KEENE, N.H.--The Keene State College Department of Athletics is thrilled to announce the hiring of Noah Drouin as the first coach of the college's eSports program.

"It is a privilege to be returning to Keene State College as its inaugural eSports Head Coach. I want to thank the search committee, Marty Testo, and the Keene State College community for putting their trust in me to head this program. My mission is for Keene State to make its mark as a premier Esports program in the nation and to promote and recruit top student-athletes to pursue their passions while representing the Owls at the highest level of competition," said Drouin.

"As an alum who would have participated in Keene State eSports as a student, it is one of the most profound honors of my professional career to be in this position. I am committed to applying my knowledge and experience to nurture and grow this program into a powerhouse that is the benchmark of success in the collegiate eSports industry, in and out of the classroom, for years to come.'

A 2020 KSC grad, Drouin has served as the eSports Program Manager for Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colo.  As Program manager, he managed rosters for six different eSports titles, supervised structured, collegiate level eSports competitions, and mentored the Overwatch 2 team during scrimmages and practices. 

Additionally, Drouin was a contracted professional Pokemon Unite player from March-August 2022, and competed for EasternMediaGG. As a team, EasternMedia placed Top 16 in all of North America in the 2022 Unite Championship Series March Qualifiers and competed in the March 2022 North America Finals. Drouin has been ranked in the top 10,000 in the world in Pokemon Unite on five separate in-game seasons.

"I am very excited to have a former alum be named the first Head Coach of our eSports program," said Director of Athletics Marty Testo.   "Noah brings a tremendous amount of passion and knowledge to esports. Being an alum allows him to have familiarity with our campus and the surrounding area. I look forward to seeing what he can do with this exciting new program!"

Drouin has also worked at Fort Lewis as an Academic Advisor for TRIO Upward Bound, working with students on a variety of levels to reach goals for higher education.  He has an undergraduate degree from Keene State in Secondary Education with a focus in History, and a master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction.  He will start his duties as eSports coach on November 27.