PirateQ 
PSC cybersecurity graduate and B.A.S. student William Yarbrough placed in the 100th percentile in the National Cyber League Spring 2026 Individual Game Competition, ranking 22nd out of 7,010 participants nationwide.
William Yarbrough placed 22nd out of 7,010 individual participants nationwide
Students from the Pensacola State College Cyber Defense Club participated in the National Cyber League (NCL) Spring 2026 Individual and Team Game Competitions held in April, placing in the 100th percentile.
William Yarbrough, the club’s vice president, placed 22nd out of 7,010 participants nationwide, placing him in the 100th percentile for the Individual Game Competition. He achieved 100% accuracy in Network Traffic Analysis and Password Cracking and 92.4% overall accuracy across nine categories. In the additional Cryptography Module, he achieved 96.3% overall accuracy across six categories, with 100% accuracy in all but one and a national ranking of 63rd.
As a team, PSC Cyber Defense Club members April Gicker, Megan Couey, Aidan Blois, Dustin McNeil, Zachary Bellin and Yarbrough ranked 32nd out of 3,634 teams, placing them in the 100th percentile for the Team Game Competition. They achieved 100% accuracy in Enumeration & Exploitation, Forensics and Web Application Exploitation and 85.3% overall accuracy across nine categories. In the additional Cryptography Module, they achieved 87.5% overall accuracy across six categories, placing them in the 99th percentile, with 100% accuracy in all but two categories and a national ranking of 51st.
Founded in 2011, the NCL provides an ongoing training ground for collegiate students to develop, practice and validate their cybersecurity skills in preparation for further learning, industry certifications and career readiness.
The goal of the games is to prepare the next generation of cybersecurity professionals through real-time scenario-based challenges designed around performance-based CompTIA certification exam objectives and aligned to the National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education (NICE) Cybersecurity Framework published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Participating students can use their scouting reports from the games to validate their skills for employers and showcase achievements and strengths on their resumes.
Yarbrough obtained his A.S. in Cybersecurity from PSC in May 2025 and works part-time at the college’s South Santa Rosa Center as a technology support specialist while enrolled in the B.A.S. in Cybersecurity program.
“Participation in the NCL competition has illuminated some of my blind spots and weaknesses in regard to the balance of knowledge versus skill. I have learned a significant amount of information in my time at PSC from many great instructors, but just knowing the information isn’t always enough,” said Yarbrough. “NCL gave me an opportunity to get hands-on and apply the knowledge I have gathered against significantly challenging problems. It was also an opportunity to learn many new skills that will prove to be useful in my career”.
After completing his B.A.S. in Cybersecurity next May, Yarbrough plans to pursue an additional degree in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
“I see this as a critical intersection of emerging technologies, and we need to secure against the endless new threats this technology can facilitate,” he said. “I hope to see myself in a position that allows me to utilize my knowledge and skills to not only defend against these threats but also educate others on how to be more aware of them.”
The PSC Cyber Defense Club holds biweekly meetings with presentations given by industry speakers and hands-on activities, and it is open to all interested PSC students. The first meeting for the new school year is scheduled for 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 27, in Bldg. 27, Rm. 2724.