SILOAM SPRINGS, Ark. -- John Brown University Esports finished out an excellent spring semester with two teams surging to the forefront and achieving big wins.
The JBU Valorant team defeated University of Alaska Anchorage in a clean 3-0 sweep to win the best-of-five National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) Division VI - West Valorant championship on Monday, April 13 inside the Esports Arena.
The championship roster included team captain Ryan Sturdy, Revelle Hadley, Aidan Henderson, Ian Snyder, and Aaron Watts and marks JBU's second Valorant championship and fourth esports title overall.
In addition, the JBU Overwatch team earned enough points throughout their season to qualify for the National tournament in their division in NECC and lost in the second round of competition. Their performance at Nationals came after two third place victories in both ECAC and NECC in their division playoffs. The team roster included co-captains Kambrie Hawkins and Noah Riley, Alex Diaz, Jose Castillo, and Ian Snyder.
Director of Esports, Dr. Kim Johnson, said about the season, "It was a fun and grueling year with two teams still playing at the last week of school. The players showed up each day and did the hard work, and were rewarded with very successful seasons. I'm grateful for our volunteer alumni coaches. They contributed mightily to our success this season. Our work is not done. As a program we still have room to grow.
Throughout the season, the esports program competed against institutions of varying sizes, including larger Division I schools and smaller colleges with established esports programs.
The esports program at JBU previously claimed championships in Rocket League (NACE Varsity Plus division, 2024), League of Legends (NECC Emergents - East Division, 2024), and Valorant (ECAC Division C, 2025).
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