To be the ideal team player, a framework created by author Patrick Lencioni, a person needs to be humble, hungry, and smart. To work well in a group setting, but also to grow and develop, an individual needs to have these characteristics to be successful. Rylan “RyPiggy” Bruehl is a third-year Pre-Veterinary and Healthcare Business student at OU, and a wonderful example of this ideology.
Bruehl was born and raised in Norman, Oklahoma, and when starting college, he believed it made a lot of sense to stay in the area for school. He loves the culture here and the sense of pride the community has for OU.
He has been playing “Marvel Rivals” since the game came out in 2024. After the launch of the game, Bruehl studied abroad in South Korea, and he found himself spending a lot of time playing “Rivals” there in PC cafes. During this time, he knew that if OU created a competitive team, he would want to be part of it, and he worked hard on improving his game knowledge.
When he came back from South Korea, he found out through the OU Gaming Club Discord server that OU was going to move forward with tryouts for the video game. Bruehl was able to attend both tryout days, but ultimately received a notice the next day stating that he did not make the cut.
“I sent a message, and I was like: hey, what can I do?” Bruehl said. “What can I do to improve going forward so next time around I have a better chance?”
After reaching out for feedback, he was told that the “Marvel Rivals” manager actually reconsidered, and he was wanted as a substitute for the B team for the support role.
“I was still there at all the scrimmages and all the matches, [and] if someone else had a class conflict or something where they couldn’t be there for [a portion] or all of the match or scrim, I would sub in for them,” Bruhel said.
During the Fall 2025 semester, one of the starting support players had a class conflict every Tuesday, which was the team’s match day. This meant that Bruehl played the first two matches almost every week, which allowed him to gain more experience to learn from and build synergy with the team. In the fall, the “Rivals” B team did not have a captain, and Bruehl saw the impact of that. He recognized that the team was unable to define which comp they were going to use and constantly switched people in and out.
“We struggled a lot, to be frank,” said Bruehl. “Our coach, Devan, he’s amazing, and he commits so much time with the program. I reached out a lot during that semester, [and] I think that was part of what he noticed.”
Bruehl was trying to support the team the best he could and constantly asked for feedback. He asked if he could sub in more consistently and if he could even potentially do other things with the A team to improve at the game. When the season ended, Bruehl was disappointed in how they finished with only one win, but was excited for the chance to try out for a starting spot on the B team.
“I’m a very competitive person, and [the] team and I were really unhappy with that result because we knew we could do better, and we knew that we were talented, and we knew we were capable of doing better,” said Bruhel.
Once he made a starting position, Bruehl reached out to their coach, Devan “Dravenslade” Wright, in hopes of not repeating the same mistakes. Bruehl made a list that included everything he thought the team could improve on and asked if Wright had any thoughts on it.
“And [Wright], he was like, yeah, this is captain stuff. If you’re interested, the job’s yours,” said Bruhel.
“Initially, the biggest thing that spoke to [Bruehl]’s character was his investment in improving as a player,” said Wright when recalling Bruehl’s path to leadership. “[Bruehl] was consistent in asking me questions, scheduling VOD reviews, and just showing overall interest in growing as a player. [Bruehl has] prior leadership experience [and] has leadership qualities like the ability to boost morale and make sound decisions in crucial moments. These really stood out to me when making the decision to award the role of team captain to him.”
As captain, Bruehl worked hard to launch the team into growth.
“It felt like our ability to flex around and play a lot of roles was kind of both our biggest strength and our biggest weakness, so my initial [thought] was, in addition to leadership, we also just need an easy way to compare,” said Bruehl. “If A team is the coach’s priority, then we need to probably run our team as close as we can to what A team is currently doing. That he doesn’t have to coach two different teams, just one large team in a way.”
Bruehl also committed the team to reviewing the VODs of their games. Their coach would go through their matches with a red pen and show the team what they could’ve done better.
After the team dedicated time once a week to these methods, the team played better games, including some wins. Bruehl considered it a one-to-one success.
“[Bruehl] does a litany of things that makes me proud, but to name a few, he’s excellent at sharing knowledge about the game, asking questions that push the limits of what we know about the game, and treats every one of his teammates with respect and dignity,” said Wright. “He also shows a great deal of grace and class in the face of adversity.”
Bruehl is grateful for his leadership position. He feels a great sense of pride in being able to support his team, and he is so proud of his team for putting in the additional hours to improve together. Being good stewards through a video game and learning how to push through hardship and improve is only going to set them up for success in their futures.
“A lot of veterinary programs look at your service hours [and] your out-of-school activities. I think having a really defined leadership role and being able to take these experiences that I’m learning how to deal with people, how to get the team and towards an objective, I think can really be beneficial for a long run,” said Bruehl. “Being able to say, yes, I was able to help a group of people accomplish a major goal and compete on a national level.”
Bruel would be considered a leader who is humble, hungry, and smart. His want for constant feedback and searching for things he could do better shows his lack of ego and humbleness. From joining the team as a sub, he was hungry to win and do more within the team. When people think of the word smart, they typically think of someone’s intelligence. What truly makes you smart is your emotional awareness, and Bruehl has the ability to connect with his team and find a way to propel them forward.
