Meet Kai Hickey, a former Stay Plugged In player and recent Columbia College recruit. Kai’s esports journey began around 2015 when he and his father downloaded Rocket League on their PS4. Playing casually, he quickly learned the game and soon upgraded to a mouse and keyboard setting where, in Kai’s words, he really began to grind.
As a student at Sun Valley High School, Kai joined the esports team with hopes of one day going pro - a dream that he recalls as a slim chance of happening, but is a dream of his nonetheless. Sun Valley’s esports team participated in a LAN event hosted by Stay Plugged In, where Kai was first introduced to the possibility of receiving a scholarship to compete in Rocket League at the collegiate level. Although the LAN was mainly for college gamers, Kai fondly speaks of the experience, reminiscing on how much fun he and his fellow teammates had despite not winning. With the conclusion of the event, Kai began competing in SPIN tournaments regularly and even interned with the creative team where he showcased his video editing skills, a passion that he would like to pursue one day.
When asked about how his parents felt about him competing in esports - especially while balancing schoolwork - he said that they accepted gaming as a hobby so long as he was able to keep his grades up. However, when they learned that there was an opportunity for him to play competitively and possibly earn a college scholarship, they fully jumped on board.
“The process of being recruited by a college with the help of Stay Plugged In was very easy” commented Kai in a recent interview. “There was always someone there to help.”
Things took an exciting turn one afternoon when Kai received a call from Columbia College - not only offering him a roster spot on their Rocket League team but a scholarship to attend the school as well - bringing him a step closer to his dream of going pro.
Kai, who is known as ‘Cosmic Flippy’ in the gaming world, is completing his freshman year at Columbia and working towards his degree in cyber security. He notes that having met his teammates prior to starting classes made the oftentimes difficult transition from high school to college an easy one. Alongside his teammates, Kai competed in the Collegiate Rocket League Championship in the fall of 2021, making his team the best in the West and third overall in the nation.
His advice to high school students who may be interested in pursuing collegiate esports? Do it. There are so many opportunities available to gamers who want to play in college and Stay Plugged In is there to help make the recruitment process a great experience.
“As long as there is a school with the major you want, I would definitely recommend it,” stated Kai. “I’m having so much fun with esports in college because of all the tournaments we play in and all the events we do; it’s just a blast to be able to hang out with the same three people and have a great time playing in tournaments.”
As we wrapped up our interview, we asked Kai if he would change any part of the process on his journey to a collegiate esports team. His response? He wouldn’t change a thing.
Learn more about Stay Plugged In and how to be recruited to a collegiate esport program here.