This is Buying Sandlot — the only newsletter that focuses solely on the business of youth sports.
Let’s get to it.
In the email today:
🏐 AIM+ Is Here
AIM Sports Group, a volleyball-focused youth sports platform, has launched AIM+, its AI-powered tech and media platform.
Live streaming and on-demand access
Auto-generated, pre-edited highlights
Advanced analytics
Player profiles
Stats and rankings
Video database
AIM+ is currently volleyball-only with a focus on its home region of southern California, but AIM said it expects to expand to other sports this year.
AIM+ has been integrated into AIM's owned-and-operated SoCal Cup league and national SoCal events (over 600 teams and 220K spectators annually). It is also being used by the Nike Circuit.
Two big trends for 2026 are represented here:
Multi-sport growth: AIM is a behemoth in the volleyball space between its leagues, tournaments and a 130K-square-foot indoor complex in Orange County. But it has made it clear it has plans to grow beyond its established sport and join Capacity Sports Group, RISE Partners, True Sports Group, etc. in offering multiple sports.
Remember — AIM launched a partnership with BASE Sports Group last year. AIM+ was actually mentioned in that press release. BASE is the top sponsorship sales agency in the youth sports space and is working to connect AIM with brands and sponsors.
The catch-up: One of AIM’s big talking points with the launch is while volleyball participation and population has exploded, the sport still lacks the critical infrastructure and tech that more-established sports have.
This is a refrain you will hear a lot. Not just in volleyball, but also with flag football — and even more so there, given it has exploded in the last 3-5 years while volleyball had a 20ish-year head start. We’ve also written a good amount about the need to address the vast retention disparity in girls sports with coaching, education and programming built for young women rather than applying the same playbook that has worked for decades with boys.
🏅 The Scouting Combine For Youth Sports*
MPI’s pitch is very simple: it’s a scouting combine for youth sports (age 13+).
Or as I (Kyle) call it: The SAT score for athletes.
College recruiting is an increasingly thankless task as athletes can switch schools at will. This means college coaches rely on hard data to help make all-important scholarship decisions. But where does that data come from, and can you trust it?
That’s where MPI Sports comes in.
They offer:
Standardized Testing for speed, power, and agility
A Composite Number that aggregates physical data into a single, understandable number, similar to a credit rating
Percentile Rankings
Longitudinal Tracking with digital passports for athletes
Athletes and families receive actionable roadmaps for growth. Coaches and clubs remove bias from roster decisions and can use the data to inform load management practices. Recruiters deal with proof, not hype, and become more efficient. And organizations can establish internal uniformity while creating new revenue streams.
Find out how athletes in your program can get their MPI score right here.
*Sponsor
🏟️ Buying Sandlot Summit Speaker Unveil
Each newsletter, we’ll unveil a speaker, as we aim to put together the most compelling list of speakers and panelists in the history of the youth sports industry.
Today, we’re happy to announce that Matt Mueller, COO of Hudl will be on-stage in Philly April 14-15. Matt has been at Hudl for 18 years and has held virtually every role in the company, from software engineer, to business development, and now COO. Hudl serves over 300,000 teams worldwide and is one of biggest companies in youth and amateur sports tech. Listen to our podcast interview with Matt and then join him in Philly in April.
Seems like a good time to mention that ticket prices will increase on January 31.
Our announced list of speakers thus far: John Stewart (CEO, Fastbreak AI), Aman Loomba (SVP Product, GameChanger), Jordan Baltimore (CEO, NY Empire Baseball), Jason Sacks (CEO, Positive Coaching Alliance), Brett Marbut (Senior Director of Strategic Growth at PlayOn Sports), Brent Wall (CEO, Student Athlete Score), and Reed Shaffner (CTO, TeamSnap).
Panels are coming together and will include detailed topics designed to bring context to the rapidly-evolving world of youth sports:
Tech BIG DAWGS giving their state of the youth sports market, tech and investment
Club operators discussing how to navigate investment, mergers and acquisitions
Facility owners discussing how to unlock more consistent revenue
What private equity investors are looking for when they show up at your door
The future of live streaming
Who owns and controls athlete data, stats and performance history?
How governing bodies, leagues, and politicians can offer win-win-win solutions to make youth sports more affordable through tax rebates, grants, donations and more
Tech startups addressing gaps in the market
And so much more: NIL, wearable tech, the state of youth soccer in America, sportstainment and gamified tech
Get your early bird tickets now
🤖 More Youth Sports Tech News
Diamond Kinetics has raised $12M in growth financing with Elysian Park Ventures leading the round.
