HICKORY, N.C. — The Catawba Valley Community College Esports program added to its 2026-27 roster this past week with the signing of multi-time state champion Synsir Pettis.

The Shelby High School product is a two-time state champion in game titles Madden 24 and College Football 25. He's also a three-time Western Conference champion in both of those game titles as well as College Football 26. He currently has a 22-0 high school record.

Outside of esports competition, Pettis is an FAA certified drone pilot, and he's used those skills to intern for both Shelby High School and the Gardner-Webb University football program.

Along with esports, Pettis has competed in football at Shelby where he was part of the Lions' 2025 3A state football championship.

In the classroom, Pettis has been on the Shelby High School AB honor roll three times and served as a junior Marshall.

Pettis joins a Red Hawk Esports program that has won seven National Junior College Athletic Association championships, including three national championships in the video game Call of Duty.

The Red Hawks also bolster 69 NJCAA All-Academic students all-time. The honor goes to a student athlete who has achieved at least a 3.5 GPA.

The CVCC Esports program, which was a finalist for the 2025 Scholastic Esports Awards Two-Year Program of the Year, was established in 2019 as the first junior college esports program in the state of North Carolina.