Starting off the second day of the annual NACE Conference, held at Full Sail University, the NACE Awards presented nearly 30 awards to outstanding collegiate esports athletes, students, and staff.
The ceremony was hosted by Chase Neukam and Danielle Sirekis, who honored dozens of students and programs. Award winners made up 16 different schools across the United States and Canada, including notable programs such as Maryville University, West Virginia University, and St. Clair College.
The Complete List of NACE Award Winners:
Player and Coach of the Year Awards
These awards recognize outstanding players and coaches in each premiere title hosted in the 2023-24 NACE season.
- Rocket League Player: Jarret “Angel” Birch (West Virginia University)
- Rocket League Coach: Nicholas “Evil” Zimmowitch (West Virginia University)
- Overwatch 2 Player: Enrique “Joobi” Triana (Maryville University)
- Overwatch 2 Coach: Parker “Lyte” Lewis (Illinois State University)
- Call of Duty Player: Rory “Cruze” Hunn (Oklahoma Christian University)
- Call of Duty Coach: Zarin “Zaarin” Bartholomew (St. Clair College)
- Counter Strike Player: Kamron “kmn” Manii (Syracuse University)
- Counter Strike Coach: Matthew “MJB” Bussell (Rochester Institute of Technology)
- VALORANT Player: Mirel “Kyu” Hrustemovic (St. Clair College)
- VALORANT Coach: Owen “Hybrid” Mantha (St. Clair College)
- SSBU Player: Tiki “Spritzy” Duquella (Lubbock Christian University)
- SSBU Coach: Kevin Craig (Stony Brook University)
- League of Legends Player: Jeremiah “ScaryJerry” Leathe (Maryville University)
- League of Legends Coach: Aiden “Niles” Tidwell (Maryville University)
- Rainbow 6 Siege Player: Jett “JettCon” Conley (University of Akron)
- Rainbow 6 Siege Coach: Hunter “Huntley” Wood (University of Akron)
Director’s Cup Awards
The Director’s cup denotes overall school placement across all games. The school with the best overall placement is ranked 1st.
- 1st Place: St. Clair College
- 2nd Place: Maryville University
- 3rd Place: University of Akron
Student Leadership Awards
This award recognizes an outstanding student leader that has made a difference in their school’s esports program in the past year.
- Braeden Cheverie-Leonard (Syracuse University)
- Codi McPeek (Lawrence Technological University)
- Isabella Talotta (St. Clair College)
- Grayson Harding (Michigan State University)
- Esmy Infante (Texas A&M- San Antonio)
Student and Staff Awards
These awards recognize outstanding full-time and student staff members that have contributed to their esports program in fields such as marketing, event management, and production.
- Support Staff of the Year: Jono Eaton (Michigan State University)
- Broadcast Producer of the Year: Ian Burnett (Shenandoah University)
- Broadcast Talent of the Year: Molly Denz (Shenandoah University)
- Production Team of the Year: Boise State University
- Social Media Producer of the Year: Tae Bounmy (St. Clair College)
- Outstanding Marketing Team: St. Clair College
- Advocate of the Year: Chris Postell
- Outstanding Scholar of the Year: Ashley Jones (Full Sail University)
- Partner Award: Esports Foundry
- Emerging Director of the Year: Alyssa Duran (Shenandoah University)
- Emerging Program of the Year: Syracuse University
- Director of the Year: Sari Kitelyn (Full Sail University)
- Program of the Year: Michigan State University
- Outstanding Event: NACE x Full Sail University
Following these awards, NACE is set to make more announcements regarding its plans for the upcoming 2024-25 season. You can read more about NACE’s new league vision here. Stay connected with CEN for more information as it is released.
