Esports excited about new coach and game space
2026 Rocket League team playing in a placement match.
Photo credit: Maximus Fritsche
By Maximus Fritsche
Fritsche is an active Esports community member.
The Esports community, which includes seven teams this year, has been active at Concordia for several years and has undergone several changes, both administrative and physical.
Esports combines the fun of casual gaming with a competitive element. The Esports teams at Concordia work together for glory and recognition, rather than for simple fun. This requires collaboration, strategic planning for games and a level of reasonable effort on everyone’s part.
The most important change has been a new coach. Tytus Woodburn, a 2025 Concordia graduate, had previous experience teaching computer science and helping out as an assistant coach for the Esports club at Faith Lutheran High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. He received an offer from Concordia University, Nebraska, to serve as the new E-Sports director and, after much deliberating, accepted the job.
“I really enjoyed competing in Esports in my time here and I resonated with the community,” Woodburn said. “I want to give students an opportunity in a Christ-centered community through video games.”
The teams, named for the games in which they compete, now have new Lenovo Legion and Asus ROG Gaming computers, optimized for performance and steady competition. This means no more computer crashes in the middle of competitive matches, especially when a title is on the line.
There also is a new space for Esports to have official competitions — the former Go Center office.
“Having a dedicated space for competitions gives students a dedicated space to work together in competition as well as free up space in the main Esports room,” said Woodburn.
Concordia Esports holds its usual lineup of competitive games this year, with the addition of a new title joining the ranks.
“We found that a lot of local teams like to compete in MarioKart, especially in the Nebraska area,” said Woodburn.
MarioKart, a competitive racing game by Nintendo studios, enters the game rotation and League of Legends, a top-down team-based multiplayer game by Riot Games, steps out, taking a break for the fall season while the League of Legends team looks for more members.
“We need a little bit more student interest,” said Woodburn.
Marvel Rivals, a team-based, hero shooter game produced by NetEase Gaming, kicks off again with a varsity and a junior varsity team under sophomore Miles Combs, junior Abbey Kudrna and sophomore Mason Lockwood.
Super Smash Bros, a free-for-all platform fighting game by Nintendo Studios, returns with a varsity team, led by junior Kyle Becker. Overwatch, a multiplayer team shooter by Blizzard Studios, returns with a varsity team led by senior Simon Wegner.
Valorant, a team-based tactical shooter game by Riot Games, is back for another season, led by junior Emmy Nelson.
Apex Legends, a team-based battle royale game by EA, returns with a varsity and a junior varsity team led by junior Caleb O’ Connor and will participate in two stages of the Octane Collegiate conference, a collegiate league solely for the purpose of competing in Apex Legends.
Lastly, Rocket League, a 3 verus 3 person soccer game by Rockstar studios, is back for another semester with a varsity team led by senior George Aschenbeck and a junior varsity team led by junior Andrew Schlichting.
The teams will compete in the National Esports Collegiate Conference and the PlayVsCollege league.
“The captains play a crucial role in organizing, developing and communicating with each of the teams,” Woodburn said. “They are returning students whose goal is to assist and support newer students to the best of their abilities.”
Games will be streamed on Twitch, with weekly posts on Instagram and Facebook.
