This is Buying Sandlot — the only newsletter that focuses solely on the business of youth sports.
We had an overwhelmingly positive response to our poll question about hosting a "Youth Sports Business Conference” in Philly next spring. So plow ahead we shall!
Which topic would you be most interested in learning more about from speakers and panelists at the conference?
In the email today:
💻 Youth Sports Prominent In Sports Tech Investments
Drake Star, an investment bank, released its sports tech market report for the first half of 2025 last week.
Lots of youth attention in this one.
Some highlights— most of which won’t be news to Buying Sandlot readers, but a good recap nonetheless:
“With $52B in announced and/or closed deal value in H1, sports tech continues to be one of the most active sectors driven by robust M&A activity, substantial private financing, and steady capital inflows.”
That’s in comparison to $8.1B in the first half of 2024, though a bulk of the value in 2025 was driven by TKO’s acquisition of Endeavor’s sports assets
“The $40B youth sports market saw some consolidation across recruiting, team management, and media segments led by IMG Academy’s acquisition of SportsRecruits. Other notable deals include Stack Sports/Genstar acquiring Playmetrics from BSIP/PSG, PlayOn/KKR acquiring MaxPreps, On3’s acquisition of Rivals from Yahoo and LegaueApps/Accel-KKR picking up Mod11.”
“Other notable deals include Teamworks reaching Unicorn status following a $235M raise while Unrivaled Sports and Rocket Youth secured $120M and $100M respectively, highlighting strong investor interest in youth sports.”
“M&A activity is anticipated to continue being strong as both strategics and PE backed platforms are very active in the market. The consolidation trend in the digital media segment is expected to continue, and we anticipate M&A to grow around highly fragmented verticals in the ecosystem such as youth sports, sporting agencies, and sporting venues/facilities.”
“Record $6.6B of private financings in H1 signals a growing appetite from investors towards mid to late-stage financings. While early-stage financings continue to make up a major portion of total deals, we saw growth in later stage financings and expect this trend to continue as investors continue to back interesting companies in segments across youth sports, women sports, emerging leagues, performance analytics, sports betting etc.”
The Tech That Stops Predators at Youth Sporting Events*
Two months ago, we told you about ZortsID with Flash Biometrics— the new biometrics tool partnered with the youth sports management platform Zorts. It enables event organizers and hosts to quickly identify fraud and improve security at youth sporting events
Well, that same tech is now available through API, enabling software platforms of all sizes to easily embed biometric verification directly into their stack.
ZortsID recently helped stop a known sexual predator from entering a youth sports facility.
Tim Tarwater, a VP at HUB Insurance - the largest private brokerage in the US - reviewed the cased and called it:
“Life-saving technology. It needs to be the future of all youth and spectator events.”
A seamless API connection is now available for software partners— including white label or co-branded options.
Protect your platform. Protect your people.
Integrate class-leading Flash Biometrics today. Schedule an API demo.
*Sponsor
⚾️ Ex-Big Leaguers Talk Perfect Game All-American Classic
Perfect Game announced the rosters for next month’s Dick’s All-American Classic at Petco Park in San Diego.
The game features the nation’s top-60 high school players in an East vs. West format. Full rosters can be seen here.
Hall of Famer Trevor Hoffman and former All-Star Ryan Klesko will manage the teams with a host of ex-big leaguers making up the coaching staffs.
It is PG’s marquee event — and one of the biggest in youth sports.
"It’s the ultimate showcase, it’s the ultimate scouting department,” Hoffman told Buying Sandlot. "If you are a part of PG, you are going to be on someone’s radar, whether it’s professional baseball or collegiate baseball."
Klesko, a fixture on the travel ball scene, said he identified two deficiencies when he started coaching his kids: mental skills and general training.
The developmental environment lacked the structure you see in Japan, Latin America and elsewhere.
But PG is addressing those gaps.
"A lot of kids just go out and play games, but you've got to hone your skills," Klesko said. "They have those academies (overseas) and kids play baseball every day. They take grounders every day, they hit in the cages every day. ... If a kid has flaws, we have to train those flaws. It's very important you don't spend your entire summer just playing baseball.”
