New brand builds on more than two decades of recruiting leadership while connecting athletes, coaches, clubs, and events across the growing OTTO SPORT AI volleyball ecosystem.
MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Since 2004, University Athlete has been a trusted recruiting platform for college volleyball coaches. Today, OTTO SPORT AI announced the next chapter: University Athlete will become OTTO PREP beginning October 27.
The move represents one of the final phases of a groundbreaking year for OTTO SPORT AI in volleyball, bringing recruiting into a broader technology ecosystem supporting clubs, tournaments, coaches, and athletes.
"University Athlete has earned the trust of the volleyball community for more than two decades, and we are excited to continue building on that with new products and continued innovation," said JL Vogelaar, CMO & Head of DTC Products, OTTO SPORT AI. "OTTO PREP represents a strategic investment in a product the volleyball community already loves. By connecting recruiting more closely to the clubs, teams, and tournaments where athletes actually play, we can give coaches better information, create more opportunities for athletes to be discovered, and spend less of everyone's time searching for the right match."
Over the past year, the company has doubled down on both technology and relationships across the volleyball community. OTTO SPORT AI has expanded its partnerships with clubs, tournament operators, and volleyball organizations nationwide; established advisory groups made up of industry veterans and customers; and accelerated development of simpler, smarter technology designed specifically around how volleyball actually operates. The result is three independent arms that work in synchronicity: OTTO PREP formally becomes the recruiting and athlete development arm of OTTO SPORT AI, joining OTTO SPORT, which powers clubs, and OTTO EVENT, which powers tournaments and ticketing.
A More Connected Volleyball Experience
The OTTO PREP announcement follows SportWrench's August transition to OTTO EVENT, bringing another major piece of the company's volleyball strategy under the OTTO name. Together, the specialty products create a unified experience across the sport. The software that runs a club's season, the tournaments its teams compete in, and the recruiting activity happening courtside no longer have to exist as separate technology islands.
- For college coaches: that means more accurate rosters, better visibility into who is actually competing at an event, richer athlete information, and less time spent piecing together data from multiple sources.
- For athletes: it means more opportunities to be discovered. The information generated through their club and tournament experiences can help coaches already using OTTO PREP build a more complete recruiting picture.
- For clubs: it means less duplication and better support for athletes throughout their recruiting journeys. And for tournament operators, it creates opportunities to make recruiting an even more valuable part of the event experience.
Building on a Year of Innovation
The OTTO PREP name may be new, but University Athlete's transformation is already well underway. Throughout 2026, the company has invested significantly in the platform and the experience around it, expanding beyond the traditional recruiting database to create more tools for athletes, families, clubs, and college coaches.
That includes launching AI FIT Finder, which helps athletes identify college programs that fit what they are looking for; expanding Camps & Clinics discovery to help athletes find more opportunities to connect with college programs; and continuing to invest in the All-Access athlete experience.
OTTO PREP has also introduced an entirely new Club Director experience, giving clubs greater visibility into their athletes' recruiting journeys and creating a stronger connection between the club environment and college recruiting. As that experience expands, club directors will have increasingly powerful tools to help athletes build their profiles, navigate the process, and connect with the right opportunities.
This innovation comes against a backdrop of extraordinary activity across the platform. OTTO PREP now connects athletes with approximately 95% of college volleyball programs, generates more than 5 million athlete profile interactions annually, and supports recruiting activity across hundreds of volleyball events nationwide.
The new name also gives the platform room to grow beyond recruiting alone.
"PREP is intentional," Vogelaar added. "Recruiting will always be at the heart of this product, but preparing for what comes next is bigger than a single recruiting moment. We see an opportunity to help athletes throughout that journey, from understanding where they fit, to finding opportunities, to getting in front of coaches and ultimately preparing for their next step."
For existing University Athlete customers, the transition to OTTO PREP requires no change in how they use the platform. The same team, technology, recruiting data, and functionality remain in place, now backed by the broader capabilities and investment of OTTO SPORT AI.
About OTTO PREP
OTTO PREP (formerly University Athlete) powers recruiting and athlete preparation across the volleyball journey, connecting college programs with student-athletes, clubs, and events nationwide. Trusted by about 95% of college volleyball programs, the platform generates more than 5 million athlete profile interactions annually across hundreds of thousands of athlete profiles. Founded as University Athlete in 2003, the platform has helped power volleyball recruiting for more than two decades.
Learn more at https://www.ottosport.ai/university-athlete
About OTTO SPORT AI
OTTO SPORT AI is building the future of youth sports technology through a portfolio of industry-leading platforms serving clubs, tournaments, coaches, and athletes. Its volleyball solutions include OTTO EVENT (formerly SportWrench), a leading volleyball tournament management and ticketing platform; OTTO PREP (formerly University Athlete), the recruiting and athlete preparation platform trusted by college volleyball programs nationwide; and OTTO SPORT, an AI-powered club management platform.
Across its volleyball portfolio, OTTO SPORT AI supports hundreds of clubs, approximately 140,000 teams, and 1,700 events annually, while powering millions of athlete, coach, and fan interactions. Together, its platforms are creating a more connected technology ecosystem designed to simplify operations, improve experiences, and grow the game.
Learn more at ottosport.ai.
Media Contact
Lauren Kramer, OTTO SPORT AI, 1 3125029686, [email protected], https://www.ottosport.ai/
SOURCE OTTO SPORT AI
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