During her time at William and Mary, four-year starter and standout women’s basketball alumna Nyla Pollard ’21 saw a need for tools to help aspiring college athletes. So she took it upon herself to help develop Ballin AI.
Ballin AI is a startup founded by Pollard and three other former college basketball players. Using artificial intelligence, the platform analyzes game film to help athletes match their statistics to schools that fit them both athletically and personally. From a coaching perspective, the software allows recruiters to identify players and evaluate current teams.
Since its founding in 2023, Ballin AI has built a strong network, with companies supporting student-athletes and their transitions to collegiate sports. This includes a pilot partnership with Nike, Pollard said.
Pollard started toying with the idea of Ballin AI during her freshman year. Pollard described her teammate — who was also her roommate — as an incredible athlete. However, due to the system and play of the program, her opportunities on the court were limited.
“I remember thinking, after seeing her not having the best experience both athletically or emotionally, that there has to be a better way to connect the right high school player to the right college program,” Pollard said. “She could have gone somewhere and had an incredible career, but instead, she chose to come here, and this just wasn’t the right fit.”
With the recent rise of the transfer portal and name, image and likeness, the college recruiting process has changed greatly from Pollard’s time as a college athlete. As a result, she has had to learn how to manage these shifts and changes in the recruitment process.
As the recruitment process has evolved, it has become increasingly difficult to recruit high schoolers versus a transfer portal player, Pollard noted.
“The process in itself consists of completely different experiences,” she said.
Despite these changes in the recruitment process, Pollard hopes every athlete, whether directly out of high school or a transfer, will take advantage of the resources provided by Ballin AI.
“We want every single athlete in the world to be evaluated through our system,” she said.
