Two Republic High School seniors, Max Davis and Tyler Green, have earned scholarships to play esports at the collegiate level. Davis will attend the University of Missouri, while Green is headed to William Jewell College. The scholarships are indicative of the growing recognition of esports as a competitive extracurricular activity.
Max Davis, a member of Republic High School’s successful Valorant team, signed with the University of Missouri’s esports program. Davis’s journey to the Mizzou team began when he participated in a tournament open to all players.
“It was a really big goal of mine, and it’s just amazing that it paid off, really,” he said. After participating in the tournament organized by Mizzou, he secured a tryout. “I played two matches and I did well and well enough to make it.”
After a two to three-month waiting period, Davis learned that he had secured a spot on the team. He said his success has inspired his teammates and brought attention to the growing role of competitive gaming among other students.
Green said he was surprised to receive a scholarship offer from William Jewell College for his gaming skills.
“It was kind of really random and just very surprising,” Green said. “I just got an email one night about Jewell basically recruiting esports players.”
Green said after an injury sidelined him from basketball in the past, he’s found the experience of competing in esports to be a way to connect with other students.
“It was really special to have a connection and to practice with these guys and to grind together,” Green said.
At William Jewell, Green expects to handle digital media responsibilities such as streaming, graphic design, and managing social media accounts for the esports program. He acknowledges that balancing schoolwork, esports, and media production will be a challenge.
“It will be a grind, just with the time management and dedicating a lot of time. Not only my school work, but to Jewell esports and graphic designing and actually trying to find that time to actually play games and to improve on that,” Green said.