New Albany, Ind – A team of eight Indiana University Southeast students placed 2nd in the state qualifier round of the recent Midwest Regional Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition. The team competed against 16 other teams from Indiana and Minnesota on January 31, 2026, and will now advance to the Wild Card qualifier round.
The CCDC is an online cyber defense challenge that focuses on the efforts needed to manage, maintain, and protect a virtual commercial network from a very hostile team comprised of professional attackers.
In the Wild Card round, IU Southeast will face the 2nd and 3rd place finishers from the other state competitions in the region. The competition will be similar to the past two rounds in November and January, but more challenging.
Associate Computer Science Professor John Doyle coaches the team and is the advisor for the Computer Science Group. Doyle said there were a lot of strong, well-qualified teams in the competition.
“The 2nd place finish reflects the dedication and hard work that helped this team have one of the best performances since IU Southeast began competing in CCDC in 2012. The students on this team are some of the best students in the Computer Science department. Their hard work in their classes and participation in the Computer Science Group meetings really paid off at this year’s State qualifier.”
Most of the team members are pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science with the Cybersecurity Track or are earning IU Southeast’s Cybersecurity Certificate in addition to a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science.
Team members included:
Jonah Facer (captain), Georgetown, Ind.
John Aaron, Charlestown, Ind.
Jacob Braswell, Charlestown, Ind.
Anastasia McDaniel, Lexington, Ind.
Andrew Nale, Corydon, Ind.
Andon Payton, Sellersburg, Ind.
Andrew Swartz Depauw, Ind.
Jessica Ward, Scottsburg, Ind.
The Wild Card Qualifier Round will take place on February 21, 2026.
About IU Southeast: IU Southeast is one of nine campuses of Indiana University. Offering top-quality and nationally accredited programs in education, nursing, business, social sciences, natural sciences, arts and humanities, the scenic 180-acre campus is located less than 15 minutes from downtown Louisville, Kentucky. It currently has over 3,750 students and employs over 360 faculty members. About 400 students live on campus in five fully furnished, lodge-style residence halls. Through an agreement with the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Indiana University Southeast offers in-state tuition to students enrolled from ten counties in the Louisville region, including Bullitt, Hardin, Henry, Jefferson, Meade, Nelson, Oldham, Shelby, Trimble, and Spencer counties and discounted tuition for remaining Kentucky residents through the Indiana Partner Program. For more information, visit https://southeast.iu.edu. IU Southeast is a tobacco-free campus.
