SMU Cox Energy Teams Triumph at NAPE

Program News

February 27, 2026

Author: Anna Martinez

Dallas (SMU) Feb. 27, 2026 – SMU Cox School of Business student teams, supported by the Maguire Energy Institute, swept first, second and third place in the graduate division, and first place in the undergraduate division, during the final round of the annual North American Prospect Expo (NAPE) case competition on Feb. 18 in Houston. The premier industry event, held at the George R. Brown Convention Center, challenged student teams to evaluate and present strategic recommendations for a real-world energy case involving a power generator, weighing whether to remain a traditional generator focused on disciplined capital returns or pivot to capture value from the AI revolution.

“Congratulations to the SMU Cox energy students who dominated this competition,” said Bruce Bullock, the Jane and Pat Bolin Endowed Executive Director of the Cox School’s Maguire Energy Institute. “Their success reflects the hard work they put into their pitches and the energy and business acumen they have developed here at SMU Cox.”

A special pride point for the Maguire Energy Institute is the fact that the first-place graduate team consisted only of students who are part of the Cox School’s new M.S. in Energy and Sustainability Management (M.S.E.S.M.) degree program, which was launched in fall 2025. These students will also be part of the first M.S.E.S.M. cohort to graduate with an M.S.E.S.M. degree this May.

Each team’s prize proceeds are divided among the team members. SMU Cox students competed against students from the business schools of 14 universities, including Rice, Tulane, the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma.

Below is a list of the winning teams, with students’ names listed alphabetically.

First place undergraduate winners received $10,000

Carson Hanson, B.B.A. ‘26
Blake Hightower, B.B.A. ‘26
Anthony Ramone, B.B.A. ‘26
Syed Sajjad, B.B.A., ‘26

First place graduate winners received $10,000

Bronson Cale, M,S.E.S.M. ‘26
Sebastian Graham, M.S.E.S.M. ‘26
Daniel Johnson, M.S.E.S.M. ‘26
Mengqi Xia, M.S.E.S.M. ‘26

Second place graduate winners received $6,000

Ryan Caulfield, MBA ’27
Joan Ganzallo, MBA ’27
Edosa Obaseki, MBA ’27
Tolulope Osunsina, MBA ’27

Third place graduate winners received $4,000

Andrew Clyde, MBA ’26
Luke Conlon, MBA ’26
Gabriel Garcia, MBA ’26
Marshall Vandermeer, MBA ’26

(Left to right) First place graduate team members Mengqi Xia, M.S.E.S.M. ’26; Daniel Johnson, M.S.E.S.M. ’26; Bronson Cale, M.S.E.S.M. ’26 and Sebastian Graham, M.S.E.S.M. ’26 received the $10,000 first prize. They are a cohort from SMU Cox’s new M.S. in Energy and Sustainability Management (M.S.E.S.M.) program. Their victory demonstrates the strength, rigor and relevance of the program’s curriculum on a national stage.

(Left to right) Second-place graduate team members Edosa Obaseki, MBA ’27; Ryan Caulfield, MBA ’27; Joan Ganzallo, MBA ’27 and Tolulope Osunsina, MBA ’27 received a $6,000 prize.

(Left to right) Third-place graduate team members Marshall Vandermeer, MBA ’26; Gabriel Garcia, MBA ’26; Andrew Clyde, MBA ’26 and Luke Conlon, MBA ’26 received a $4,000 prize.

(Left to right) First place undergraduate team Carson Hanson, B.B.A. ’26; Syed Sajjad, B.B.A. ’26; Blake Hightower, B.B.A. ’26 and Anthony Ramone, B.B.A. ’26 received the first prize of $10,000 at the NAPE Exhibition case competition held in Houston last week. In the final round, the Cox team beat out undergraduate business students from Montana Tech, University of St. Thomas – Minnesota and Texas A&M.

February 27, 2026