HAND Issues Persistent Digital IDs to 50 Top 2026 MLB Draft Prospects

The Universal Talent Identifier (HAND) has issued HAND IDs to 50 top prospects ahead of the 2026 MLB Draft, including consensus top-ranked players Roch Cholowsky, Grady Emerson, and Justin Lebron. HAND describes this as the first time an ISO-standard talent registry has established identity for draft-eligible players prior to MLB Draft selection.

HAND IDs use Digital Object Identifier technology (ISO 26324:2025) to provide a persistent, globally unique identifier for managing and licensing Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) rights, including tracking consent-based digital replicas and guarding against unauthorized uses such as deepfakes. The registry currently includes more than 145,000 registered HAND IDs, with more than 4.4 million talent records under active development and more than 10 million under management.

Three weeks ago we gave the 2026 NBA Draft class their forever-IDs before a single name was called. Today we're doing it again for baseball, says Will Kreth, Founder and Executive Director, HAND. The moment a prospect hears his name at the podium, the market for his pro NIL goes live - rookie cards, MLB The Show, advertising, and increasingly AI-generated content. Establishing a persistent, standards-based identity before that moment is the difference between protecting talent and chasing the problem. Every prospect in this group starts his career already identified, already resolvable, already protected - and this is the second time we've done it in three weeks, across two different sports.

Companies currently testing and deploying HAND Talent IDs include Sony Pictures Entertainment, Fabric Data, Opus Data, and the American Film Institute, among 12 international organizations.

LINK:	https://www.sportsvideo.org/2026/07/07/hand-issues-persistent-digital-...
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