For WWE, NIL means “Next in Line.” Here are the 15 newcomers to the program, including its first-ever HBCU athlete in Hampton’s KeShaun Moore.
Believe it or not, we are just a couple short weeks away from entering Year Two of the name, image, and likeness era in college sports.
For WWE, that means announcing its second class of athletes for its NIL (in this case, “Next in Line”) program. Among the 15 Division I athletes is Hampton defensive end KeShaun Moore, who becomes the first HBCU athlete to enter the program.
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In all, the 15 Next in Line athletes, who will be officially announced Monday night at the first annual NIL Summit in Atlanta, come from 14 colleges and universities, seven conferences, and seven sports. Gymnastics, cheerleading and dance, volleyball, and men’s basketball are all represented for the first time.
WWE’s NIL program first launched last December with an inaugural class that included NIL standouts Hanna and Haley Cavinder, as well as Olympic champion wrestler Gable Steveson.
The program itself is all about developing relationships with WWE’s selected athletes through partnerships and activations during their college careers. The athletes have access to WWE’s Performance Center in Orlando and the company’s “brand building, media training, communications, live event promotion, creative writing and community relations” resources, according to an official release.
At the end of the program, the athletes are eligible to receive a WWE contract. The release states that all six of last year’s graduating WWE NIL athletes have either signed a contract with WWE or are in discussions to do so on a full-time basis.
The full list of athletes in WWE’s second NIL class can be found below:
| Name | School | Sport | Height | Hometown |
| Ali Mattox | Ole Miss | Cheer & Dance | 5-foot-7 | Little Rock, Ark. |
| Case Hatch | Arizona State | Football | 6-foot-1 | Gilbert, Ariz. |
| Chandler Hayden | Tennessee | Track & Field | 5-foot-11 | Pittsfield, Ill. |
| Cohlton Schultz | Arizona State | Wrestling | 6-foot-2 | Parker, Colo. |
| Derrian Gobourne | Auburn | Gymnastics | 5-foot-4 | Sarasota, Fla. |
| Ericka Link | Elon | Volleyball | 5-foot-6 | Hedgesville, W. Va. |
| Keshaun Moore | Hampton | Football | 6-foot-3 | Suffolk, Va. |
| Luke Ford | Illinois | Football | 6-foot-6 | Carterville, Ill. |
| Maliq Carr | Michigan State | Football/Basketball | 6-foot-5 | Inkster, Mich. |
| Mikala Hall | Central Michigan | Basketball | 5-foot-5 | Danville, Ill. |
| Rachel Glenn | South Carolina | Track & Field | 6 feet | Long Beach, Calif. |
| Ruben Banks | Arkansas | Track & Field | 6-foot-4 | Binfield, England |
| Thunder Keck | Stanford | Football | 6-foot-3 | Northfield, N.H. |
| Tyanna Omazic | Miami | Volleyball | 6-foot-2 | Kansas City, Mo. |
| Zachary Knighton-Ward | Hofstra | Wrestling | 6-foot-2 | Rosedale, N.Y. |
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