EU Student Wins Record-Breaking $4,000 at Bluejay Tank Pitching Competition

Leena Nawaz and Elizabeth Acevedo present their AI-powered event-planning assistant, “Ivory Collective,“ at the March 31 Bluejay Tank. (Ian Murphy)

Joseph Leibrandt, a senior student-athlete at Elmhurst University, took home more than $4,000 in prizes after placing first in the Spring 2026 Bluejay Tank Pitch Competition, held on campus in the Mill Theatre on Tuesday, March 31.  

Leibrandt scored a touchdown with his pitch for “Recruit Match,“a “free-to-use digital ecosystem” that would allow recruitable high school athletes to create and send centralized profiles out to college coaches. 

Leibrandt said his mission statement was “to democratize college recruitment by providing a free, professional platform that serves every student athlete, regardless of their financial background.” He also had concerns about AI-generated sports highlights being presented as legitimate athletic feats, highlights being sped up for faster times, and non-verified coaches scamming hopeful student-athletes. 

“Recruit Match” shares parallels with LinkedIn, with recruiters being able to view information for each recruitable student-athlete, such as their position, GPA, and anticipated graduation year. Additionally, users could connect with alumni via a verified messaging system. 

In addition to the record-setting cash prize, Leibrandt won a watch and a six-month membership with Innovation DuPage, a nonprofit entrepreneurial business development organization in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. 

The competition was hosted by EU’s E-celerator Innovation & Entrepreneurship Program. The program’s executive in residence, Patrick Yanahan, served as the master of ceremonies for the event. 

Yanahan, who has organized Bluejay Tank for six years, noted a record number of more than 30 applicants, in addition to more than $8,000 being awarded in prizes. This year, every contestant left with a watch, as the event was sponsored by the Elmhurst watch and gear company Farr and Swit. 

Throughout the event, a total of seven pitches were delivered among nine contestants, who were judged on five criteria: first impressions, pitch content, pitch delivery, incorporation of a digital element, and ability to respond to any questions from the judges. Each contestant was allotted 10 minutes for their presentation, after which they would answer up to two questions from the judging panel. 

The judges, each of whom had entrepreneurial experience of their own, comprised author and professional auctioneer James Drury, Farr and Swit representative Tom Hodge, business development consultant Paul Kiser, and Angelia Rodriguez, who placed third in the Spring 2025 Bluejay Tank with her proposal for “GloHaus,” a “pop-up glam lounge.” 

“We can all tell that this was something that you’re super passionate about,” Rodriguez told Leibrandt after he was announced as the winner, adding that she particularly enjoyed that the app was styled toward Gen Z. “I could definitely see athletes and recruiters using this in the future.” 

Another prior Bluejay Tank winner — Muhammad Rafiul “Rafi” Islam Zareef, who placed third for his application “Storybook Inc.” at the Spring 2023 competition — was in attendance as well.

Seniors Alexander Martinez and Christian Guzaro-Cruz were the first contestants to take the stage.

Martinez, a commissioned second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps, and Guzaro-Cruz, a freelance operations consultant, presented their idea for “Liderazgo Advancement Foundation,” or “LAF,” a not-for-profit organization that would provide various scholarships to Latino students. 

Yazen Ba Saddiq, who is majoring in biology, directly followed Martinez and Guzaro-Cruz with his pitch for “Squidaxis,” which would help update branding for both companies and individuals. 

“When was the last time you judged someone before they even spoke?” Saddiq asked. 

Saddiq’s presentation was accompanied by a prototype website, which can be viewed at squidaxis.com. 

The judges also heard from Syed Ali Imam, a computer science major who shared his vision for “ORTHO3D,” which he described as an “orthotic-manufacturing company that uses additive manufacturing technology of 3D printers to revolutionize the orthotic industry.” 

Another initiative came from senior Mariia Lukashenko, an international student from Ukraine triple-majoring in business. Lukashenko stated that many of her competitors’ ideas would benefit from her service, “Private AI,” which would ensure that companies could use artificial intelligence both efficiently and securely. 

The third-place prize of $1,000 was awarded to Malika Khikmatillaeva, who is pursuing a Master of Business Administration at EU. 

Khikmatillaeva’s proposed business, “Case Cloud Solutions AI,” would help eliminate costly, time-intensive, and error-prone manual labor concerning legal documents. An accompanying website for this service can be viewed at casesolutions.ai. 

The second-place prize of $3,000 was distributed to a duo, Leena Nawaz and Elizabeth Acevedo, who are majoring in computer science and marketing, respectively. The pair introduced their AI-powered event-planning assistant “Ivory Collective,” reporting that 80% of people feel overwhelmed when planning events, with many needing to use multiple different platforms just to plan one event. 

In the end, the first-place prizes went to Leibrandt. In addition to being a football player aiming to be a football coach post-graduation, Leibrandt is a social media content intern for EU’s football team, as well as the campus manager for Influxer, a leading NIL (name, image, and likeness) platform for student-athletes. 

“This app will be something that really helps out a lot of recruits, a lot of kids getting recruited,” Leibrandt said as Bluejay Tank reached its conclusion. “I know me, going into coaching, it’s definitely something I’m going to utilize in the future as well. So I really appreciate it, and thank you all for being here tonight as well.”