The Pittsburgh-based youth baseball and softball tech company has a partnership with MLB— Elysian Park is backed by the Los Angeles Dodgers’ ownership group and recently acquired Student Sports.
The funding will go toward scaling sidelineHD, which is DK’s AI-powered streaming platform. The firm’s main product is the DK Bat Sensor, which tracks players’ swing data and produces performance metrics.
Perfect Game and GameChanger have a stranglehold on many areas of youth baseball, particularly when it comes to scouting and tech. But things are getting a bit more crowded. In addition to Diamond Kinetics beefing up its capabilities, you have Unrivaled Sports (Ripken Baseball) launching a tournament network, Prep Baseball and Bullpen Tournaments forming Capacity Sports Group, and wearable tech like GoRout making strides, among many others.
PG and GC are meeting the challenge - such as GameChanger’s Pixellot deal that will install high-end cameras at rec fields - but they are also expanding in other ways, perhaps sensing the increased heat on the diamond. PG CEO Rob Ponger spoke a lot about brand building and wanting to become the next Jordan Brand on our podcast, and GameChanger isn’t shy about leaning into new sports— particularly basketball.
Another note: Diamond Kinetics is deeply connected to the MLB ecosystem. I wouldn’t be shocked to see the league lean more heavily into this tech stack for player data and scouting in an effort to take back some control over youth development.
🤝 SFC Teams With The Legacy Sports Group
The Sports Facilities Companies announced it has formed a strategic collaboration with TLSG, a consulting and advisory firm.
TLSG’s William R. Knox Sr. will become SFC’s new SVP for business development as part of the pact, working with SFC’s clients and facilities to "drive strategic expansion, serving more, serving better and growing its management portfolio."
By integrating The Legacy Sports Group’s expertise into SFC’s national platform, communities will benefit from a broader range of services — from sports tourism strategy and market positioning to operational best practices and long-term destination planning. The move is designed to create a seamless experience for cities, counties, and institutions seeking both big-picture strategy and day-to-day facility leadership.
Knox was previously the direct of Grand Park Sports Campus in Westfield, Indiana.
🏀 Ex-NBA Exec Will Run Overtime Elite
Former Atlanta Hawks GM Landry Fields was named the president of league operations for the elite ages 16-20 hoops platform.
Fields, who also played in the NBA and at Stanford, "will oversee all competitive, development and operational aspects of the league while looking for ways to grow it," according to Front Office Sports.
OTE’s place in the basketball ecosystem is a bit unclear these days. The well-backed league was established as an alternate to college basketball where top prospects to get compensated before reaching the NBA. But NIL and revenue share have upended that niche.
The Professionalization of Youth Sports™ will result in a lot more professional front office talent landing in the industry — just as we are seeing in college sports with team executives becoming ADs and personnel people handling NIL and the transfer portal.
I often hear concerns about “sports people” still being able to chart courses and make decisions for clubs, organizations, tech platforms, etc., after private equity hits the scene. This seems like the natural compromise — leaders who both know sports and know how to successfully navigate to success in a multi-billion dollar space.
🏛️ Supreme Court Update
The high court is expected to allow a pair of state laws banning transgender athletes from competing on teams that align with their gender identity to stand.
The court heard oral arguments yesterday in West Virginia vs. BPJ, brought by a HS athlete and her family; it also heard Little vs. Hecox, a Boise State student’s challenge to Idaho’s law.
At least 5 justices appear set to rule in favor of the states
Some justices signaled a desire to craft a ruling that does not create national precedent
The court could leave wiggle room for states to interpret Title IX
The plaintiff’s attorney in the WV case conceded a defeat was likely, but argued his client can prove she does not have a competitive advantage the law is designed to prevent if returned to the lower courts.
🫵 Youth Sports Parents On Notice In NYC
A CYO basketball game on Staten Island grabbed headlines last month after a verbal confrontation between two women got physical and escalated into a fracas featuring about a half-dozen adults — mostly shoving, but a few punches thrown.
The organization responded yesterday by laying down the law with a new fan conduct policy:
Automatic lifetime ban for physical altercation
One-year ban if ejected for unruly behavior
Lifetime ban for second unruly offense
All parishes are expected to inform each other of disciplinary measures
CYO officials said they previously handled incidents on a case-by-case basis; the participants in the recent incident have received indefinite suspensions.
Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella backed the new rules and said he hopes other youth sports groups in the region will adopt similar policies.
🔗 Youth Sports Links
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