DANBURY, Conn — The ECAC has selected its major awards for the Fall 2020 season for Overwatch, Hearthstone, VALORANT, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Fortnite, Madden,  FIFA, Freshman, and Senior of the season presented by iBUYPOWER.

Freshman of the Fall 2020 Season: Paul Broccardi, Arcadia University

Paul Broccardi started his Fall 2020 freshman semester with an absolute splash on the Arcadia Overwatch team, having standout performances and highlight clips in almost every series that was played during the semester. Paul was also an integral part in helping to motivate his fellow teammates to play the game outside of scheduled practice times by facilitating and leading an energetic and welcoming space for others to play/practice together on their own time. On top of being one of the most mechanically talented players on the team, Paul has also contributed to improvements in team-wide communication as a DPS player.

Senior of the Fall 2020 Season: Tristan Van Wieringen, Catawba College


Tristan has took on the role of student coach and player for Catawba College esports. He led his team to the ECAC Valorant Fall Finals where his team defeated powerhouse Sacramento State University to clinch the title. Tristan also took home the ECAC Valorant Championship MVP trophy. Aside from his dedication to esports, he also volunteers with a nearby senior center each semester.

Regular season stats;
217 eliminations, 99 assist, 160 deaths
KDA: 2.0

Playoffs;
150 eliminations , 42 assist, 76 deaths
KDA: 2.5

Overwatch Player of the Fall 2020 Season: Nolan Badore, Johnson & Wales University


Nolan is the right-hand man at Johnson and Wales. He is the embodiment of what it means to be a leader. As the captain for the Overwatch team Nolan has created a wonderful environment for new and returning students to thrive under. He is always striving to improve as an individual and as a team. Nolan has lead the Overwatch team to multiple records including one 2nd, one 3rd, and 5 3rd/4th place finishes across 2 years at Johnson and Wales.

Hearthstone Player of the Fall 2020 Season: Bryanna Cribb, Central Methodist University


Bryanna not only led her team to 10th overall ranking during league play she was the crucial piece to the CMU team making the finals of the ECAC Hearthstone Playoffs. She is the captain of the Hearthstone team and referees collegiate and pro soccer games all while maintaining her high GPA.

VALORANT Player of the Fall 2020 Season: Bryan Anunsacion, Sacramento State University

Bryan “Prodigy” Anunsacion is a 3rd year Health Science major who just joined the Sacramento State Esports Sport club Fall 2020 to join the Valorant team. While this was Bryan’s first time competing for Sacramento State Esports, Bryan has impressed both the team and represents what a Hornet accomplishes at Sacramento State. Bryan has reached a competitive rank of Immortal 3 and is ever so closer to the highest rank in Valorant (Radiant). Bryan played as entry for the majority of the ECAC Valorant season and has consistently gotten 20+ frags every official match. His positive attitude with the other players have helped the team remain undefeated all the way up until finals losing to Catawba. The team and Sacramento State are thrilled to see him grow both in his academics and as a student-athlete.

Rocket League Player of the Fall 2020 Season: Conor Brennan, Randolph-Macon College

Stats Leader for his team in every category, Conor is an all around player that was in the arena practicing every chance he got despite his busy schedule.

MVPs       0.37
Points      418.30
Goals       1.63
Assists     0.89
Saves      1.42
Shots       3.53

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Player of the Fall 2020 Season: Allen Lucero, Post University

Allen ‘LunaticoX’ Lucero was integral in leading Post University’s inaugural Smash team through their first season in ECAC competition.  The unflappable Samus main frequently clutched out crucial stocks in matches, regularly taking 6+ stocks from the opposing teams. Out of game he was also a phenomenal leader, organizing practices and scrims as well as offering advice to newer players and taking his duties as Team Captain to heart.

Fortnite Player of the Fall 2020 Season: Jazton Ehlert, Central Methodist University

Jazton not only led the CMU Fortnite team to number 1 ranking for majority of the season, he was the leader of the varsity program and set the standard for the Fortnite team at CMU. He has done amazing work for building the team from not being in the top ten last year to being second almost first in the conference this year.

Madden PS4 Player of the Fall 2020 Season: Alex Oates, WVU Potomac State College


Alex finished the season with a 5-1 record and clinched the Madden PS4 Championship title.

Madden Xbox Player of the Fall 2020 Season: Evan Moreland, WVU Potomac State College

Evan had an outstanding regular season going undefeated and only dropping one match which was in the semifinals.

FIFA PS4 Player of the Fall 2020 Season: Lucas Carvalho, Siena Heights University

 

Over the course of this semester, Lucas went 8-0, while becoming champion of FIFA for PS4. Over the course of his 8 wins, he only dropped 1 game in the Finals against the second seed Chelan Gonzalez. Lucas averaged a margin of 3 goals more than his opponent over the course of the season for all of his games (average includes the 1 round he lost), meaning he was a dominate force in the FIFA PS4 season.

FIFA Xbox One Player of the Fall 2020 Season: Nico Mirabella, Stockton University

Following a Spring season cut short by the Coronavirus, Stockton’s FIFA team was anticipating making an impact in the Fall semester. And what a season it was. Newcomer Kyle Crane had a solid debut season, and fellow Osprey Timothy Halter ended up with the silver place finish in the final.

Nico Mirabella. Nico had a strong regular season, finishing with a 4-1 record.

In the playoffs, Nico fired through the first two rounds, setting up a rematch against Sid Mazumdar of UAlbany, who had given Nico his only loss on the season. Despite losing the 1st game of the series, Mirabella came up clutch with a pair of wins to send him to an “All-Stockton Final”. In the final, Nico would stake his claim as Player of the Semester with a strong win over Stockton’s Timothy Halter, winning the series 2-0.

While Nico and the Stockton FIFA team are enjoying their spots on the top, he and the rest of the Ospreys look forward to running it back-to-back in the Spring.


About The ECAC

The ECAC is an 82-year-old organization with over 200 member schools across all NCAA Divisions. The ECAC exists to enhance the experience of student-athletes participating in intercollegiate athletics and provides great value for universities and colleges by sponsoring championships, leagues, bowl games, tournaments and other competitions throughout the Northeast. The ECAC’s esports platform is growing and now totals more than sixty colleges and universities and is expanding the geographic footprint for the conference nationally. The ECAC is also sponsoring competitions and leagues involving other varsity and club sports that do not fall under the umbrella of the NCAA.