One Year at FreeGame in the Books

September 1, 2026

Happy September!

As we wrap up the “official” end of summer, I also happen to be wrapping up my first full year at FreeGame. Although there are still plenty of projects and contracts being worked on, and I’m not sure this year’s “offseason” ever actually existed, it felt like the right time to pause for a second and reflect on everything we’ve built over the last 12 months.

When I joined, the mission was relatively simple: join like minded people who are athlete focused and help build the basketball division. Of course, “build the basketball division” sounds a hell of a lot simpler than it actually is... but it's cool to look back at how much has changed in just 365 days.

The last year has included recruiting trips, contract negotiations, transfer portal chaos, NCAA rule changes, international placements, high school recruiting, client visits, events, partnerships, strategy sessions, late-night phone calls, fires to put out, and plenty of lessons learned along the way.

And somehow, we’re only one year in.

By the Numbers... aka the Scoreboard

There are plenty of ways to measure growth, so let’s start with the easy ones.

Today, our basketball division represents:

• 22 college basketball players on the mens side

• 11 college basketball players on the womens side

• 5 professional players

• 2 nationally ranked Top 150 high school prospects

And growing by the day.

On the college basketball side alone, we negotiated more than $5 million in contracts this spring. Now those numbers are cool. And I’m damn proud of them But they’re not the part I’m most proud of. The part I’m most proud of is everything that happens behind those numbers.

It’s helping a family understand another NCAA rule change that seemingly happened overnight. It’s helping an athlete determine whether entering the transfer portal actually makes sense instead of simply chasing the biggest number. It’s educating a high school family about what recruiting looks like today before they’re forced to learn it the hard way. It’s helping a professional athlete understand an international market, evaluate opportunities and make a decision that impacts the next several years of his career.

The landscape has never moved faster. And certainly has never been more volatile. The meaning of NIL. Revenue sharing. The transfer portal. Eligibility lawsuits. International opportunities. Brand building. Professional pathways.

There is more opportunity for athletes than ever before. But there is also more noise.

That’s why I continue to believe one of the most valuable things we can provide an athlete and their family isn’t a contract. It’s education. Better information creates better decisions. Better decisions create better opportunities.

And that has become one of the biggest pillars of what we’re trying to build.

Building More Than a Roster

From the beginning, the goal was never simply to accumulate clients. Anyone can build a list of names.

We are building a basketball operation capable of supporting athletes throughout the entire lifecycle of their careers. High school. College. Professional basketball. And eventually, life after basketball. Which means building recruiting pipelines, implementing communication systems, tracking market values, strengthening relationships with coaches and front offices, integrating technology, creating educational resources, developing strategic partnerships and constantly evaluating how we can better serve our athletes.

And as the roster has grown, we’ve learned pretty quickly that growth exposes everything.

The things you do well become more important. The things you don't do well become impossible to hide. So we have certainly experienced our fair share of growing pains.

• We need to continue improving our systems and infrastructure.

• We need to become more proactive and less reactive.

• We need to continue defining roles and accountability as the company grows.

• We need to keep finding ways to scale without making relationships feel transactional.

• We need to make sure that as we grow, the experience for each individual athlete somehow gets better.

That’s the challenge. But it’s also what makes building this so much fun.

Beyond the Game

Some of my favorite moments from this year didn’t happen during a negotiation or on a basketball court. They happened when we were able to bring athletes, families, executives, partners and friends together.

We kicked off the year in Charlotte with "Beyond the Game", bringing our athletes together for conversations around financial literacy, brand development, content creation and preparing for life beyond sports.

Then came Final Four weekend in Indianapolis. Our "House of FreeGame" event brought together coaches, front-office executives, brand partners and leaders from across the sports industry.

And most recently, we took that concept to New York City for our Court Level event. We had an amazing turnout for an event centered around conversations that often don't get enough attention in sports. Stories that live beneath the surface, the rapidly changing landscape of women's sports, the business behind the game and plenty more.

Charlotte. Indianapolis. New York City.

Different cities. Different formats. Same objective... provide value long after the event ends.

The concept behind these events is pretty simple. Put good people in the same room. Relationships create access. Access creates information. And information creates opportunity.

The Part Nobody Posts About

Of course, it hasn't all been wins. Building any type of business is messy. And trying to grow a company while simultaneously representing athletes whose careers don't exactly wait for you to finish building your infrastructure makes it even messier!

But as I experienced with my own agency, sometimes you just have to build the plane while you're flying it.

We've taken some L's and learned a lot about where we need to improve. Communication has to scale without becoming impersonal. Systems have to improve before growth exposes their weaknesses. We need to continue leveraging the entire FreeGame ecosystem for every athlete instead of allowing different areas of the business to operate in silos. We need to continue building the women's basketball side. We need to become even more intentional about high school and grassroots recruiting. We need to continue expanding our professional and international capabilities. And we need to keep getting better at telling the FreeGame story.

Remember, growth creates problems. That's not necessarily a bad thing. But our responsibility is making sure we solve those problems before they become bigger ones.

The Biggest Difference

There’s another part of this year that has probably meant more to me personally than I expected. The team!

The last decade of my career was mostly a solo journey. When you operate that way for long enough, you get used to doing everything yourself. Every relationship. Every problem. Every decision. Every flight. Every negotiation. Every late-night phone call. There are certainly advantages to being a one-man operation.

But there are also limitations.

And looking back at everything we accomplished over the last year, I know there is absolutely no chance I could have done a fraction of it alone. That starts with Jordan and Derrick and the leadership they've provided, the trust they've given me and the vision they've continued to push forward.

And it extends to the entire FreeGame crew, which I will surely highlight in the coming weeks. Different backgrounds. Different skill sets. Different perspectives. All working toward the same goal.

For someone who spent most of the last decade figuring things out on his own, having a team around me to build with has been one of the coolest parts of this entire experience.

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Year Two Loading...

So where do we go from here? Continue building.

But building a bigger company isn't the goal. Creating a better company is. Year one taught us a lot about what we're building, where the opportunities are, and where we need to improve. Year two is about putting those lessons to work.

Growing the basketball roster intentionally. Deepening our presence across high school, grassroots, college, women's basketball, and the professional game. Strengthening the bridge between each stage so we're not just helping athletes navigate where they are today, but preparing them for where they're going next.

Creating more Beyond the Game experiences. Building better educational resources for athletes and families. Creating more opportunities for athletes to leverage their brands and earning potential away from the court.

And behind the scenes, continuing to invest in the technology, data, systems, and infrastructure that allow everything else to scale the right way.

Most importantly, it's about connecting all of it.

The relationships. The resources. The expertise. The experiences. The opportunities. Making the entire FreeGame ecosystem more connected, more valuable, and more impactful for every athlete who becomes part of it.

At the end of the day, that's what matters. Building something athletes and families genuinely trust. Something that gives them better information, better relationships, better opportunities, and better preparation for whatever comes next.

I'm proud of how far we've come in year one. But I'm probably even more excited about how much opportunity is still sitting in front of us. We built a lot in year one.

Now it's time to take it to the next level.

Kevin Tarca

Director of Basketball Strategy

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.