The LSU forward is joined by standouts from the worlds of NCAA volleyball, track and field, gymnastics, and golf.
Linktree, a market-leading linking platform, announced its inaugural class of collegiate athlete partners Wednesday. The organization is continuing to build out its sports offerings and resources to aid college athletes in fully utilizing their name, image, and likeness rights.
Linktree’s NIL athletes are:
- Shareef O’Neal: LSU men’s basketball forward
- Alana Walker: University of Virginia volleyball player
- Grant Horvat: Palm Beach Atlantic golfer and All-American scholar
- Margzetta Frazier: UCLA gymnast and World Cup series silver medalist
- Masai Russell: University of Kentucky track and field athlete and Second Team All-American
Linktree enables creators, brands, athletes, artists, publishers, agencies, and businesses of all sizes to curate an online ecosystem, engage with their audience and monetize their passion. The platform is utilized by more than 20 million users globally including the NFL, MLB, Los Angeles Clippers, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, the Atlanta Dream, and Dwyane Wade.
Founded by brothers Alex and Anthony Zaccaria and Nick Humphreys in 2016, Linktree is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia.
“We are so proud to have Margzetta, Grant, Shareef, Masai, and Alana join #teamlinktree,” said Anthony Zaccaria, Linktree co-founder and Chief Commercial Officer, in an official statement. “All five athletes bring authenticity and athletic prowess to the table, and we are so pleased that they all have chosen Linktree as the way to share their stories. These partnerships are just the beginning and we can’t wait to see what Margzetta, Grant, Shareef, Masai, and Alana create and where their passions – athletic or otherwise – take them.”
Each of the five NCAA athletes arrives at this breakthrough Linktree partnership with an existing and well-established personal brand:
- Virginia’s Walker is a social media influencer with over 400,000 followers across TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter
- Masai Russell has the largest social media following of any University of Kentucky athlete
- O’Neal — far more than just the son of Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal — has sold his own NFTs and donated the proceeds to the American Heart Association
- Grant Horvat has been named to Palm Beach Atlantic’s provost’s list twice, the athletic director’s list six times, and has received the SCC commissioner’s honor
- Margzetta Frazier boasts 126,000 followers on Instagram and is an advocate for mental health and racial equity in college athletics
The announcement follows Linktree’s last big expansion into sports earlier this year, the launch of the “Game Face” podcast hosted by Forbes contributor and college sports business expert Kristi Dosh.