Rawlings taps high school athletes to bring baseball closer to drop culture

Rawlings, a legacy name in the sports equipment space, wants to bring baseball closer to Gen Z fashion and culture with its new brand, Combat. 

While Rawlings has historic ties to the MLB —the brand has been the exclusive baseball supplier of the league since 1977—it is not resting on its relevance with the next generation of players. Alongside creative agency The Alt League, the brand just launched its social-first campaign “Built for Combat,” tapping four NIL high school athletes to promote limited-time product drops. 

Tying military language to a casual style, the team worked to launch a campaign that marries discipline and boldness. 

“It’s really cool to see high school athletes express themselves in a way that is different from the pros,” said Rick Albano, executive creative director at The Alt League. “Bringing in the Humvee and having it do donuts on the field was really true to their culture of baseball. They weren’t rolling up in a Ferrari or something that you might see on the major level.” 

While offering NIL high school athletes autonomy in both the promotion and production of the brand, Combat embraced the limited-edition drop culture that ties basketball to mainstream fashion. 

Drawing from basketball’s ties to streetwear 

While he highlighted the exceptions in the big leagues—like Fernando Tatis Jr. wearing a different pair of custom cleats for every game—Rawlings' Dylan Kavanagh is committed to bringing this level of individualism and personal expression across all levels of the sport.  

“In other industries, it’s all about limited-edition products and limited releases,” said Kavanagh, vp of omnichannel at Rawlings. “We’ve seen that permeate into the baseball space at the highest level, but there’s no one that is dedicated to just these limited edition drops and having that core to their brand.” 

‍Shaping the right talent dynamic 

Instead of recruiting athletes to amplify the line, Rawlings mailed players the bat, ask them to test it and then gauged there interest in the campaign from there. 

“Athletes are more tuned into the business side of things than ever before, and the brands that are approaching NIL really well are taking those partnerships to the next level,” said Kavanagh.“Even at shoots, we’re showing them future drops and evolving them based on their feedback.” 

The brand was focused on securing partners that offer both game credibility and an entrepreneurial spirit, pulling from the top 15 prospects in the country, according to Kavanagh. Rawlings worked with Wasserman to secure players like Anthony Pack for the campaign, who spoke to a filming experience that felt more like fun than work. 

“We looked at the cast and felt like they were an ensemble,” said Kimi Peterson, executive creative director at The Alt League. “It was fun to think about what each of them could bring to the table, and how other athletes watching this content could identify with them.” 

‍Optimizing athlete face time 

According to Peterson, meeting with the athletes regularly from before the shoot to launch day increased their investment in the project. Albano spoke to the smooth dynamic of the group that he said made the campaign especially powerful—and bringing in small comforts on shoot day that boosted morale.

“We were able to put the music they were listening to in the car on during the shoot, and they had an investment in the vibe of the shoot,” said Rick, who added that the shoot took place in 105-degree Arizona heat. “They were bought into the brand, and that just creates a stickiness where they want to be part of it in the future.”