The title-winning Lynx aside, Twin Cities sports teams tend to break more hearts than records. But there’s another regional squad that’s proven to be highly competitive: sports-related apps and software. Reed Robinson, executive director of startup resource Beta.MN, notes that in the past couple of years, a new rookie class has been building on the high-profile success of several locally based sports-tech companies, including SportsEngine, SportsDigita, Fanball (now part SportsHub Technologies), and Sportradar US (originally SportsData, acquired in 2013 by Switzerland–based Sportradar). We scouted the up-and-comers. —Gene Rebeck

MatBoss

What it does: Created by a former high school math and computer science teacher with more than 30 years of experience as a high school wrestling coach, Matboss’ iPad app embeds wrestling stats into video recordings of college and high school wrestling matches. The app is intended to take the place of cumbersome handwritten scoring. Key stat: Around 1,600 college and high school wrestling programs use MatBoss, including most of the NCAA Division 1 teams.
Info: matbossapp.com

Player’s Health

What it does: This company plays in the space where technology, health care, and insurance intersect. Its HIPAA-compliant interactive mobile software is designed to help coaches quickly document any injury that occurs during practice or games.
Key stat: Player’s Health has attracted $1.6 million in seed funding as of early 2019.
Info: playershealth.com

Starting 11

What it does: Fans can use Starting 11’s app to build their own fantasy football teams—“football” as in English Premier League soccer, that is. They can then play against other teams worldwide, and (where it’s legal) place bets during the games.
Key stat: Starting 11 has more than 10,000 users in the U.K., U.S, Canada, and Germany, according to CEO Teague Orgeman.
Info: starting11.io

TeamGenius

What it does: Youth sports have come a long way from the old sandlot. TeamGenius’ mobile apps help coaches evaluate kids’ talents during sports camps and team tryouts. Coaches can also use TeamGenius tech to show ways young athletes can improve their performance.
Key stat: TeamGenius is used by more than 300 youth sports clubs, associations, and leagues across 15 different sports in the U.S. and abroad.
Info: myteamgenius.com

UnderRecruited Preps

What it does: Connects student athletes to college coaches while providing those athletes insights into the athletic recruiting process. Athletes create an online recruiting profile for college coaches to view both their academic and athletic achievements.
Key stat: UnderRecruited Preps has more than 100,000 users, according to CEO Francis Kanneh.
Info: underrecruitedprep.com