Sports tech founder: Team’s years of work laid groundwork for Forbes 30 Under 30 honor

Being named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for sports — alongside athletes like Lamar Jackson, Kyle Kuzma, and Ronald Acuna — adds more fuel to the fire for Austin Barone, the 29-year-old co-founder of Just Play Sports Solutions.

“The growth we have experienced over the past few years has been tremendous, so to receive this honor is just a testament to the work of our entire team over the last eight years,” said Barone, who characterized the Forbes accolade as external confirmation of the confidence his team of more than 30 already had in itself.

“We are also hopeful that this will make a few doors that have been tough to open so far, a little easier,” he added.

Overland Park-based Just Play — a workflow and automation platform Barone co-founded in late 2014 while playing football at the University of Kansas — helps coaches and sports organizations adapt to a new digital age, offering features including automated scouting and advanced data analysis.

Click here to check out Forbes’ 30 Under 30 for sports and here for more categories.

“Being associated with all of the high-profile names on the list is a real honor,” said Barone, who serves as CEO and handles sales and business development for Just Play. “The list talks about those winning on and off the field and it is real validation for our team to be sitting there next to others in sports who are changing the game in North America. We work closely behind the scenes with a lot of elite sports teams and being able to deliver for those clients and play a small part in their success is what means the most to me.”

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Just Play’s recent winning record also includes Notre Dame MLAX and LSU women’s basketball championships.

“We’ve kept our heads down over the past few years focusing on delivering value for our customers in football, basketball, and lacrosse,” continued Barone, who is a member of the 2017 Pipeline Entrepreneurs fellowship class. “Our client list has grown to more than 1,200 teams in the U.S. and we’re starting to see some opportunities open up internationally, especially as we look to expand into new sports in 2024 (soccer and hockey).”

Adding to Just Play’s offerings will be an exciting new challenge, he said, because the team hasn’t gone to market in a new sport since 2018, when Just Play first launched its lacrosse platform.

“The past 12 months have been an incredibly exciting time within the company’s life cycle,” Barone said. “Everyone can see and feel the development and maturity of every business function (sales, product, onboarding/support, finance, etc).”

The outlook for 2024 is promising because of the groundwork laid by Just Play’s team — to whom Barone gave credit for the Forbes 30 Under 30 nod.

“I am grateful for the opportunity to receive this honor, but more importantly grateful for our team. I couldn’t be more proud of our collective efforts,” he said. “All along we’ve said that if we zero-in on taking care of our customers and continue to deliver value, then good things will come. Hopefully, this is just the start as we break through this inflection point in the business.”