UpNext

What UpNext does

UpNext is a verified intelligence network for college athletics, operating as a three-sided platform connecting 300+ college athletic programs, 140,000+ athletes, and 30+ certified sports agencies through the NCAA transfer portal. Founded in 2024 and headquartered in Huntersville, North Carolina (with operations in Charlotte), the company is NCAA-approved as a recruiting and scouting service for Division I football and basketball. Its core technology aggregates real-time portal activity, athlete profiles, and representation data with a claimed 4-7 day lead time ahead of public news cycles, applying three-way verification across athlete, program, and agency stakeholders and integrating third-party data from Sportradar, PFF, SIS, and Scope Labs.

UpNext monetizes primarily through tiered annual subscriptions: programs pay $10,000/year for Core (verified network access, smart lists, real-time intelligence) or $25,000/year for Elite (multi-staff seats, advanced intelligence, custom alerts, priority support). Sports agencies subscribe to undisclosed Core and Elite tiers with mandatory background checks via Sutton Sports. The athlete-side product is 100% free via an iOS mobile app for profile claiming and recruiting traction tracking. A premium "UpNext Signature" tier offers Market Intelligence, Decision Engine, and dedicated Engineering Partnership by request only. Distribution is hybrid: enterprise field-sales for programs and agencies (with application-based vetting for agencies) and self-serve app-store onboarding for athletes.

The company is led by co-founder and CEO Claude Bragg and co-founder/COO Cody Cater, backed by Y Combinator, and built by a founding team combining former college athletes (Wake Forest, Virginia, Virginia Tech, St. John's) with technical operators from Scope Labs, Google, and ARMS SOFTWARE. Beyond NCAA approval, UpNext holds NBPA certification pathways for verified agencies and a SOC 2 Type 2 compliance posture for its direct messaging infrastructure. The company's primary problem solved is the dysfunction of college athletics recruiting—replacing spreadsheets, text threads, and social-media rumor channels with verified data, compliant communication, and roster-management tooling across transfer windows.

Name

UpNext

Legal name

UpNext Athletics, Inc.

Website

https://upnext.team

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

UpNext is an NCAA-approved verified intelligence network connecting 300+ college athletic programs, 140,000+ athletes, and 30+ certified agencies through the NCAA transfer portal, monetizing via tiered program and agency subscriptions with a free mobile app for athletes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Athletic Recruiting Software

NAICS

Agents and Managers for Artists, Athletes, Entertainers, and Other Public Figures (7114)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Esports Platforms & Competitive Gaming Networks (BPAMAKAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Data Platforms, BI/Reporting & Player Analytics (CDP/Attribution) (MPAEAKAI)

Keywords

• College athletics recruiting
• Transfer portal software
• Athlete scouting platform
• Sports agency CRM
• NIL recruiting network

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlotte

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Program Subscriptions: Two-tier annual subscription model for college athletic programs. Core tier at $10,000/year provides verified network access, smart lists, and real-time intelligence. Elite tier at $25,000/year adds multi-staff seats, advanced intelligence, custom alerts, and priority support.
2. Agency Subscriptions: Two-tier subscription model for sports agencies with Core (verified badge, full database access, program directory, single agent seat) and Elite (multi-seat team management, advanced program intelligence, market alerts, priority support). Pricing not publicly disclosed.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

UpNext operates a verified intelligence network for college athletics that connects athletic programs, athletes, and sports agencies around transfer portal recruiting. The platform provides real-time portal activity feeds, verified athlete profiles with three-way confirmation, smart search and watch lists, agency CRM, and NCAA-compliant direct messaging. Programs and agencies pay annual subscriptions while athletes use the platform free through a mobile app.

