SFU Esports welcomes its first Recruiting Class Fall 2020

Saint Francis University Esports Coach, Luke Trotz, announced the members  of their first recruiting class for the newly established program. The recruiting class includes five players receiving esports scholarships for the 2020/21 academic year. 

The fall 2020 recruiting class will be competing in the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) and Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) throughout four different game titles within the SFU Esports program. 

When asked about they players, Trotz had these comments.

Caleb Burkett (League of Legends; Central Cambria High School) – "Caleb demonstrated strong leadership skills competing for Central Cambria in the North American Scholastic Esports Federation last school year and qualifying for playoffs as a top 16 team. Caleb flexed into different positions on the rift based on his team’s composition, and still maintained his ability to be a vocal leader for his team."

Chase Forberger (Overwatch; Central Cambria High School)  "Until committing to Saint Francis Esports, Chase had considered himself more of a casual Overwatch player. This mentality was surprising to our staff as we had the opportunity to watch Chase’s gameplay several times during his high school tryouts and his map awareness was very impressive. We are excited for Chase to join our program and begin his competitive collegiate esports career."

Logan Kearns (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate; Serra Catholic High School) "Logan will be filling a big role for our Smash Ultimate team and we are confident that he will make an early impact. His primary characters add a nice balance to the mains of our returning players. He also has a large character pool and is comfortable selecting outside of his mains if he thinks the matchup would be favorable."

Shannon Schmitt (Overwatch; Altoona Area High School) "Shannon was one of the first prospective players that we connected with after launching our program. His passion for esports, and love for Overwatch is apparent to everyone he encounters. Shannon’s presence in our arena will elevate our team’s gameplay. His passion coupled with his strong map awareness and positioning will lead to a successful career with SFU Esports."

"Sam Warner (Fortnite; Cambria Heights High School) "Sam has shown us that he uses the map creatively alongside his teammate. He is able to maintain composure during high activity moments such as engaging multiple opponents at time or building structures during an encounter. For this reason, Sam has found success in his matches by being able to adapt to his opponents actions. Sam will be our first Fortnite player and we feel he will establish himself early in the conference."

The 2019/2020 academic year was the inaugural year for the Saint Francis University Esports program. Throughout the first year of competition SFU Esports began to assert itself as a regional leader in collegiate esports. The program averaged a 3.26 GPA their first year, and had 23 players recognized with all-conference academic honors. Additionally, two teams qualified for the conference playoffs, where the Hearthstone team went on to the championship. Now SFU Esports celebrates another milestone by welcoming their first recruiting class to their program this fall 2020 semester.