Added Hoffman: “It’s an insatiable appetite that American kids have. We’re just providing something that is wanted and ultimately, in my opinion, needed. The level of competition, the level of skill has risen to the point that PG has been able to be the one lone group standing that offer the platform that is going to be something people look back on and say, ‘They accelerated my [growth] as a player and my opportunity to see what is out there.’”
“Klesko, a fixture on the travel ball scene, said he identified two deficiencies when he started coaching his kids: mental skills and general training. The developmental environment lacked the structure you see in Japan, Latin America and elsewhere.”
©Trend Watch™: This is a macro trend you will see play out in US sports in the back half of this decade. We’ve written ad nauseam about USA Basketball looking toward the European development model, and baseball won’t be far behind. I’d include “mental skills” and “general training” under this more holistic development approach. All-Star Sports Owner Vince Russomagno talked about this on our recent podcast interview with him.
⚖️ Little League Legal Drama
The parents of a youth baseball player in New Jersey have requested an emergency TRO so their son can play in tomorrow’s Little League state finals.
A 12-year-old from Haddonfield was ejected from his team’s last game for flipping his bat after hitting a home run
The ejection triggered an automatic one-game suspension
The kid’s dad told NJ Advance Media the umpires cited a “safety concern” and Little League International claims his son broke the rule forbidding “horse play”
The dad also pointed out Little League International has promoted bat flips on social media and players have behaved in a similar manner during Little League World Series games without being tossed
For what it’s worth: Haddonfield is part of a four-team double-elimination bracket to determine the state final, so the player’s team cannot be eliminated with him on the bench.
In case you’re wondering: The TRO request was not filed in the same court as the one that reinstated four-time state wrestling champion Anthony Knox Jr. to this year’s state championships earlier this year. The state governing body had disqualified Knox following his alleged participation in a brawl at a district tournament.
There are no winners in these situations.
Everyone involved is in a bad spot — the kid, his parents, the umpires and LLI. But the kid is in the worst spot.
I am not a big fan of middle schoolers flipping their aluminum bats. It’s not sportsmanlike and, more importantly, it’s not very safe.
An ejection feels a bit harsh here, though.
But taking the matter to court seems a bit overkill.
LLI needs to make an ironclad bat flip rule — either way — and stick with it.
⚽️ Genesis, U.S. Soccer Foundation Continue Mini-Pitch Initiative
The ongoing partnership — the MLS Players Association is also involved — unveiled its third Musco Mini-Pitch System installment at Barack Obama Charter School in Compton, California.
Musco — a sports lighting company — transforms underutilized spaces in high density areas into hard-court soccer surfaces.
USSF aims to install 1K mini-pitches nationwide by 2026, when the U.S. will host the World Cup. It has installed over 800 so far— each pitch impacts about 10K youth athletes on average.
We covered a similar small-sided soccer initiative in April. At the time, I called it “maximizing the revenue per square foot of the United States.” In other words, taking existing space and turning it into usable fields.
Many of these fields are in underserved areas, increasing access to sports for more people. It’s especially popular (and feasible) with soccer, and you’ll continue to see a focus here with the World Cup on the horizon. Good way for operators to tap into grant opportunities as well, I’m guessing.
🥅 National Futsal Championships Find New Home
Staying on the mini-soccer front …
The U.S. Youth Futsal National Championships will be held in Richmond, Virginia, next year.
The event has been in Kansas City for the entirety of its 20-year history.
For those who are unfamiliar: Futsal is a 5-on-5 version of soccer, typically played indoors on a hard surface. The ball is typically smaller and heavier than a regulation soccer ball.
🧢 Youth Sports Events News And Notes
We referenced the soccer-centric National Sports Center in Blaine, Minnesota, in a recent send.
The NSC’s dominance on the pitch was not overstated by officials building a youth sports complex in nearby Rochester.
NSC just hosted over 1.2K teams from 27 states and 17 countries at the 2025 Target USA Cup over eight days.
ALSO: The AAU Junior Olympic Games kicked off yesterday in Houston. Organizers project the event will bring 60K visitors and generate $90M in economic impact for the region.
🔗 Youth Sports Links
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Good game.