For the first time since 1966, the Waynesburg Yellow Jackets are national champions.
The esports Overwatch team won the NECC Division IX national championship May 9, beating East Central University 4-1, closely followed by another victory when The Rocket League team secured the NECC Division V national championship over Tarleton State on May 12.
Waynesburg’s Overwatch team dominated NECC Division XI from beginning to end in the spring 2025 season. The Jackets stormed through an undefeated regular season at 14-0, never dropping a map along the way.
Waynesburg received the top seed in the NECC Division IX East Conference Playoffs and defeated Mount Union 4-1 in the conference championship match. The Jackets earned an automatic bid to the NECC Division IX national tournament as conference champions and were given the No. 2 seed in the national bracket.
After receiving a first round bye, the Jackets defeated No. 7 Saint Vincent 3-0 in the quarterfinals and topped No. 6 Oklahoma City in the semifinals to reach the NECC Division IX national championship match. No. 5 seed East Central University awaited Waynesburg in the finals.
East Central defeated No. 1 Morningside in a confident fashion, so the Jackets knew they had their work cut out for them. Losing map 1 in the best of seven series made for a difficult start, but the team rallied together and secured a close map two, tying the series 1-1. The Jackets used the momentum to win the next two maps, and with an overtime win on King's Row in the fifth map they secured the national championship trophy, beating East Central 4-1.
Several team records were broken during the match. Senior Jacob Parks recorded 165 eliminations; senior Ryan Sullivan tallied 62,000 healing, and junior Felicia Duffy had a record 140 assists. Freshman Jordan Parkins and freshman Jackson Medvec combined for 243 eliminations and had numerous clutch ultimates across the 5-map series.
For Waynesburg’s Rocket League team, the Jackets captured NECC Division V conference championships in the fall 2024 and spring 2025 semesters. Waynesburg notched high profile wins over the University of South Carolina and the University of Tennessee in the fall semester. In the playoffs, Waynesburg downed the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez win the NECC Division V East conference championship and punch their ticket to the NECC national championship bracket in the spring.
The Jackets received the No. 2 seed in the Rocket League Division V national tournament. Waynesburg notched wins over Illinois Wesleyan and South Dakota Mines to reach the national semifinals. The Jackets took down third-seeded Stevenson 4-1 to advance to the championship match against No. 4 Tarleton State.
The Jackets won the best-of-seven years in decisive fashion with three shutout wins in the series to clinch the NECC Division V national championship.
Waynesburg jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage with 3-0 and 2-0 shutout wins. Strong offensive play from captain AJ Smolen and excellent defensive play and assists from Bobby Ballentyne and Noah Westover kept the Jackets in the driver's seat through the first 10 minutes of the series.
Game three was the sole win for Tarleton State. They got out to a quick lead and beat the Jackets 5-2.
Game four was the pivotal game of the series with the Jackets winning 16 second into overtime off a Smolen goal. The fifth and final game of the series was another shutout performance (2-0) from the Jackets to close out the series 4-1 and secure the esports program’s second national title in just four days.
The two esports national championships are the first two team titles since 1966 for a Waynesburg University athletic program. The Yellow Jackets claimed the 1966 NAIA football national title with a 42-21 victory over Wisconsin-Whitewater.
Waynesburg’s esports program completed its third full year as an athletic offering at Waynesburg. The Jackets won a program record 49 games across four titles in the spring 2025 semester. Waynesburg’s Rocket League and Overwatch teams will look to defend their national titles in September.
