Ohio State’s Sarah Paul Wins 2025 Top Gun National Mock Trial Competition at Baylor Law School

The nation’s top law student advocates gathered at Baylor Law School this weekend for the 2025 Top Gun National Mock Trial Competition, the country’s most demanding mock trial event. After a grueling three-day show of exceptional advocacy and courtroom skill, Sarah Paul of Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law emerged as champion, besting a field of 16 elite advocates from law schools across the country.

Top Gun is no ordinary competition — and that’s by design. It’s an invitation-only event, where only the top student advocates from the most competitive programs are called to face off. Competitors receive the case file just 24 hours before trial, forcing them to analyze, prepare, and execute under extreme time pressure. There are no teammates, no safety nets — just the best of the best, going head-to-head in the ultimate test of trial advocacy skill.

This year’s case took competitors into the high-stakes world of college sports and athlete recruitment. The hypothetical fact pattern centered on a fiery dispute over tortious interference with contract: Independence University had secured a million-dollar NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deal with a star basketball player, only to have a rival school, Provo University, swoop in with a higher offer and lure the player away. The core legal question? Did Provo intentionally interfere with Independence’s contract, causing damages — or was it just aggressive, lawful recruiting in the cutthroat new college athletics landscape?

“This year’s problem was particularly exciting because it hit right at the heart of current debates around NIL and athlete movement,” said Robert Little, Baylor Law’s Director of Advocacy Programs and Senior Lecturer, who oversees the Top Gun Competition. “We wanted to push these competitors beyond their comfort zones, make them wrestle with thorny, real-world issues, and watch how they adapted under pressure. And they delivered — every single one of them.”

Ultimately, it was Sarah Paul who rose to the top. Paul, a rising 3L at Ohio State, made history as her school’s first competitor at Top Gun — and she didn’t just show up; she conquered. “It means the world to me,” Paul said after her championship round. “It’s our first time here at Top Gun, and it feels so amazing to win.”

Paul was effusive when asked how Top Gun compares to other mock trial competitions: “This is the craziest one I’ve been in. You come in here, 24 hours to get that problem together. There’s no way you can write everything, no way you can memorize everything. So it really tests you on your feet, ensures those skills and that you can actually use them in the courtroom,” Adding, “I loved it. I mean, I feel more confident now than ever. It just feels amazing.”

Paul faced a formidable final-round opponent in Grayson Walden of Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law, who not only earned the finalist spot but was also honored with the event’s Professionalism Award — an accolade recognizing exemplary integrity, respect, and collegiality throughout the competition.

As always, Top Gun’s success depends on the efforts of many, from the expert judges who preside over each round to the countless staff and volunteers who make the event run seamlessly. Baylor Law School is especially proud to recognize MG+M The Law Firm as the event’s sponsor, whose support helps ensure that Top Gun continues to set the gold standard in mock trial advocacy.

“Our sponsors are essential to making this competition what it is,” Little emphasized. “We are so grateful to MG+M for their commitment to advancing advocacy education and supporting the next generation of trial lawyers.”

Paul praised the Baylor Law School team for the smooth execution and innovative tournament design. “It was so well run,” she said. “I mean, you get the problem, you get the availability to ask questions, learn every single step, and then adding stuff on every single day was just so cool. It would change the problem and have us staying up late into the night trying to figure it out and crack the code, but it’s great. Now I can finally get some sleep, but it was the best tournament I’ve ever been to.”

Over the last sixteen years, Top Gun has earned a reputation as the premier contest for America’s top law student advocates with engaging case files inspired by real-life headlines, a mere 24 hours for case preparation, and an unwavering commitment to excellence.

As Little put it: “Top Gun isn’t just about finding the best advocate — it’s about sharpening the entire field, raising the bar for what’s possible, and creating an experience that leaves every competitor better prepared for the courtroom and the profession. We’re proud to host it here at Baylor Law and are already excited for next year.”

For the final round on Sunday, June 1, the Honorable K. Nicole Mitchell, United States Magistrate Judge for the Eastern District of Texas, served as the presiding judge. Serving on the jury as competition judges were Dave Deaconson of Pakis, Giotes, Burleson & Deaconson, P.C., Sara Chelette and Britta Stanton of Lynn Pinker Hurst & Schwegmann LLP, Tom Jacob of National Trial Law, and Mark Mann and Andy Tindel of Mann, Tindel & Thompson.

The 16 students competing in Top Gun XVI:

• Samantha Border - Campbell University Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law 
• Gabriella Youash - Chicago-Kent College of Law
• Brian Boatwright - Mercer University School of Law
• Sarah Paul - Ohio State University, Michael E. Moritz College of Law
• Justin Fuller - St. John’s University School of Law
• Grayson Walden - Samford University, Cumberland School of Law
• Memona Niazi - South Texas College of Law Houston
• Madeleine Bodiford - Stetson University College of Law
• John Rutecki - Syracuse University College of Law
• Brian Anderson - UC Berkeley Law
• Kensington Cotter - UCLA School of Law
• Kieran Woerner - University of Denver Sturm College of Law
• Drake Jones - University of Georgia School of Law
• Ashley Travis - University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law
• Grace Naumowich - University of South Carolina Joseph F. Rice School of Law
• Kelsey McCafferty - Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law

Top Gun XVI Champion and Recognized Advocates

Champion

Sarah Paul, Ohio State University Moritz College of Law

Finalist & Professionalism Award Recipient

Grayson Walden - Samford University, Cumberland School of Law

Semifinalists

Kelsey McCafferty, Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law

Ashley Travis, University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law