The NACE (National Association of Collegiate Esports) National Convention was held recently (July 20-23), with the Aquinas esports team garnering a few major awards. At the online convention, NACE announced that three members of the Saints program received prestigious honors. AQ head esports coach
Adam Antor was honored as the League of Legends Coach of the Year, Colin Tellkamp received the Shoutcaster of the Year award, and
Devin Jones was named to the All-Overwatch Team.
Antor, who oversees the entire esports program at Aquinas, was specifically named the NACE League of Legends Coach of the Year. Since launching the esports program in March 2019, the League of Legends squad has shown consistent improvement and the ability to perform at the highest level of collegiate League of Legends competition.
Under Antor's leadership, alongside League of Legends coaches
David Seering and J McCutcheon, the League of Legends team has grown from a Diamond 3 average rank team to a Master average rank team. Master rank is only held by 0.15% of all League of Legends players. This growth has skyrocketed the Aquinas squad to national attention, earning them an invitation to the Gateway Legends Invitational in July, a tournament featuring 16 of the top teams in the country. At that tournament, Aquinas defeated University of Illinois, shattering the expectations of everyone in attendance.
"This is an award to recognize the hard work and dedication of our entire coaching staff as well as our players, who are some of the hardest working individuals in all of collegiate esports," Antor explained. "I'd like to thank my wife for the endless support she gives me, my coaching staff who truly made this happen, our players who continue to put in the work that is necessary to compete at the highest level, and everyone at Aquinas College that continues to support us in so many ways. We have a lot more to accomplish and I'm excited to see what we can do this upcoming year."
Since joining the esports program as a shoutcaster with no prior experience, Tellkamp has quickly risen the ladder of rising stars in Rocket League casting. In addition to his duties on the team, Colin has earned opportunities to perform play-by-play and color commentary for the College Carball Association Summer Series, as well as the GameTime Circuit. Many of those matches experience hundreds of live viewers at any given point of time. This impressive resume has helped Tellkamp earn the NACE Shoutcaster of the Year award from the NACE Awards Committee.
"Colin has grown so much as a shoutcaster and I am so proud he earned this distinction," said Antor. "He shared with me that winning this award was a goal of his and I am so glad he was able to accomplish it."
Jones was the third Saint honored during the convention, as he was named to the All-NACE Overwatch team. He is one of only six players to be given this distinction and only one of two players who play in the Support role of Overwatch to be recognized with this honor.
"Devin is a leader on our Overwatch squad and sets the tone for every practice," mentioned Antor. "Players look to him for how to improve their gameplay and I am so proud to see him earn this award."
