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Braeden Cheverie-Leonard’s parents were not thrilled when their son chose Syracuse University’s sport management program instead of a full-ride scholarship at another school. But after revamping SU’s esports program and becoming captain of its Call of Duty Team in his freshman year, he feels that choosing the Orange was the right decision after all.

“I sacrificed some things going into college with esports,” Cheverie-Leonard said. “I found Syracuse to be the best fit for me, and I don’t think I’d change that decision.”

Outside the classroom, Cheverie-Leonard spends much of his time organizing Syracuse University’s Call of Duty Team. Entering its second season, the COD Team competes in the College Call of Duty League. The league is made up of schools from across the United States and Canada, including the University of Alabama, Arizona State University and Michigan University.

Arlo Stone | Digital Design Director

SU’s squad, which will soon include eight players and a pair of coaches, competes in the esports gaming room in the Barnes Center at the Arch. In its inaugural season over the spring 2023 semester, Syracuse cruised to a top-half finish in the Northeast division, Cheverie-Leonard said.

After serving as co-captain last year, Cheverie-Leonard was named the team’s sole captain for this upcoming season. His duties include forming the roster, scheduling team practices and meetings, acting as SU’s point of contact within the league, selecting team-favorable maps to compete on and managing the team’s Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter, accounts. He was also brought on as the president of all Syracuse esports.

Upon its formation, news of the COD Team quickly spread across campus. Lance Newland, a first-year student, saw a social media post and expressed his interest in joining Cheverie-Leonard on the team. The freshman had little experience on a controller but joined and by the end of last season, he worked his way into a substitute role on the team.

“Being a member of the COD Team comes with various responsibilities such as showing up on time, being held accountable, coming in with a good attitude and the want to learn and the drive to learn,” Newland said.

In addition to Cheverie-Leonard, former player Pat Hogan is returning to the squad as a coach. Hogan, who graduated from SU last year, will hold players accountable for attending scrimmages and matches.

“I like the brotherhood that we had last year. There were a lot of ups and downs, but the good times were great and I’d like to grow the COD program,” Hogan said.

While the practices are frequent and intense, up to six times a week, the players have made sure to spend time together offline. The team eats dinner together, attends SU football games and plans to attend a professional COD event soon. In April, the team hosted a 2v2 tournament at the Barnes Center where novices had the chance to take a seat alongside their favorite players.

The upcoming CCL season will begin in January 2024, upon the release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III in November 2023. The league uses the newest COD game for its competitions, but for now, the Syracuse COD team has to practice on an older version. To stay in shape, the Orange have practiced throughout the summer and played scrimmages against other schools for bragging rights.

“I always argue that we’re college athletes. We’re putting in the same amount of hours as the football team,” Cheverie-Leonard said.

Like other Syracuse sports teams, Cheverie-Leonard conducts tryouts for SU’s backup squad — the academy team. The captain aims to expand the organization and create new roles for interested students when the school year kicks off next week.

Matches occur weekly from January to late April at the Barnes Center. The team is working hard to spread the word on upcoming events published on Syracuse University’s esports webpage.

Arlo Stone | Digital Design Director

“I’ve never met anyone who’s watched an esports event and said, ‘man, I really hated that.’ A lot of people just don’t know it’s there. I encourage everyone to come down, see a game,” Cheverie-Leonard said.

The squad plans to spend the first couple weeks of the new semester on team bonding activities, per the suggestion of the coaching staff. Cheverie-Leonard expects gaming competitions to start once all players get accustomed to their new classes and teammates.

With the announcement of a new Esports Communication and Management major between the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and the David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics starting in fall 2024 , Syracuse’s newly formed COD Team is an added incentive for a prospective student to choose SU.

“I’ve gotten a really cool opportunity to form this team and create this culture … It makes me feel like the hard work I’ve put in is paying off,” Cheverie-Leonard said.

Published on August 23, 2023 at 11:45 pm