Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 Season Recap – Super Smash Bros Red

Kenosha – Carthage Super Smash Bros Ultimate (SSBU) Red showcased their tenacity despite falling short of a playoff push. Articulate movements and an impressive knockout spree contributed to keeping Carthage Red's NECC season entertaining for viewers.

The Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 roster consisted of Junior captain - Connor Grubisic (SpaceFood), freshman Rylee Preston (Ender), sophomore Jackson Bossart (MechanicalMerlyn), and senior Will Stevens (LunarSynergy).

All players contributed to the team's performance across the National Esports Collegiate Conference (NECC) and Wisconsin Esports Conference (WEC). Carthage Red competed in NECC during the Fall 2024 season. Their matches were streamed on Twitch every other Tuesday, splitting streams with League of Legends. The WEC competition was held in Spring 2025. We will now analyze how Carthage SSBU Red performed in both leagues.

Fall 2024 NECC Season – SSBU Crew Battles Format Explanation

Last fall, Carthage Red participated in SSBU crew battles. Crew battles are a team-based competition where two teams of players face off in a series of one-on-one matches. The losing player is eliminated, and the winning player remains in the game, potentially facing a new opponent from the opposing team. The battle continues until one entire team has been eliminated. In NECC, teams consist of four players, equating to a stock count of 12. Each player is given three stocks.

In Super Smash Bros, stocks are another word for 'lives' the player has. The objective is to be the team with the most stocks remaining when a set concludes. These crew battles fall under a best-of-three format, meaning there are three sets in a match. Each set will give the two competing teams 12 stocks each to work with. The set ends when one team loses their 12 stocks across four players. What makes this format compelling is that teams can decide the order in which players enter a battle. A strategic element makes these competitions thrilling to watch.

Fall 2024 NECC Season – SSBU Crew Season Results and Statistics

Carthage Red competed in the Great Lakes West A stage of NECC's SSBU Crew season. The Firebirds posted a 3-4 overall and a 5-8 game record. Additionally, the team posted a negative 31 plus-minus. The performance netted Carthage Red a fifth-place ranking in Great Lakes West A. Unfortunately, the Firebirds missed the playoffs due to a head-to-head loss against St. Ambrose early in Fall 2024's season. Despite the setback, Carthage Red still showed incredible fight.

According to recorded NECC statistics, Carthage SSBU Red posted 124 total knockouts and 127 total falls. A negative three knockout to fall ratio. In comparison to other Great Lakes West A teams, Carthage Red ranked fourth best in team knockouts and fourth in team falls.

Senior Will Stevens recorded a team-leading 37 knockouts with a team-low 27 falls. Freshman Rylee Preston earned 32 knockouts coupled with a team-high 36 falls. Sophomore Jackson Bossart accumulated 29 knockouts with 35 falls. Lastly, junior Connor Grubisic posted 26 knockouts and a team-low 29 falls. As a whole, the Fall 2024 iteration of Carthage SSBU Red performed well despite suffering setbacks early in their season. The team showed up for each NECC match and gave it their all.

Fall 2024 NECC Season – SSBU Crew Season Highlight

One major highlight for the Firebirds occurred in Week Six. During Carthage Esports' Halloween stream on October 29, 2024, Carthage SSBU Red faced UW-Stevens Point Gold in a crucial best-of-three series. At that point, the Firebirds were 2-3 and vying for a playoff spot. A win against UW-Stevens Point would slightly improve their chances.

The first set was a victory for Carthage Red, who had five stocks remaining when UW-Stevens Point lost all twelve of theirs. In Set One, Will scored five knockouts to one fall, Rylee had four knockouts to three falls, and Jackson achieved three knockouts to three falls. With momentum on their side, Carthage Red entered Set Two aiming for a win.

Set Two began with Connor removing two stocks from a UW-Stevens Point player using Bowser. When Rylee entered Set Two, the Firebirds were down 10-9 in stocks against the Pointers. While facing the Bowser player, Rylee took their final stock but lost one of his own, bringing the stock count to UW-Stevens Point - nine, Carthage - eight. In Rylee's next match against Alpocalypse from the Pointers, he, with one stock remaining, managed to claim two stocks before being eliminated. This made the score UW-Stevens Point - seven, Carthage - six.

