Shelton State Kicks Off Inaugural Esports Season

TUSCALOOSA, AL. — Shelton State Community College is widely known for its athletic offerings and the school continues to evolve in its approach with the recent introduction of SSCC's esports team.

The team, which is in its inaugural season as a club team in the National Junior College Athletics Esports league, recently rounded out two weeks of preseason play and will compete playing the following console and computer video games: Fortnite, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, Overwatch, Madden 21, and Valorant.

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The regular season kicked off earlier this month and will last until Dec. 5. Postseason play will then begin on Dec. 6, with the championship set for Dec. 12-13.

Members of the school's first esports team are Joslin Bowen, Matthew Chadwick, Samuel Cheek, Cayce Cochran, Jonathan Elder, Tomas Matias, Justin Morrow, Adrian Shamlee, Booshae Thompson, Cole Vick, and Dylan Welchel.

In addition to being a team member, SSCC says Elder also serves as a team coach and has prior experience as a professional coach for multiple Major League Gaming teams.

The team is also made possible by esports sponsor Elena Hodgson, who works in the SSCC Martin Campus Library as a librarian.

“Being so closely involved in the creation of an esports team has been an amazing experience,” Hodgson said. “Getting to know my players has been interesting because I haven’t met all of them in person. I have still managed to learn a great deal about them through their online interactions, and I can’t wait to see what this fantastic group accomplishes together.”

SSCC announced that this year’s fall competition slate will be on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. On Mondays, the team will compete in Fortnite beginning at 6:15 p.m. with Matias leading. Each Tuesday, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate will be played at 5 p.m. led by Morrow. Overwatch and Madden 21, led by Welchel and Morrow respectively, will be played on Thursdays at 5 p.m. with the week of play concluding on Fridays at 5 p.m. with Vick leading the Valorant competitors.

“A major goal for next semester is to recruit more players and compete in additional game titles,” Hodgson said. “This playing field is wide open, and we are excited about building this sport.”

The school also said plans are in the works for the development of an Esports arena at the SSCC Fredd Campus in the West End, with specialized gaming computers and equipment currently being purchased for the program.

The team’s matches will be live-streamed on the SSCC Twitch channel — SSCCEsports.

Those interested in participating or supporting SSCC Esports are asked to contact Hodgson at ehodgson@sheltonstate.edu.