Product overview

UpNext is a double-sided transfer recruiting platform connecting college athletic programs, athletes, and agencies through a verified intelligence network. The core platform includes tiered offerings: Programs tier (Core at $10,000/yr for verified network access, smart lists, and real-time intelligence; Elite at $25,000/yr adding multi-staff seats and custom alerts); Athletes tier (free verified profiles with mobile app access); and Agencies tier (Core and Elite with verified badge, database access, and team management). Premium offerings include UpNext Signature (Market Intelligence, Decision Engine, Engineering Partnership) and Agency Directory. The platform is NCAA-approved for Division I football and basketball recruiting, with 300+ programs, 140,000+ athletes, and 30+ certified agencies on the network.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• UpNext Program Platform Subscription platform for NCAA college athletic programs providing verified network access to 140,000+ athletes, smart lists with auto-matching, real-time portal intelligence, drag-and-drop watch lists, program dashboards, and compliant direct messaging with athletes and verified agents.
• UpNext Athlete Mobile App Free iOS mobile application for college athletes in football and basketball to claim verified profiles, manage stats and highlights, view program interest, and connect with verified agents. Sub-2-minute setup, 100% free.
• UpNext Agency Platform Subscription platform for certified sports agencies providing verified agency badge, client roster management, program directory access, direct messaging to program decision-makers, and market intelligence across conferences and cycles.
• UpNext Signature Premium white-glove service tier engineered for large-scale operations, including Market Intelligence, Decision Engine, and dedicated Engineering Partnership. By request only.

Quantifiable outcome

• 350+ transfers facilitated and $3.4M in NIL value added for 50+ programs during single December transfer window
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability8 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• SportradarcoreTechnology or IntegrationData partner providing trusted sports data infrastructure behind the network signal. Contributes to comprehensive athlete data verification and profile information.
• Pro Football Focus (PFF)coreTechnology or IntegrationData partner providing gold-standard Ultimate Player Pages with 20,000+ hours of film-backed grades and advanced metrics embedded directly in athlete profiles.
• Sports Information Services (SIS)coreTechnology or IntegrationData partner providing trusted sports data infrastructure behind the network signal for athlete verification and performance data.
• Scope LabsflagshipTechnology or IntegrationTechnology team behind UpNext that built and maintains the platform. Also listed as technology pedigree alongside Y Combinator and Google. Scope built the website and technical infrastructure.
• Sutton SportscoreTechnology or IntegrationIndependent background check provider for agency verification. Conducts background checks and contract reviews for agencies seeking verified status on the platform.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Hudl: Hudl is a video and data platform serving high school and college athletic programs, with tools for film review, recruiting, and performance analytics — overlapping with UpNext on program-side workflow and athlete evaluation.
• 247Sports: 247Sports runs a recruiting-scouting service with verified prospect profiles, composite rankings, and transfer portal tracking, sharing UpNext's model of monetizing program and fan access to verified athlete intelligence.
• NCSA (Next College Student Athlete): NCSA is a college athletic recruiting service that connects high school athletes with college coaches, profiles, and recruiting content — directly comparable as a recruiting intermediary with program and athlete sides.
• Rivals: Rivals (part of Yahoo Sports) operates a long-standing college football and basketball recruiting network with team rankings, prospect databases, and transfer portal coverage — directly comparable to UpNext's three-sided program/athlete/agent marketplace.
• On3: On3 is a college sports media and recruiting intelligence platform offering transfer portal tracking, NIL valuations, and program/athlete data — the closest direct competitor to UpNext's verified network for college football and basketball.

Emerging players

• SportsRecruits: SportsRecruits is a recruiting platform for high school athletes and college coaches, with profiles, video highlights, and messaging — adjacent to UpNext's athlete-side product and program-side workflow.
• INFLCR (Teamworks INFLCR): INFLCR, now part of Teamworks, provides NIL infrastructure and athlete brand tools for college programs — overlapping with UpNext on the program/athlete relationship layer and NCAA NIL compliance.
• CaptainU: CaptainU is a recruiting and profile platform focused on youth and college athletes, sharing the free athlete profile + paid program tooling motion that UpNext uses.

Others

• Sportradar: Sportradar is a sports data provider and existing UpNext data partner — included as an enabling peer because it supplies the underlying verified data infrastructure that powers UpNext's signal.
• Pro Football Focus (PFF): PFF provides advanced football analytics and player grades; its Ultimate Player Pages are integrated into UpNext profiles, making it an enabling data peer whose content materially shapes UpNext's product.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UpNextCoaches
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/upnextportal
• Instagraminstagram.com/upnextportal

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UpNext