NTangible Clutch Factor Predicts Athlete Performance, but Scores Look Gameable
NTangible’s 0-to-1,000 Clutch Factor aims to predict athletes’ performance under pressure, but a repeat test shows athletes may be able to game scores.
Summary
Former professional baseball player and NTangible co-founder and CEO Dan Connerty developed Clutch Factor with Dr. Ed Levine, a University of South Florida professor emeritus. Inspired by the Thematic Apperception Test, it asks athletes to interpret ambiguous scenes, then uses a psychologist-designed neurolinguistic guide to score their words and phrasing from 0 to 1,000. Connerty says athletes scoring above 750 are twice as likely to commit to a Division I school, positioning the result for rankings, leaderboards, recruiting, NIL and scholarship decisions as quarterbacks receive $4 million checks.
A repeat test exposed a vulnerability: one user scored 584 when answering honestly and 802 when impersonating a calm top recruit. NTangible supports nine sports and, although it is not a training platform, offers starter exercises created with former MLB sports psychologist Howie Schwartz. Its NTerpret workplace assessment measures how employees process coaching, feedback and instructions, supporting potential direct sales to sports organizations and employers. NTangible was scheduled to detail its strategy on October 14, 2026, as one of Startup Battlefield’s top 20 grand-prize contenders during the October 13 to 15 event in San Francisco.
Positives
- Scores above 750 make athletes twice as likely to commit to a Division I school, according to CEO Dan Connerty.
- Nine supported sports broaden Clutch Factor beyond Connerty’s original baseball background.
- Howie Schwartz helped create exercises athletes can use to strengthen their mental performance.
- NTerpret extends NTangible’s assessment model to workplace coaching, feedback and instruction processing.
- Startup Battlefield selected NTangible among 20 companies competing for its grand prize.
Risks & concerns
- A tester raised a score from 584 to 802 by answering as an imagined calm top recruit.
- Clutch Factor’s predictive evidence is presented through Connerty’s claims, with validation details still limited.
- Recruiting, NIL and scholarship use could attach high-stakes decisions to answers athletes may manipulate.
- Corporate expansion could bring the same reliability concerns into employee assessment and management decisions.