For most people, cornhole is a fun game to play with friends at a party or tailgate. NC State junior Draven Sneed is not most people; he is the national champion in cornhole, dominating his opponent by winning 21-0.
On Dec. 29 in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Sneed won the singles title at the American Cornhole League National Championship, as well as second place in the doubles tournament with his partner Alex Lippard. With his first-place win, Sneed earns an undetermined amount of scholarship money. The prize pot for singles was $15,000, but he is still unsure how much will be going to him.
Sneed, a native of Cherryville, North Carolina and an army veteran in the business program at NC State, started off playing cornhole as a hobby until he participated in some open tournaments in the Raleigh area a year ago.
“Last year, I went to a blind draw tournament and just got absolutely killed,” Sneed said. “I was like, ‘I don’t want to be this bad.’ So I just kind of started to play more and more, so I could hopefully start beating them back.”
For many athletes, competitive mindsets are huge in terms of their overall success. This is no different for Sneed who, instead of just calling it quits after struggling at first, used it as motivation to get better. However, the COVID-19 pandemic came in March 2020 and put a temporary pause on his future competitive goals.
“There was nowhere to play for months,” Sneed said. “I feel like everyone was a little bit smaller than it would’ve been without the pandemic.”
Despite winning the singles title, Sneed is hungry for more and has lofty goals for his senior year, such as winning singles and doubles next year.
NC State has some historic athletes in its storied athletic program such as David Thompson, Torry Holt and Philip Rivers to name a few. The legend of Sneed is brewing and it’s not finished yet.
