Got Game? ESports Says Yes I Published October 17

By: Ross Rodney

Going into their fourth season as a program, Kean University’s ESports look to improve and continue

their successes. What started as a small, unknown group has grown to feature over fifty students and

six coaches for a variety of games.

The program, led by Professor Joseph Sarnoski for the last three years, gave some insight into how he

became the head of Esports.

“After college I became an avid gamer… I spent some time traveling to play video game

tournaments… One of my students was who got me interested in Kean Esports” said Sarnoski.

Since becoming head of the program, Sarnoski has seen a lot of improvements in his student athletes

but he says there is so much more to achieve as a group.

“Nobody is ever satisfied with where they are, but we are thrilled with where we are,” said Sarnoski.

The team features a diverse group of athletes who are dedicated to their respective games, all while

keeping school as a priority.

“Our players practice every week, video review, and one game night,” Sarnoski said. “They have to

dedicate at least three nights every week… but they are student athletes, [being a] student comes first.”

Kean Esports will feature multiple games, prominently Rocket League, Overwatch, League Of Legends,

Super Smash Bros, Madden. The program is also looking to add Call Of Duty players for the season.

The team features some great players such as Brodie Berger, a Street Fighter Six player, Teresa Lee

who plays Hearthstone, and Jacob Ullman who takes part in Rocket League.

“Brodie has won the championship for Street Fighter Six for the past two years… he’s done so while

being undefeated… Teresa Lee is also someone who’s great and does a great job for us… Jacob

Ullman is someone who has shown a tremendous amount of growth since becoming a part of Esports,”

said Sanoski.

The coaching staff has helped Sarnoski get the program going, they keep the athletes focused and on

their game. The staff also features a player coach Jhordy Jaramillo.

“I want to give our coaches credit, they do such a great job… Jhordy Jaramillo is a coach and a player

for our overwatch squad… they are so in sync and it’s amazing to see” said Sarnoski

The 2024 season started on Monday September 23, the games will be livestreamed on the streaming

platform Twitch.

“We play on weeknights… you can find us on Instagram and our Twitch channel @kean_esports…

come watch and be a part of our program,” said Sarnoski.

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