Chris Kleinhaus-Schulz is only 26 years old, but he's already being a radio broadcaster for minor league baseball teams in Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Now Kleinhaus-Schulz, who grew up in Waverly, is excited about moving to Cedar Rapids and becoming one of the broadcasters for the Kernels in the Class A Midwest League right here in his native state.

Morgan Hawk has been the play-by-play voice for the Kernels for the past five years on KMRY, but he has accepted additional duties in the Kernels organization as the sales manager for the Waterloo Bucks in a summer collegiate league. Kleinhaus-Schulz will join Hawk in the radio booth for some games, especially early in the season, but he will have primary responsibility for road games and will handle the home games when Hawk is busy in Waterloo.

"I've already been to Bowling Green (Kentucky), Charleston (South Carolina) and Jackson (Tennessee)," Kleinhaus-Schulz said, "and while those places all have great organizations and have been fun to work in and learn from, it's certainly nice to have an opportunity to spend the upcoming baseball season significantly closer to home."

Kleinhaus-Schulz is currently the radio play-by-play voice for the University of Northern Iowa women's basketball and volleyball teams. This is his fourth year with the Panthers and it keeps him busy during the fall and winter.

Kleinhaus-Schulz played four sports at Waverly-Shell Rock High School, including baseball, and attended college at Valparaiso University in Indiana. He spent two years as a broadcaster for the Waterloo Bucks in 2011 and 2012 before moving to Bowling Green (2013), Charleston (2014) and Jackson (2015).

"He's got a ton of experience. I'm certain he'll be a good fit," said Hawk, who is the supervisor of broadcasting for the Kernels.

"We're excited to have him. Hopefully people in the community will enjoy having him on the air and I'm sure they will."

Hawk said there were approximately 100 applicants for the job.

Kleinhaus-Schulz, who is a Chicago Cubs fan, said he would welcome the opportunity to become a broadcaster in the Major Leagues some day.

"Absolutely," he remarked. "If there's a possibility at some point to make it to Major League baseball as a broadcaster, that is still the ultimate dream job."