It\u2019s not really<\/em> peak college basketball season until March, but winter is coming, and marketers might be thinking about their NIL portfolios in the winter sports space sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n Basketball players dominated the NIL platform Out2Win\u2019s list of the top 50 most marketable college athletes in winter sports, with UConn\u2019s Azzi Fudd at No. 1. Though the majority of the players hail from the court, there are also several from sports like gymnastics, swimming and diving, and ice hockey.<\/p>\n To determine athlete marketability, Out2Win uses an algorithm that evaluates athletes based on \u201csocial influence,\u201d \u201cpast partnership performance,\u201d and \u201cgrowth potential.\u201d<\/p>\n The champs:<\/strong> Fudd, star guard for the reigning women\u2019s NCAA basketball champs, scored a 99 out of 100 possible points, four points higher than Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, who topped Out2Win\u2019s list of most marketable fall athletes. Fudd\u2019s brand partners include Celsius and Stephen Curry\u2019s SC30, and she has an engagement rate of more than 15% across Instagram and TikTok, per Out2Win.<\/p>\n Fellow UConn guard KK Arnold is also in the top 10 at No. 9, with an engagement rate of almost 23%. Arnold has worked with brands including Powerade, Intuit TurboTax, and Raising Cane\u2019s. Morgan Cheli, another UConn guard, came in at No. 30, with a 33% engagement rate.<\/p>\n Ballers:<\/strong> Elsewhere in women\u2019s college hoops, LSU guard Flau\u2019jae Johnson, who\u2019s been in campaigns for brands like Powerade and Foot Locker, and USC guard JuJu Watkins, who\u2019s on State Farm\u2019s athlete roster and appeared in ads for Gatorade and Ritz during this year\u2019s March Madness, also made the top 10.<\/p>\n Five men\u2019s basketball players are represented in the top 10, including:<\/p>\n Marketing Brew informs marketing pros of the latest on brand strategy, social media, and ad tech via our weekday newsletter, virtual events, marketing conferences, and digital guides.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Sacramento State forward Shaqir O\u2019Neal and Florida guard Me\u2019arah O\u2019Neal, both children of Shaquille O\u2019Neal, also made the top 50 list.<\/p>\n Flip the script:<\/strong> UCLA gymnast, Olympic gold medalist, and Dancing with the Stars<\/em> finalist Jordan Chiles rounded out the top 10. She has almost 1 million followers on TikTok, and an additional 1.6 million on Instagram. Six other gymnasts rounded out the top 50:<\/p>\n Dive in:<\/strong> Two athletes from water sports, diver Isabella Gomez and swimmer Torri Huske, ranked in the top 50. Gomez, a junior at San Diego State, was No. 22 on the list, while Huske, a redshirt senior and two-time NCAA champion from Stanford, came in at No. 42.<\/p>\n Break the ice:<\/strong> The only other sport represented on Out2Win\u2019s list was ice hockey. Penn State\u2019s Gavin McKenna, who\u2019s projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL draft, came in at No. 36. McKenna doesn\u2019t have a TikTok, but he has more than 123,000 Instagram followers and an engagement rate of about 25%, per Out2Win.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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