Associate Athletics Director, John Schwarte, announces the hiring of Drew Kurtenbach as the next Head Esports Coach. Kurtenbach returns to WSC after a one-year stint at Western Michigan University (WMU) in Kalamazoo.  "I am incredibly excited to bring Drew back to Wayne State College.  He has been a leader and a visionary for esports in the collegiate scene, and I am grateful to get back to work with him as we continue to grow this program."
As a familiar face, Kurtenbach will walk back into the arena and reconnect with the players and pick up where he left off, which was building up players, winning hardware, and casting the vision of esports at WSC. "Coming back to Wayne State is a homecoming in every sense of the word", Kurtenbach said.  "I was born and raised in Nebraska, so having the chance to coach here again means a lot to me. I'm proud of the players and the culture they've continued to build, and I can't wait to get back with them. We've got a lot to work toward, and I'm excited to help our students compete, improve, and create something they're proud to be a part of."
During his time at WMU, his teams accomplished two NACE Varsity Plus conference championships and two runner-up finishes at the Match Point Invitational. Alongside the player success, Kurtenbach assisted in the opening of a new gaming lab on campus which boasts 52 PCs.
While still at WSC, in 2024-2025, the program accomplished one national runner-up finish in Valorant as the #7 seed, six top-3 finishes in conference play with Valorant and Overwatch earning a second-place finish respectively. WSC found success at the Northern Rift Spring Championships as Valorant earned 3rd, Rocket League finished 2nd, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate won the championship. In varsity team play, the program accumulated a 67% win percentage. 
Under Kurtenbach in 2023-2024, the esports program accumulated top accolades within their respective competitions.  In the fall of 2023, the Rainbow Six Siege team won the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) division championship and the Rocket League team finished second in the Collegiate Champions League (CCL). In the spring of 2024, Rocket League took the crown in the CCL, League of Legends won the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) divisional championship, and the chess team won the NACE divisional championship.
Before joining Wayne State College, Kurtenbach served as Esports Coach at Chadron State College for one year while obtaining his bachelor's degree in marketing with a public relations minor. During his time as esports coach, Chadron State achieved six different playoff berths, two divisional semi-final appearances, and one divisional runner-up in Call of Duty. Kurtenbach led the varsity Rocket League team to a 9-3 record in the regular season matches. He plans to pursue a master's degree in digital marketing.