WESTERVILLE – Otterbein freshmen Michael Huffman and Troy Jackson impressed during their first seasons with the Cardinals' Esports team, earning top rookie status by Midwest Rainbow 6.

The largest official regional collegiate Rainbow 6 league, Midwest Rainbow 6 announced its top five rookie players on Monday. Huffman, whose gamertag is Mzchael, and Jackson, whose gamertag is Polamalu.OTT, earned the top two spots in those rankings.

Led by former head coach Nevin Horne and interim head coach Matt Cole, Otterbein's Rainbow 6 team nearly went undefeated this spring. The Cardinals were 6-0 before ending the regular season with a loss to Culver-Stockton (Mo.). They proceeded to defeat Missouri S&T Green 2-0 to open the playoffs before seeing their season come to an end with a tight 2-1 loss to Louisville in the next round.

At seven weeks, Otterbein held the longest undefeated streak in Division 7, and all of the Cardinals' seven wins came by 2-0 scores in the best-of-three format. That included the victory over Wittenberg on Feb. 17  as the Cardinals hosted an in-person LAN match in their arena at The Point.

During the fall season, the Cardinals' Rainbow 6 team advanced to the first round of the playoffs and finished with a 4-3 record.

Huffman and Jackson were both regulars in the Midwest Rainbow 6 Top 10 Players of the Week this spring, as the former made the list twice and the latter was named three times.

"Michael and Troy have been two of the most dedicated and hardest working members of the Esports team across titles," Cole said.

Both Huffman and Jackson were proud of earning their top rookie accolades and everything else they were able to accomplish this season.

"It's a big accomplishment after last semester and the season we had this semester to be able to be in the position where we are now," Huffman said. "Nevin paved the path for us and helped us realize that we can actually go somewhere with this, and also Nate from OSU putting in a lot of hours coaching."

"This means a lot," Jackson added of being recognized by Midwest Rainbow 6. "From going to a LAN where we had no experience whatsoever and lost every game to being able to compete is something special that we worked every day for. It is just getting started for us."

In addition to Rainbow 6, the Cardinals Esports team also competed in Rocket League, Overwatch 2, Call of Duty, Valorant and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate this spring. Otterbein also recently announced the hiring of Henry Woofter as the new director and head coach for the program, which will open up its next season in the fall.