Former College Star Raises $500K For AI-Powered Basketball Platform

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Published by Stephen Oluwadara at July 31, 2025

How Does Ballin AI Operate

Founded by former Division I athlete Nyla Pollard, Ballin AI analyzes players’ gameplay to help them improve their performance and increase their recruitment chances. After players upload their video, the footage is examined by a nationally recognized evaluator, who then scores it across various criteria, including defense, shooting, rebounding, scoring, transition, finishing, and ball handling.

“We created Ballin because every athlete deserves the opportunity to have the information they need to develop their game and to own their recruitment process,” Pollard said in a video on their website.

Each athlete receives a personalized development plan, along with the option to join the company’s AI-powered ranking system, which allows them to compare their performance with other athletes.

Pollard’s startup idea emerged after her graduation, during her own college recruitment process. “I remember reflecting on my own recruiting process and thinking, ‘Oh, this could be better,’” she told her alma mater earlier in January, as reported by Black Enterprise. “But I didn’t really start working on it until November of 2022, and we formally incorporated our company in 2023.”

“My initial idea was to focus on the recruiting process and how to make that better for coaches and players. Then, when we dove into customer discovery and market research, we really landed on the right solution for right now,” she added.

Ballin AI’s $500K Angel Round

While speaking in December 2024 to current student-athletes at her alma mater, William & Mary, Pollard inspired them with her journey and passion for innovating the sports industry.

“In my experience as a student athlete, we would have post-graduate conversations, and the presented options were always Corporate America, grad school, or playing overseas,” she said. “Entrepreneurship was never discussed as a viable career path. I never even considered doing that.”

Pollard continued. “Athletes have such a unique yet untapped perspective in the world of sports innovation. Former athlete founders do exist, but I think there should be more because no one knows the space like we do. Even after we started Ballin, I got the question so many times: ‘Why doesn’t this exist already?’”

Ballin AI’s vision received a significant boost with a $500,000 angel round, Pollard confirmed on LinkedIn. Slauson & Co., Oregon Sports Angels, ACT House, and FBomb Angels Investment Club participated in the round.

“Ballin AI has officially closed our $500K angel round. We’re backed by an incredible group of early believers fueling our mission: to make recruiting faster, smarter, and data-driven for both athletes and coaches,” she wrote on the social media platform.