College Baseball Stars Sign NIL Deal with Rapsodo

Sports technology company partners with top MLB Draft prospects Blake Burke, Brody Brecht, Chase Burns, Jac Caglianone and Vance Honeycutt

Although college baseball opening day isn't until February, five top MLB Draft prospects are enhancing their training with a new NIL deal.

Blake Burke of Tennessee, Brody Brecht of Iowa, Chase Burns of Wake Forest, Jac Caglianone of Florida and Vance Honeycutt of North Carolina signed with technology company Rapsodo to add new elements to their games.

Rapsodo creates professional-grade baseball, softball and golf training devices - at affordable prices - to allow athletes at all levels to elevate their skillsets. Tapping into the NIL space with a roster of top MLB Draft prospects should help showcase the technology and corresponding data that make the brand a trusted resource across college programs around the country, Major League Baseball and the PGA Tour.

“These five athletes are some of the best college baseball players in the country,” Rapsodo CEO, Batuhan Okur, said. “The fact that these players chose to partner with us proves Rapsodo is effective at helping players at the most elite levels of sports achieve their maximum potential. We’re confident that through the use of our data, these athletes are able to elevate their in-game performance and reap the benefits that follow that.”

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Projected as the top prospect in the 2024 MLB Draft, Burns is entering his junior year at Wake Forest after transferring from Tennessee. During the 2023 College World Series, he became the first reliever since 1997 to throw six scoreless innings.

“As a pitcher, Rapsodo’s data has been influential in my college baseball career,” Burns said. “Access to Rapsodo’s metrics has helped me develop my pitches and I’m eager to start working with the Rapsodo team.”

Caglianone - a left-handed pitcher and first baseman for the Gators - dominated as a two-way player with ABCA National Position Player of the Year, unanimous first team All-American and Golden Spikes Award Finalist honors. In 2023, he set single-season school records with 33 home runs, 90 RBIs and 208 total bases and his fastball currently hits 99 miles per hour. Caglianone's Gators fell to LSU in the College World Series final last season.

“Rapsodo has elevated my game to a new level and has been an integral part of my college playing experience,” Caglianone said. “I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to work with them on a more personal level and look forward to my growth as a player.”

Rapsodo’s roster of NIL athletes will help promote the brand's HITTING 2.0 and PITCHING 2.0 devices, which use innovative radar and camera technology to provide instant feedback and advanced analysis to athletes. Their newest diamond sports product - the PRO 3.0 - is used for both hitting and pitching in live-on-live situations, utilizing three cameras and two radars to track full ball flight. 

“In searching for the right partners, we seek progress-driven athletes with passion, vision, and drive who know that technology can take their game to new heights," shared Matthew Fowles, Director of Marketing at Rapsodo. "These five phenoms represent the epitome of this ethos. Their commitment to the relentless pursuit of more plus data-driven improvement makes them standouts in college baseball and perfect ambassadors for Rapsodo.”

In June, Rapsodo signed softball players Tiare Jennings and Nicole May of National Champion Oklahoma, baseball players Ben Wiegman and Greg Farone of Louisville along with Rafe Schlesinger and Alejandro Rosario of Miami.