VR startup EON Sports lands pro Japanese baseball team

Kansas City-based virtual reality company EON Sports snagged its first international client.

The firm has partnered with the professional Japanese baseball team Yokohama DeNA Baystars and will bring its 360 baseball training simulator to the athletes this 2017 season.

Founded in 2013, the firm developed a mobile, virtual reality platform to help football and baseball players prepare game plans for specific opponents without risk of injury. “The W.I.N. Series” platform allows for a player or coach to plug their smartphone into a virtual reality headset to enter a customizable, in-game simulation.

Already with clients such as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the University of Kansas and Ole Miss University, CEO Brendan Reilly said that the partnership with the Baystars will allow the firm to collect even more athlete performance data, thus improving EON Sports’ technology

“This is big for us,” Reilly said.  “With each professional team that signs up with us we are able to add a level of credibility to what we are doing.”

Baystars outfielder Takayuki Kajitani said in a release that he was impressed with the technology.

“I felt it was very realistic of what I would see in the game,” Kajitani said. “I’m going to take advantage of the experience the pitching of pitchers who I’ve never played against, and will be able to experience it before an actual match.”

EON Sports’ tech has been featured by the likes of ESPN, CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated, the MLB Network, Fox Business and more. In 2015,  EON Sports tapped New York Yankee Jason Giambi as an advisor. Reilly said that the Baystars partnership is adding momentum to the company’s work.

“This is yet another example of the EON Sports team pushing boundaries, and innovating along the front lines of the sports industry,” Reilly said. “We’ve surrounded ourselves with a top level team that will help us continue our frantic pace of growth. 2017 is going to be an exciting year.”

The firm has a relationship with such organizations as the MLB, NPB, FIFA, PGA Tour, NFL, Premier League, Big 10, SEC, ACC, Pac 12, Big 12 and MAC. The baseball training tech also has been employed by hundreds of youth and high school teams.

To learn more about the firm, click here.