NRG NRG North America Rank #1 keiko Georgio Sanassy brawk Brock Somerhalder mada Adam Pampuch skuba Logan Jenkins Ethan Ethan Arnold has announced the beginning of a partnership with Maryville University Maryville University North America Rank #10 chloric Caide Heaton renz Austin Dickman Ange Adam Milian geeza Tanner McGhee Shondex Yahya Amani to form NRG Academy NRG Academy North America Unranked chloric Caide Heaton renz Austin Dickman Ange Adam Milian geeza Tanner McGhee Shondex Yahya Amani , which will represent NRG at the Challengers level while serving as the VCT team's development squad.

The roster will consist of members of the former MU squad, headlined by head coach Matthew "mCe" Elmore, and former MU players Adam "Ange" Milian, Caide "chloric" Heaton, Tanner "geeza" McGhee, Austin "renz" Dickman, and Yahya "Shondex" Amani.

NRG shared that the partnership looks to address the balance between fully committing to competitive play and pursuing their education.

"That's why we're proud to partner with Maryville University, one of the most established collegiate esports programs in the country," NRG said. "Together, we're creating a structure that connects competition, training, and education - one where eligible players can pursue a degree while developing in a high-performance environment on a professional track. Through this partnership, players who join NRG Academy will also have the option to attend Maryville under scholarship (subject to eligibility and admissions), compete in the collegiate ecosystem, and earn a degree while continuing their development."

In 2025, Maryville competed in Americas Stage 3, finishing 5th-6th and securing a slot in the league for 2026. The team also cemented itself as one of the top collegiate teams in the United States, being crowned champions of the College VALORANT Championship 2025 with a win over eventual Americas Ascension participants Winthrop University Winthrop University North America Rank #11 moobs Gabriel Powell Governor Peter No infiltrator Philip Nguyen Ali .

Head coach mCe carries over a wealth of coaching experience in the Esports realm. After closing the book on a long CS:GO career, he began his career coaching in Valorant in 2021 with Gen.G Gen.G Korea Rank #2 Lakia Kim Jong-min (김종민) ZynX Kim Dong-ha (김동하) Ash Ha Hyun-cheol (하현철) Karon Kim Won-tae (김원태) t3xture Kim Na-ra (김나라) when the team was still based in North America. Later that year, he joined The Guard The Guard Inactive JonahP Jonah Pulice trent Trent Cairns neT Michael Bernet valyn Jacob Batio tex Ian Botsch , and since then has coached for Cloud9 Cloud9 North America Rank #8 Xeppaa Erick Bach v1c Victor Truong Zellsis Jordan Montemurro penny Erik Penny OXY Francis Hoang and Global Esports Global Esports Asia-Pacific Rank #23 PatMen Patrick Mendoza UdoTan Go Kyung-won (고경원) Kr1stal Savva Fedorov xavi8k Xavier Juan Autumn Kale Dunne , but has been involved in the Maryville project since 2023.

The team's playing roster consists of several players who are well-traveled in the Collegiate and Tier 2 scenes. renz previously suited up for Winthrop, and also spent early portions of his career on Cloud9 Academy Cloud9 Academy Inactive geeza Tanner McGhee nillyaz Chase Linder . Shondex played for Fisher White Fisher White Inactive Shondex Yahya Amani Dory Dorian Kaba kev Kevin Pham Momiji ce6Jay , but has also competed for teams like Blue Otter Blue Otter North America Rank #12 Zoestol Mitchell Keaton , Ambrosia Ambrosia Inactive GLYPH Conner Garcia acrian satellite , and SaD Esports SaD Esports North America Rank #13 Jerrwin welyy stellar Brenden McGrath payne zaj . geeza got his start in professional Valorant with Squirtle Squad Squirtle Squad Inactive Add3r Jack Hayashi Okeanos Anthony Nguyen wedid Matthew Suchan Harmful Mohammed C. Governor Peter No alongside the likes of C0M and ban , and since then has played for C9 Academy, Nearest Airport Nearest Airport Inactive melya Emily Khan k0rupt Wylie Watts BlackMoose Shawn Fox Uncreative Kuba Kosiba Tn , St. Clair Saints St. Clair Saints North America Rank #30 Instxnct Isaac Walton Tillo Tristan Carrillo jayp João Pedro Muller woddy Gabriel Cressoni taiga Jazzyk1ns Jasmine Manankil , and Chet's Pets Chet's Pets Inactive . In the past, Ange has played for DarkZero Esports DarkZero Esports Inactive and Rise Rise Inactive , while chloric previously competed for Fisher Navy Fisher Navy North America Rank #13 cuz jeffie Jeffrey Hansen sogo Davide Hoxha HUYNH Danny Huynh Blahst Nathan Brand .

NRG Academy NRG Academy North America Unranked chloric Caide Heaton renz Austin Dickman Ange Adam Milian geeza Tanner McGhee Shondex Yahya Amani 's full roster is: