NEW YORK — Industry executives piled into the Hard Rock Hotel in Manhattan to celebrate the most impactful sports innovations of the year at the fourth annual SBA: Tech. The event was hosted by StatusPro co-founder, ESPN analyst and former NFL player Andrew Hawkins.
The energy in the room thumped along with the music throughout the evening, spiking with a standing ovation for the NBA’s Chris Benyarko, who took home Technology Executive of the Year.
Here is the full list of winners:
Best in AI — Elevate Performance & Insights Cloud (EPIC)
The AI data platform Elevate launched early last year, and more than 230 of the agency’s clients use it. Its applications, built on data from more than 450 million individuals and 1.7 billion devices, touch consumer insights, ticketing management and property analytics.
Best in Athlete Performance Technology — Plantiga
Maker of insole sensors that, paired with advanced AI, help athletes and coaches collect and analyze movement data. Plantiga’s technology is approved for in-competition use by the NBA, NFL and FIFA.
Best in Fan Experience Technology — OneCourt
This accessibility startup’s core product is a haptic tablet that turns live game-tracking data into vibrations that help blind and low-vision fans follow along. OneCourt’s devices are used by multiple NBA teams and MLB’s Diamondbacks, and four NFL teams were part of a pilot for its football capabilities.
Best in Immersive Technology — MLB App in XR
An immersive iteration of MLB’s flagship app that’s available in headsets like the Apple Vision Pro, Meta Quest and Samsung Galaxy XR and includes features like 3D renderings that show distinct game angles and data visualizations.
Best in Venue & Franchise Operations Technology — Retailcloud
Retail-focused point-of-sale software vendor that, in the judging period, released a new inventory tracking management system (Inventory360, live at AT&T Stadium and United Center) and integrated its technology with Amazon Just Walk Out.
Best Technology Collaboration — TGL presented by SoFi x TMRW Sports x CapTech x Full Swing x Next League x SmartPin Cam x SYNLawn x Toptracer x Beau Welling Design x Hanse Golf Course Design x Jack Nicklaus Design x Piza Golf
In other words, TGL’s full, 11-company tech stack, which combines swing simulators, ball and shot-tracking technology, virtual hole designs and an adaptable putting area to power a new way of playing and watching golf.
Next In Sports Tech: Rising Woman Of The Year, presented by Next League — Darolyn Pierce, VP of Data, Analytics and Insights, Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment
At the heart of BSE’s data architecture and operations, Pierce has spearheaded initiatives such as the organization’s migration to Snowflake; embedding of analytics experts within key business units; custom upgrade of its crowd management software (WaitTime); and integration of NBA data into BSE’s sales platform (which drove a significant revenue lift).
Technology Executive of the Year — Chris Benyarko, EVP and Head of Direct to Consumer Products, Technology and Operations, NBA
A veteran executive with more than two decades of experience at the NBA, Benyarko in 2025 led an overhaul of the league’s tech infrastructure to support a streaming-first media model; launch of the Tap to Watch digital discoverability feature; and new features for broadcasters (the Inside the Game statistics platform) and League Pass (highlight recaps, real-time game updates, multigame viewing on mobile).
A big night for OneCourt
OneCourt earned two victories Monday evening, winning Fan Experience Technology of the Year before claiming the night’s ultimate award, Sports Technology of the Year.
“I leave you guys with one thing, which is where would we all be without sports?” said OneCourt COO Antyush Bollini to the crowd during the Sports Technology of the Year acceptance speech. “It’s a huge part of all of our lives. And there’s so many people who can’t access it in the same way as us. So, let’s keep doing this.”
Founded in 2021 by a quartet of Univ. of Washington students, OneCourt has steadily pushed its way into many professional sports and raised awareness about accessibility in the process. The startup’s mission has focused on including a blind and low-vision community that’s been easily overlooked in an industry that produces must-see moments.
OneCourt first connected with sports fans in venues. Its thicker, tablet-sized device can take game-tracking data and turn it into haptics. The vibrations, paired with a surface featuring the field of play’s outline, become a low-latency play-by-play experience.
For device users, OneCourt fosters game days where they can finally cheer along with sighted members of their fan base instead of asking what’s going on.
Within the past year alone, OneCourt wrapped up its NBA Launchpad experience, deployed around the FIFA Club World Cup (in Mercedes-Benz Stadium and Lumen Field), the NBA (with double-digit partnerships and an All-Star Weekend appearance) and the NFL (four pilots with teams and a Super Bowl activation).
OneCourt is now attempting to join fans in their home as well with a first-generation at-home unit that should be available at the end of the year.
The company joins the three other Sports Technology of the Year winners:
- 2025: Lap of Legends, an Anheuser-Busch InBev sponsorship activation that pitted a Formula 1 driver against six virtual racers
- 2024: Evolv Express, the security-scanning unit developed by Evolv
- 2023: The semi-automated offsides technology was developed by a contingent of FIFA, Hawk-Eye, Kinexon, and Adidas for the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup
