ROCHESTER, Mich. – Following their achievement of securing back-to-back championships in Rocket League and Smash Bros within NACE Varsity Premier Conference, Oakland Golden Grizzlies Esports is further bolstering its roster to continue building on their success in the Fall 2023 season.
Three different game titles will field new student-athletes on the Oakland roster this fall, with nine new additions in total. Smash Bros. lead the way with five players being signed on, including two standout performers from Michigan Smash Ultimate – Anthony “Anthony Isnt Cool” Codd ranked as No. 3 and Robert “Rob” Rabinowitz as No. 12 in the state.
Domenic “Krawi” Akrawi from LA VALIANT will be the first professional player in the video game title Overwatch 2 under the Oakland team, with three more players set to join him. The Rocket league team will be welcoming just one new player – Nicholas “Peep” Stief. However, Stief has already demonstrated his stock by winning the Great Lakes College Rocket League (GLCRL) Invitational this summer.
The victory of Stief at the GLCRL Invitational underscores the unique collegiate Esports advantage, where incoming players can compete in summer action before the academic year starts, and graduating seniors continue their participation till summer end despite academic responsibilities having been wrapped up.
According to Oakland’s head coach Carl Leone, this is the most exciting recruitment class in the program’s history since its inception in March 2020.
“We are enlisting strong performers across multiple games and we see enormous potential in these young players. This year our focus is to push the envelope and elevate our performance at a national level.”
The fall season for the Golden Grizzlies is scheduled to kick off later in August. Here is a comprehensive list of all nine new incoming players:
| Name | Tag | Game | Hometown |