Basketball Play-By-Play

Chris Fisher, a 25-year-old USC graduate who has spent the past three years broadcasting minor league baseball and who also has called sporting events on USC's website and campus radio station, has been named the radio play-by-play announcer for USC men's basketball broadcasts on 710 ESPN Radio, Trojan athletic director Mike Garrett announced today (July 9).
Fisher succeeds the late Rory Markas, who died suddenly on Jan. 4 at age 54 during his 12th season of calling Trojan games.
"We had many qualified candidates willing to accept the difficult challenge of succeeding such a talented and beloved announcer as Rory," said Garrett. "In listening to Chris' work, many of us at USC heard something special in his play-calling ability. Now it's time for Trojan basketball fans everywhere to enjoy him. This is a great opportunity for a young professional like Chris, and we know he's more than ready and capable to come back home and run with it. He will do an outstanding job bringing Trojan basketball to our listeners."
Said Fisher: "I am thrilled and thankful to continue to be a part of the Trojan Family. However, the unfortunate circumstances of how this position opened up are not forgotten as Rory Markas was a tremendous mentor and an even better person to me. This has been a humbling process and I am appreciative that USC has put its conviction in me."
Fisher will team with longtime USC analyst Jim Hefner, a Trojan assistant coach in the 1960s and 1970s, in calling the action on 710 ESPN Radio.
Fisher is currently in his second season as the play-by-play broadcaster for the Eugene (Ore.) Emeralds, a minor league affiliate of the San Diego Padres in the short-season Class A Northwest League. He spent 2008 calling the play-by-play for the Potomac Nationals in Woodbridge, Va., an affiliate of the Washington Nationals. The Nationals won their division and league titles in the Class A Advanced Carolina League in 2008.
During the 2007 season, he conducted player and coach interviews during the USC men's basketball pre-game show on 710 ESPN Radio. He did the play-by-play for the USC women's basketball team last season on USCTrojans.com, USC's official athletic website.
Fisher, a native of Rohnert Park just north of the Bay Area, received his bachelor's degree in political science from USC in 2007. While at USC, he served as a sports announcer at student-run radio station KSCR, where he called Trojan football, baseball and men's and women's basketball games. He also called games and did feature reports on USCTrojans.com.