Next, Jackson stepped in for Carthage to face Alpocalypse, who had a single stock, while Jackson had three. After losing one stock, Jackson persisted and knocked out Alpocalypse for good, keeping Carthage within one stock in Set Two. Later, Jackson faced UW-Stevens Point's Shaded with a one-stock deficit. He took all three of Shaded's stocks without losing a single one, flipping the score to Carthage - five, UW-Stevens Point - three. The Firebirds were now in control.

UW-Stevens Point's last player, Cursivs, aimed to challenge Jackson. But Jackson remained hot, keeping Carthage ahead. He evened the stocks at two each. Cursivs then retaliated, dropping Jackson to his final stock.

After a tough stretch, Jackson pushed Cursivs offstage, tying the series at one-to-one. Cursivs gave Jackson a tough time, bringing him past 119% damage before Jackson made a comeback. Ultimately, Jackson staged a miraculous rally, knocking Cursivs away from a recovery ledge to win the series for Carthage Red. The Firebirds secured victory by four stocks thanks to Jackson Bossart's heroic performance of seven knockouts (MechanicalMerlyn).

Below is a video showcasing the last 10 minutes of October 29's Carthage Red vs UW-Stevens Point best-of-three series! Broadcasters are sophomores Andrew Czysz Jr and Yazminn Lugo, who placed third in the 2025 Wisconsin Broadcasters Association's Best College Sports, Play-by-Play TV category for their call:

[Spring 2025 WEC Season – SSBU Crew Season Results and Statistics]

Carthage SSBU Red accumulated a 5-6 overall record across the regular season, Regional LAN, and a Last Chance Qualifier within the Wisconsin Esports Conference. Their season started on February 12 and ended on April 13. In the regular season, Carthage ended with a 4-4 Overall and 9-9 Game Record. As a result of their performance, Carthage Red placed ninth overall in the Spring 2025 WEC SSBU Crew Season.

Next, Carthage SSBU Red, along with SSBU Black, were both slated to compete in the Southeast Regional LAN held at MSOE. In the semifinal, Red faced off against Black in a best-of-three match, where Red won 2-0 on April 13. Next, Carthage Red fought the MSOE Raiders in the Southeast Regional LAN finals. Unfortunately, Red fell 2-0 against MSOE, ending their chances of winning.

The only way to make Finals LAN was to endure a Last Chance Qualifier. On April 23, Red competed against Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC). Unfortunately, Carthage Red lost 2-0, ending their Spring 2025 WEC Season.

Player Reflection: Will Stevens

What was the most valuable piece of your senior year Smash Bros experience at Carthage?

"For Carthage Red, the most valuable piece of my senior year was something as simple as hanging out with the team, which was often more fun than the game itself. The LAN (Spring 2025 WEC) was overall a great setting for a good time to hang out and compete against excellent competition."

How have your teammates Connor, Jackson, and Rylee elevated your gameplay, and what do you take away from them?

"My teammates are what make this possible. When we play regularly, the team can bond over other topics. Thus, Smash becomes more of a social game for us while practicing. Not all of us share the same level of competitive spirit for Smash; we just enjoy relaxing and playing Smash on the side. Rylee contributes to this because he takes the game more seriously, which has helped our team develop better gameplay strategies. Additionally, Rylee rounds out our team well, and I can see him becoming captain soon. His hunger for competition distinguishes him from other members in Carthage Smash. So, he will be a key member going forward."

Lastly, where can the team go next year with the addition of new talent?

"I think the team can do very well especially with the new talent as we have been needing to replace people for a bit so I hope that they get enough new freshman for the upcoming year so they can have two teams and that they will be able to keep good energy up without me and I wish them the best."

Carthage Esports will return for the 2025-26 academic year to kick off its fourth competitive season, starting in Fall 2025. Follow us on all social media platforms (@carthageesports) to stay updated. Follow our Twitch channel to get notifications when broadcasts go live.

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