The Poke Press
McNeese State University has been an NCAA Division I school since 1972. However, while there are 13 official sports teams on campus, there is also a thriving community of students who enjoy competing in games outside these teams. Among them is McNeese’s Esports team.
Matthew Steckling, the team’s manager, McNeese had the foundation for an esports team for a few years, but the recreational complex lacked the people to step up and run it before. That changed in August 2024, when Steckling took on his current role.
The esports team members compete in games like Valorant, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Rocket League, and Marvel Rivals and are organized into two divisions. One focuses on competitive gaming, with monthly Smash tournaments held on the last Friday of each month. The other division hosts casual tournaments, mainly for games like Smash Bros., which are held weekly and managed by Noah Ramirez, a McNeese computer science student.
“We actually started out rather large with about 16 people across all of our teams,” said Steckling. The team now consists of about 30 members who either regularly compete in tournaments or play in one of the competitive rosters, a growth that Steckling is pleased with.
“I think our program has started off on a great foot, and I think we’re only going to expand from here,” he said.
In April, the team competed in LSU Alexandria’s tournament for Valorant and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, where they placed first in Valorant and second in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Stecklick said was happy with the result but said the McNeese team will be “coming for first next time.”
Steckling highlighted the achievement of one of the players in both teams – Kody Vo, the team captain of the Valorant team.
“Kody played on both our Valorant and Smash Ultimate teams at the tournament in Alexandria and played fantastic,” said Steckling. “He was the MVP of our Smash team and he went crazy in the Valorant tournament as well.”
Vo said he found being in the same room as the competitors and his teammates to be a fun experience.
“Playing in person and seeing the others [competitors] and seeing your teammates and everything happening, you get a competitive thrill,” Vo said.
Vo said games are his passion, and he came into the esports team with the intention to succeed.
“I thought let me give this a try and try to get really good and recognized for it, so I did,” Vo said.
The esports team casual games are open to everyone, but only full-time McNeese students can compete in the tournaments.
Students interested in joining the esports team or participating in future tournaments can find more information on the team’s Instagram @mcneese_esports or @msu_fc
