WATERBURY, Conn. -- Director of Athletic Communications Michael Vesci was named to the third annual College Sports Communicators 30 Under 30 Class released on Tuesday afternoon by the College Sports Communicators organization from a record 176 nominations for the award this year. The recognition honors up-and-coming strategic, creative, and digital athletics communications professionals throughout the CSC membership at all levels of college sports encompassing NCAA Division I, II, and III schools as well as NAIAs, two-year colleges, and Canadian institutions. 

Candidates must be 29 years old or younger on December 31, 2024, and a current 2024-25 CSC member and are considered for selection based on achievement in one or more areas such as:

• Professional success
• Impact on their athletic department/conference office
• Service to CSC

This year's class includes 10 members from different levels of NCAA Division I, six Division II members, 10 Division III members, two NAIA members, one member from a Canadian institution, and one two-year college member. The average age is 27.1 years old. Honorees in the 2024 class were chosen by a voting group composed of the Executive Board of Directors, the Advisory Council, CSC staff, leaders from all CSC committees, and selected past winners.

"The remarkable individuals recognized in the CSC Under 30 Class of 2024 represent a diverse and talented group of young professionals working in sports communications today," 2024-25 CSC President Kevin Trainor said. "This distinguished list of honorees features outstanding sports communicators from throughout our membership. Their innovative approach to blending traditional communication methods with content creation, social media, and other emerging technologies will allow us to effectively connect with our audiences while also helping to shape the future of our organization and our profession. Congratulations to all of those included in this year's class!"

Vesci becomes the third Athletic Communicator in Connecticut to receive the honor, joining Sacred Heart University's Allison Hogue (2022) and Bridget Delaney (2023) as the other two recipients while becoming the first Director of Athletic Communications and the first individual from a Division II school in the state to be named to the award since it began in 2022. The 25-year-old is in the middle of his second year at Post University after coming to Waterbury, Connecticut last July after an 11-month stint at UMass Boston in Boston, Massachusetts as the Sports Information Assistant under then Assistant Director of Athletics for Sports Information and Events Management, Dave Walberg. Before that, Vesci spent three years as both a student worker and University Assistant at Eastern Connecticut State University under the mentorship of Sports Information Director Bob Molta who has been at the institution in his role for 40-plus years. 

Speaking on the honor, Vesci said, "I would not have been able to receive this honor without the mentorship from Bob "Bullet" Molta as a student at Eastern Connecticut State University where I found my passion for the field, the mentorship of Dave Walberg at UMass Boston who took a chance on me as his assistant two years ago, and the trust of everyone involved in bringing me to Post University to be their Director of Athletic Communications. I am extremely humbled and blessed to be part of this CSC 30 Under 30 Class, but this award is not just about me or for me. All of my mentors over the last few years, the individuals who nominated me, and especially my team are all a part of celebrating this honor."

"Thank you to my assistant Kristen Brown, my current and former Graduate/Part-time Assistants Grace Glasrud, Jake Haddad, Jack Olson, Sydney Rutherford, Derek Mosher, and Jarrett Michaels for all their hard work at Post as well as all our student workers, interns, and volunteers. You are all equally a part of this accolade and celebration because you make our team and department successful. Thank you as well to my mentors Bob Molta and Dave Walberg for molding me into the professional I am today and to my family members who have supported me in my career path/aspirations in my early years of being in this profession. I appreciate you all!"  

In less than two years at Post, Vesci served as the primary media contact for the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament home game when Men's Soccer faced West Chester University last fall as well as for the CACC Men's Golf and Baseball Championships that they hosted. He also began serving as a regional voter in the D2CSC Women's Basketball East Region Poll and NCBWA Baseball East Region Poll in his first year before joining as a D2CSC Men's Basketball East Region Poll voter for the 2024-25 season.

This past summer, Vesci was honored by the College Sports Communicators organization in their Creative and Digital Design Contest, placing 12th in the Best of Division II for the CSC Non-Game Day Graphics category while he and his team received the Carmody Award in April for their work during the 2023-24 school year at the annual Swoopy Awards. Earlier this fall, Vesci was one of 12 CSC members who was named to the 2024-25 CSC Inclusion Fellowship class, a year-long cohort that studies issues around championing an inclusive culture in athletics communications and within college athletics.

So far in year two, Vesci and his team have revamped Media Days for all 17 varsity sports at Post University as well as became the first CACC school to reach 1,000 subscribers on YouTube back on November 11th where Media Day, interview, weekly recap videos, and other content have lived since their arrival. Additionally, the introduction of the Athletic Communications internship this academic year will have welcomed nearly a dozen students between the fall and upcoming spring semesters from Post and multiple schools across Connecticut to get hands-on learning in the field in a variety of roles.

Along with the 29 other individuals, Vesci will be honored by the College Sports Communicators organization at the CSC Unite 24 Convention in Orlando, Florida this upcoming June for being part of the 30 Under 30 Class as well as alongside the other 11 individuals who are part of the 2024-25 CSC Inclusion Fellowship. The full list of 30 Under 30 recipients can be found at the link at the top of the article.