Our Team
Keenan Long
Co-Founder and CEOKeenan earned a mechanical engineering degree from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 2010 after leading the baseball team to three consecutive NCAA D-III Tournaments and receiving an NCAA All-American Honorable Mention. His professional career includes stops in the Golden League and the Frontier League. Long went on to pursue a career as a bat engineer for Easton where he authored a portfolio of patents on bat technology. His subsequent research with the Analytics Dept at Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management uncovered the performance advantages that LongBall Labs provides its clients.
Koby Close
Co-Founder and Head of DataKoby graduated from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in 2017 with a degree in Biomedical Engineering. He played catcher and infield for four years on the varsity baseball team, making an appearance in the NCAA D-III Regional Championship in 2016. His sports engineering experience includes lab testing at Columbia Sportswear and a role as a Biomechanical Engineer for Motus, using data to improve pitcher performance. Koby is an accomplished Sabermetrician whose research has calculated the exact dollar value of individual performance increases.
Jack Kelly
Lab Technician and Data ScientistJack is a current junior baseball player and computer science major at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He has worked on various side projects involving analytics in baseball, even spending a summer working with Frontier League team Joliet Slammers doing advance scouting and data analysis.
Brian Holliday
VP of Business DevelopmentBrian was drafted by the Pirates in 2002 and pitched professionally for nine years before starting his career in sports technology where he has held scouting, sales, and management roles.
Advisory Board
Will Carroll
Sports Tech and Strategy ExpertWill is best known for Under the Knife, which he originally started while writing for Baseball Prospectus. In addition to his involement with sports tech startups, Will also wrote The Science of Baseball in 2022 which features LongBall Labs in its chapter on the history of the baseball bat.
Stephen Lanchak
Business StrategistSteve is a retired professional services executive, coach, and consultant working at the Kellogg School of Management supporting MBA students with shifting careers, launching start-ups and achieving success in their professional endeavors.
Clint Simkins
Strategy and Operations ExpertClint runs the US Operations for a strategy consulting practice focused on Private Equity transactions and portfolio company operational improvement. Clint holds an MBA from Northwestern Kellogg and a BS in Finance from Notre Dame.
Thomas Crutchley
Corporate Finance ExpertThomas has worked across several industries including Finance and Management Consulting. He has led multinational corporate transformations, redesigned global organizations, and been involved in Aerospace and Defense operations for both commercial and private sectors. Thomas holds an MBA from UCLA.
Chris Beacom
EntrepeneurChris, a former professional baseball player in the Blue Jays organization, founded Illinois Baseball Academy in 2005. He built IBA into a brand that serves over 5,000 youth ballplayers a year before selling the business.
James Conley
Intellectual Property StrategyJames Conley is an inventor who serves as a faculty member in the Kellogg Center for Research in Technology & Innovation at Northwestern University. His academic research investigates the strategic use of intangible assets and intellectual properties to build and sustain competitive advantage.