FreeGame February 2026
Updated: Mar 1
February 28, 2026
FreeGame Mgmt -- Looking Back at February! For the first time since moving to Charlotte, I spent most of the month actually being in Charlotte. At one point, two straight weeks! That might be a record.
I caught a few local games at Queens, Charlotte, Davidson, and Wake Forest, but the majority of the month was spent preparing for March. The calm before the storm.
Preparation meant diving deep into long-term strategy for our clients - revisiting season goals and expectations while gearing up for the final stretch of regular season games before conference tournaments begin.
It also meant constant intel gathering and calls with college coaches and GMs to start projecting what rosters may look like next year, updating our data on free market value, and ultimately preparing for the upcoming "free agency."
Love it or hate it, those conversations are real. College basketball is full-on free agency. As a former player, yes, I believe it's imperative that players should focus on the present. A phrase I use often is, 'be where your feet are,' but how can you blame players for the temptation?
If you knew you had a chance to triple your salary, would you not think about it?
At FreeGame, we plan for the long term. We do not operate transactionally. That is one of the clearest ways we differentiate ourselves from much of the industry that simply puts names on lists. As an example of the chaos and lack of rule following right now, I received calls from over 10 GMs in the past two weeks telling me another agency had some of our clients on their "list" and tried to pretend they repped them...
Illegal? Yes.
Disappointing? Yes.
Surprising? Unfortunately not.
To turn a disappointing reality of the business into a positive, it made me proud of the relationships we have built and the trust and respect we have earned across the industry.
On a lighter and more exciting note, we added three new clients to the women’s side of the FreeGame family!
Adriana Reijnen, a 4 star recruit from TX, committed to Arkansas
Ella Hobbs, a current redshirt freshman at Ohio State
Camri Hobbs, a current HS senior from NC, committed to Western Carolina
On the men’s side, the intensity is rising as March approaches. Here are a few storylines:
As the projections stand today, it looks like Kendall at Nebraska and Zach at Wisconsin are safely in the NCAA Tournament, while the rest gear up for conference tournament battles and their opportunity to punch a ticket.
Boden Kapke continues to prove he is one of the most skilled bigs in the ACC, with a few important games left as they fight to secure a spot in the ACC Tournament
Evan Haywood enters March ranked in the Top 10 in the Big East in three pointers made per game (2.0), quietly establishing himself as one of the more consistent perimeter threats in the league
Isaac Asuma continues to prove he is more than just a true PG, stretching the floor and attacking the paint, emerging as one of the Big Ten's most exciting backcourt pieces heading into the conference tournament
Johnny Kinziger and Jalen Wilson’s squads are preparing to make a run in the Missouri Valley Conference
Chace Watley and Wofford are approaching their 20th win heading into the Southern Conference tournament
Austin Green and his UMass Lowell squad secured the No. 4 seed in the America East Tournament
March will bring conference tournaments, client visits, recruiting trips, and then one of the best weekends in sports...
The Final Four in Indianapolis the first weekend of April.
If you need me, you know where to find me.
If I do not answer, thanks for your patience 😉
If you're new here, I am the Director of Basketball Strategy here at FreeGame Management. We sit at the intersection of sports, culture, and commerce, creating opportunities for athletes at every stage.
Our mission is simple: help you win before, during, and after your playing career.
Follow along as we continue to grow an athlete-first organization, by players, for players.
Charles Smith wines sound like a hidden gem, much like finding a daily puzzle that actually surprises you. I've been rotating between the Clueffy and Stranded during coffee breaks, and the rare-answer mechanic keeps it from feeling repetitive. Fifteen spots is a tight list, but I'd add a good browser tab to that roster.
The detail about more than 10 GMs calling to say another agency had your clients on its list is the clearest example of why the long-term, non-transactional approach matters. It also makes the tension between telling players to be where your feet are and asking them to ignore free-agency math feel very real. Keeping a consistent story across all of that is where something like AI tool for consistent characters could help with messaging, but it can’t replace the trust work you describe.
A kid I know lost a month of leverage. He took "be where your feet are" literally through Wofford's 20-win push, ignored February calls, and by the time he looked up the roster spots were gone. His family needed the immediate number, not the long-term pitch. Mapping that kind of free-market value and fit is what a neutral resource for comparing player value and roster fit can help with, though timing still depends on the coach.
The decision between hosted providers and self-hosted mail servers usually hinges on how much administrative work you're willing to take on, and hands-on email platform reviews can make that comparison more concrete.
I really enjoyed this February recap, especially the part about building long-term relationships in college basketball. It's refreshing to see an agency that values trust over transactions. By the way, I also tried sonic classic heroes online and it was a fun break.