Season VI Draft Day was about more than the 32 athletes named to the Season VI, US Cyber Team. It also celebrated the next wave. 38 athletes earned an invite to the Season VI, USCG Pipeline Program, which will run January through May 2027.
The Pipeline Program invitees were recognized during the Draft Day livestream on Thursday, October 22, which closed with a keynote from Will Baxter, Product Director at Team Cymru. Read the full Draft Day recap and meet the newest selections in Meet the Season VI, US Cyber Team.
Missed the livestream? Watch the full Draft Day broadcast at this link, and follow the 2027 US Cyber Team's journey at uscybergames.com.
How the Pipeline Program differs from the US Cyber Team
The 32 drafted athletes are the Season VI, US Cyber Team. They train together as the US Cyber Team and represent the United States in international competitions. The Pipeline Program is a separate, development-focused cohort. It is built to identify and grow future US Cyber Team athletes through five months of structured training, feedback, and mentorship.
“This is one of my favorite aspects of all things US Cyber Games,” says Bradley Wolfenden, Director, Cyber Sports, Katzcy PlayCyber. “It’s where we can really start to lay a foundation for our future-looking efforts. These athletes have earned this invitation, and we are proud to keep them close to the US Cyber Games community for seasons to come.”
The program is rotation-based and rubric-driven, with individual, small-group, and team deliverables. It is delivered by Season VI, US Cyber Team coaches, mentors, and athletes, and includes an ethics workshop and career readiness programming.
How the Pipeline backfills the roster
If a spot on the Season VI, US Cyber Team opens up during the season, coaches will fill it from the Pipeline Program roster. Because the Pipeline Program is rubric-driven, coaches will have months of scored work to draw on when choosing a replacement. Every Pipeline Program athlete is one step away from the US Cyber Team, and the intention of the program is to get them there!
The Pipeline Program works. Twelve (12) of this year's US Cyber Team draftees are Pipeline Program alumni. The newest recruits include: Zoey Linardos, Shalin Madabhavi, Eric Chen and Jeremy Yu.
The Season VI, USCG Pipeline Program at a glance:
- 38 athletes invited
- 800+ CTFs the cohort has taken part in
- 20 is the cohort's average age
- Forensics was the most popular specialty pick (18 selections), followed by reverse engineering and web (12 each)
Pipeline Program athlete benefits are provided by SANS and OffSec.
Congratulations to the Season VI Pipeline cohort
A. Singh, A. Cantor, A. Loan, A. Nikitin, A. Lee, A. Giffen, B. Ragin, B. Wright, C. Kingan, E. Marquez, E. Paredez, E. Flowers, T. Nguyen, J. Lee, J. Knaffle, J. Hou, J. Kim, J. Garcia, J. Bedrous, J. Stephens, K. Fernandez, L. Vu, L. Schmidt, L. Han, M. Tudor Haiduc, M. Chan, M. McAveety, N. Lacandazo, N. Wong, N. Assaderaghi, N. Tinsley, R. Hoysala, R. Rayudu, S. Williams, S. Hakimov, S. Glombicki, T. Sayyed and T. Chin.
Thank you to our sponsors and partners
Season VI of the US Cyber Games is made possible by PlayCyber (powered by Katzcy), NIST NICE, CISA, Leidos, Riverside Research, Mastercard, Battelle, eGroup Enabling Technologies, SimSpace, Kindo, Glitch Cyber Range, SANS Institute, U.S. Cyber Range, Cyber Jutsu and Cyber Esports Foundation.
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