Brayden Junkers, left, calls play-by-play alongside Justice Cyr during a UW-Oshkosh men's basketball game against UW-Whitewater on Jan. 28, 2025. Cyr served as the color commentator for the broadcast, which aired on 90.3 WRST-FM.

Standing at the broadcast table in Bloomington, Illinois, sophomore Brayden Junkers knew he was calling something that would become a historic moment for the women's volleyball program at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

As the final rally of the 2025 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball Championship match between the Titans and the Leopards of the University of La Verne California unfolded, the radio TV film major stayed on his feet, eyes locked on the court. When the final point dropped, Junkers paused, then delivered the call that confirmed it. The UW-Oshkosh women's volleyball team captured the sport's first-ever national championship. Their remarkable win marked the University's 51st national championship.

"We need to be down in Bloomington"

Weeks earlier, the moment had felt inevitable to Junkers, a native of Lake Mills, about 25 miles east of Madison. After the Titans advanced in the NCAA Tournament, he turned to Jacob Link, the student operations manager at 90.3 WRST-FM, the radio station of UW-Oshkosh. He made his case for being at the championship match in person. Link is a senior from Madison double majoring in multimedia journalism and radio TV film.

"We need to be down in Bloomington," Junkers emphatically told Link. "We're going to go down there, we're going to win a national championship, and we're coming back with a trophy."

For Junkers, the confidence was not bravado. He had followed the team all season and sensed something different in the way the Titans were playing. If history was coming, he wanted to be there to call it properly. In Bloomington, he did exactly that.

Calling history, one point at a time

"They did it in 2023! They did it in 2024! They are doing it in 2025!" Junkers said on air, marking UW-Oshkosh's third straight trip to the Elite 8 before the Titans broke through to the Final Four for the first time in 16 years.

As the rally continued, his delivery sharpened.

"Dug out by Borrowman, bumps it. It's going to be Perlberg for the swing," he called at the championship. "Gets the kill!"

When the championship was secured, Junkers let the moment breathe.

"Oh my goodness," he said, pausing before continuing. "The Titans are the national champions for the first time in school history. The Titans have made the gold standard."

Later, he reflected on that restraint.

"I knew what was happening was historic," Junkers said. "I wanted to make sure I got it right."

A scramble that led to a no-hitter

The championship broadcast marked a defining moment in Junkers' young career, but it was not the first time he found himself calling history. On April 17 of his freshman year, Junkers was sitting in class when his Apple Watch buzzed with a message from WRST. A baseball doubleheader needed coverage and the first game was about to start.

"I had about 30 minutes to figure it out," he said.

There was one problem. Junkers did not have a car and the baseball field was about 1.5 miles from campus.

He found a friend with a car. Junkers sprinted to his dorm, grabbed his equipment and arrived at the ballpark just in time to go on air. He helped call the first game of the doubleheader, then found himself alone on the broadcast for the second game. It was his first time serving as the lead play-by-play voice.

That was the day UW-Oshkosh pitcher Brett Gaynor threw the sixth no-hitter in program history.

"It was my first ever time calling a game," Junkers said. "And it ended up being historic."

From the dugout to the broadcast booth

Junkers' love of sports, however, began long before college.

"I played a lot of sports when I was growing up," he said. "Baseball, football, wrestling, basketball."

While many kids dream of becoming professional athletes, Junkers realized early on that his path might look different.

"I was not a starter," he said. "I was more of a guy that came off the bench with most of the sports I played."

What he lacked in playing time, he made up for in understanding. "I knew the ins and outs, everything," Junkers said.

At one point, that knowledge turned into something else entirely in high school during a baseball game at Lake Mills High School.
"I started calling games while I was sitting in a dugout and just joking around with my teammates," he said. "A lot of them stopped and started looking and listening to me and were like, 'Dude, you have the voice to broadcast.'"

What began as a way to have fun around the game soon felt like something more. Broadcasting gave Junkers a different way to stay connected to the sports he loved.

That idea was reinforced at home. Both of Junkers' parents earned degrees in broadcasting. His father also worked behind the scenes in sports and news coverage, including roles at NBC 15 in Madison and FOX 6 in Milwaukee as a news and sports camera operator.

A voice listeners choose to hear

When it came time to choose a college, Junkers wanted a place where sports broadcasting was more than theoretical.

He chose UW-Oshkosh because of its emphasis on experiential learning. During his campus visit, he toured athletic facilities, visited the radio station and saw a place where students were not waiting years for meaningful roles in broadcasting.

"I knew I'd be able to get involved right away," he said.

That expectation proved accurate. During his first year, Junkers worked as a board operator, contributed color commentary and steadily moved into play-by-play roles across multiple sports. By his sophomore year, his voice had become a familiar presence for Titan athletics listeners.

Preparation, he said, is what allows him to stay composed on air.

"I want people listening to feel like they're hearing professionals," Junkers said.

That growth is exactly what WRST leadership hopes to see.

"The role of the play-by-play announcer is to set the scene for the listener, describe the ball action and manage the presentation of the game," said Wendell Ray, general manager of 90.3 WRST-FM and an instructor in the radio TV film program. "Brayden is developing very good skills in these areas."

That professionalism has not gone unnoticed beyond the booth. After a men's basketball broadcast, Junkers learned that the mother of one of the players had been following along in an unexpected way.

"She watches the game on TV, but she turns the volume down and listens to our broadcast instead," Junkers said.

For Junkers, the comment carried weight.

"That's when it really hit me," he said. "People are choosing to listen."

Ray said that connection is exactly what strong broadcasters create.

"Sports fans have an emotional connection with their teams, and they want to experience that connection when they can't be physically present," Ray said. "I believe our listeners appreciate Brayden's enthusiasm. His passion for UWO is evident to anyone who listens to our broadcasts on WRST."

Moments like that reinforce the responsibility Junkers feels behind the microphone. Student-athletes' families, alumni and fans rely on the broadcast not just for updates, but for connection.

"It's not about me," Junkers said. "It's about making sure the people who care about this program feel like they're right there with us."

Now a sophomore, Junkers, who has been promoted to sports director for the radio station, continues to build experience while mentoring younger broadcasters. This summer, he will take another step forward as a broadcast journalism intern with the Lake Country DockHounds, a professional baseball team based in Oconomowoc.

"I'll say it even when I graduate," said Junkers, who still has two years left at UWO. "Coming to UW-Oshkosh was the best decision."

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