High School
Young attended Highland Park High School, where he played basketball and baseball. He lettered three times in basketball, in a career in which he scored over 1,000 points, and accumulated 500 rebounds and 200 blocks. He was a two-year letterman in baseball, compiling a 14–3 record with 180 strikeouts. In basketball he averaged 16 points, 12 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots a game, and in baseball he had an 8–3 record with a 1.70 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 80 innings pitched.
As a sophomore in the fall of 1995, he was moved up to the varsity basketball team from the junior varsity due to injuries. As a junior, his presence was significant enough that one opposing team practiced with a coach holding a broom in the air to simulate playing against him. He helped his team reach the Class 4A-state Region II final. As a junior in baseball, Young threw a no-hitter against McKinney High School in Spring 1997. However, he missed a large part of the season after getting off to a 6–0 start because of a stress fracture in his foot. Nonetheless, he was already considered a top professional prospect, and he was named as one of seven Highland Park players on the all-district team. By the summer of 1997, he was able to play for the Dallas Mustangs who were the defending national champions in the Connie Mack World Series, and he earned the win in the fifth place game of the World Series.
By January of Young's senior season, he had led his basketball team to a district-leading 23–1 (4–0 in district) record and first place in both the The Dallas Morning News' Class 4A area poll and the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches' state poll. Young developed a reputation as a finesse post player, and that season he led his team to the UIL State Tournament championship game. Highland Park lost to Houston's Waltrip High School and Young was credited with a tournament-high 18 rebounds by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, although The Dallas Morning News only credited him with 17 points and 14 rebounds. Young finished his senior season as a Texas Association of Basketball Coaches' first-team All-State selection and the District 9-4A Most Valuable Player. He was later chosen to play in the mid-summer Texas High School Coaches Association's Southwestern All-Star basketball game at the Hofheinz Pavilion.
Young announced he planned to attend Princeton in May 1998. He chose Princeton over Boston College, University of Oklahoma, University of Pennsylvania, University of Texas, Vanderbilt University, and Yale University. Young's decision was based on Princeton's rising national profile in basketball and the opportunity to work with baseball coach Scott Bradley, who had played catcher for the Seattle Mariners while 6–10 pitcher Randy Johnson was with the team.
On May 9, 1998, Young was involved in a combined no-hitter when he pitched into the fifth inning against Moisés E. Molina High School and was relieved by Mike Matthews. Highland Park won this game, which was the clinching Region II best-of-3 bi-district series game, by the 10-run rule. Young displayed home run power as a senior, and in some games, he played designated hitter. Later that month, Young pitched another no-hitter in another 10-run rule victory, this time against Carthage High School. Young was the starting pitcher at UFCU Disch-Falk Field during the Texas state 4A championship game victory against Calallen High School, and he clinched the game with a successful pickoff move. He was selected to the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association 1998 All-State baseball team as well as The Texas Sports Writers Association third-team Class 4A all-state baseball.
Read more about this topic: Chris Young (pitcher)
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