammar and speaking,” he said.
Wenzel has been the commentator during many notable games, including the NCAA DII Baseball Regionals and the Conference Carolinas football championship. When asked about some of his most memorable games, he had two games that came to mind.
The first one he talked about was a baseball game during his freshman year, between NGU and King University. The game was tied heading into the bottom of the 10 inning. Landon Peavy, a freshman at the time, hit a walk-off home run to end the game and clinch the series sweep for the team.
“It was extra innings, and Landon Peavy hit a walk-off home run. That call was electric. I remember losing my mind,” said Wenzel.
The second moment he brought up was during the regular-season football game between NGU vs No. 19 UNC Pembroke in 2025. Before the game, both teams were undefeated in the conference. The winner of the game would host the first conference championship in over 50 years.
“The implications were huge for that [game], and there was so much hype around it,” he said.
The Trailblazers won the game 20-7 and went on to win the conference championship.
Wenzel has recently been the host of a new podcast called “Inside the ‘Ville.” The vision behind the podcast, according to Josh Milner, is, for athletes and coaches to share about their season and their stories.
Milner talked about how Wenzel was the first person he thought of when discussing who should host.
Milner said, “There’s nobody better than who we call the Voice of the ‘Ville, and I think [Wenzel] is a natural at it.”
Wenzel will graduate in the December 2026 and plans to get a job with a minor league baseball team for the 2027 season.
Wenzel gives more detail, saying, “I would be the broadcaster, travel with the team – be the media guy for the team. Hopefully, work my way up and God-willing into the MLB one day.”
