The Center for Professional Sales team from Texas State University’s McCoy College of Business competed at the 2025 International Collegiate Sales Competition in Orlando last month. Matched up against sales teams from more than 90 universities worldwide, the Texas State sales team produced four international champions and earned a third-place overall global ranking.
The competition consisted of three events: a Speed Selling Competition, a Sales Management Case Competition and a Role Play Competition.
Sales students Avery Hernandez and Kylie Hill tied for first place out of 160 total participants in the Speed Selling Competition. This competition consists of two rounds of “elevator pitch” type presentations. In round one, competitors pitch themselves in a tournament-style setting to a single company.
In round two, the top 20 competitors present to the speed selling host company in a public audience setting. The final round objective is to present the host company to a possible prospect for that company. This is the first time in the competition’s history that two students from the same university earned the top spots in the Speed Selling Competition.
Hernandez, who began preparing for the competition in August, said she spent countless hours practicing in front of judges, professors and other students leading up to the event. She said that even after stumbling over her words in the first round of the Speed Selling event, finding her name on the finalist list felt like a second chance.
“It feels incredibly rewarding,” Hernandez said. “All the hard work, self-doubt, and long hours were worth it. That moment of thinking I’d failed actually motivated me to push harder and want the win even more.
“I’m also really proud to have shared this title with Kylie. ... Two bobcats walking away with a firstplace title was the best scenario,”Hernandez said.
Hill said that while preparation for the Speed Selling Competition looks different for everyone, she has a clear sense of her own strengths.
“Writing a pitch that is uniquely your voice, whether integrated with humor or quantitative values, is critical,” Hill said. “The rest is practice, practice, practice.”
According to Hill, the most challenging part of the competition comes in the moments right before she presents.
“That’s when preparation is truly put to the test,” she said. “With nerves and stress on high, you’re inclined to forget what they’ve worked so hard on. At that point, the biggest advice I could give is to trust what you know and let the words fly.”
Sales students Andrea Mota and Riley Singleton earned first place in the Sales Management Case competition out of 60 competing teams, the first-ever win for Texas State in this category. The sales management case competition is a tworound event in which two competitors, working as a team, are presented with a specific sales management situation and asked to analyze the situation and data presented, create a presentation uncovering the issues, and propose a realistic and effective solution.
For round two, four finalist teams are presented with additional information about the problem, and teams are asked to refine their presentation for a final presentation to executives from the company.
In a post on LinkedIn, Angel White, one of the judges for the sales management case competition, said that despite Mota and Singleton having only 36 hours to create their presentation, “they were able to produce something that we could possibly put in front of our VPs today and go to market with.”
Sales students Jessica Redman and Jocelyn Young competed in the Role Play competition, contributing to the final point total that placed Texas State third overall. Claire Mayden was the team’s additional member who was prepared to compete if called upon.
Dr. Derrek Schartz, assistant director of the Center for Professional Sales and head coach, emphasized the discipline required for competitionlevel performance.
“Our students train with the intensity of professional sales teams,” Schartz said. “Their success is not accidental; it is the result of structure, repetition and a culture of excellence we reinforce every day at the Center for Professional Sales.”
Dr. Aditya Gupta, sales faculty member and case management coach, highlighted the team’s strategic mindset.
“These students think like managers and sellers simultaneously,” he said. “Facing an extreme pressure of delivering a solution in less than 36 hours, they analyze data, build persuasive solutions, and communicate with confidence.”
Molly Akers, a McCoy College MBA student and assistant coach, is a former ICSC competitor who says her experience on both sides of the competition helps her more effectively support the teams she coaches.
“I focus mostly on organization and clarity, making sure the waters aren’t getting too muddy and overloaded, it’s easy to get down a rabbit hole or overwhelmed with information,” she said. “I also encourage the competitors to use their personality, compassion and warmth for true human connection.”
Akers also emphasized how Texas State students carry themselves professionally and distinguish themselves among peers from other universities.
“Texas State is always the best dressed and most professional,” she said. “I think this sets the tone for the competition and helps us keep our game face on.”
Dr. Linda Alkire, director of the Center for Professional Sales and associate professor of marketing at the McCoy College of Business said the achievement of these students reflects the strength of the Sales program. “These wins underscore our commitment to preparing students for real-world selling, leadership and strategy roles.”
According to its website, the International Collegiate Sales Competition (ICSC) is the ultimate display and measure of a university’s sales program’s focus on overall business and revenuegenerating skills.
“What strikes me most is how our students prepared for this moment,” said Dr. Sanjay Ramchander, Dean of the McCoy College of Business. “I’m incredibly proud of our entire team and deeply grateful to our faculty and coaches for their exceptional mentorship.”
Established in 1970, Texas State’s business school officially became the McCoy College of Business in 2004 following a transformational gift of $20 million by Emmett and Miriam McCoy. The college, which offers classes in San Marcos, Round Rock and online, is accredited by AACSB in both business and accounting, and has graduated more than 46,000 alumni. For more information, visit mccoy. txst.edu.
