Virginia Unveils New EvoShield Uniforms for 2025
The Virginia baseball team will have a fresh look in 2025. Well, fresh looks, to be more specific. And all the new uniform options come thanks to new uniform partner EvoShield, a Wilson-owned brand making a foray into the world of elite-level Division I baseball.
Long known for protective equipment, EvoShield has been making uniforms for minor league teams, travel ball teams and small colleges. Signing Virginia opens up a new world and one that the Cavaliers are ready to embrace.
“EvoShield is a baseball company,” said Virginia head coach Brian O’Connor. “We have seen this for decades in the sport of baseball, the needs of a player from uniforms to protective gear, I just think is different. We are really excited that we have everything wrapped into one with a baseball-specific company.”
Virginia already uses EvoShield protective gear and swings DeMarini bats, another Wilson-owned brand. The customization from EvoShield spins right into the uniforms, not only from an aesthetic design, but also a custom fit.
Virginia will roll out an entirely new mix-and-match set of uniforms. Choosing what to wear on any given gameday will be tricky.
“That is the exciting and challenging part,” O’Connor said. “All the different combinations of uniforms and apparel we have on the field, the biggest challenge will be what do we wear on each given day?”
The Cavaliers expect to have a patriotic design, a mix of specialty looks and the expected white, gray, navy and orange designs.
“It has been fun working with them to be creative, to be out on the cutting edge of what needs to be done,” O’Connor said.
EvoShield makes all the uniforms at its facility in Tennessee, and all the designers are either based there or in Chicago, said Jim Hackett, Wilson Baseball/Softball president and general manager. The Virginia players have been to the factory to see the process.
“Our players are jacked,” O’Connor said. “You should see our players’ faces. They are 18- to 23-year-old young men and they love apparel. They love the best apparel. To see the smiles on their faces and the excitement that a company is that committed to them, it is extremely exciting.”
Then comes the custom fit. EvoShield measures each player individually, creating gear specific to their needs.
“It will be the highest level of service and quality,” O’Connor said. “I don’t know any recruit who wouldn’t want to be a part of that.”
It’s that service that drew O’Connor to EvoShield in the first place.
“I put a high value in our program in these partnerships and people being committed to our program and also us committed to them,” he said. “EvoShield has made a huge investment and a huge step forward, not just for Virginia baseball, but into delivering the highest level of uniforms and apparel.”
“When Coach O’Connor shared this news with the team, our entire clubhouse lit up,” said Henry Ford, a 2024 All-American. “We know how good their baseball equipment is, and we’re excited to put on display for the entire baseball community to show just how good the EvoShield apparel and uniforms are.”
Jay Woolfolk, another Cavaliers player, said the EvoShield team made it “clear that they are about what the players want and need out of our gear,” adding he was overwhelmed with the attention to detail they showed to the program.
“After getting to touch and feel some of the apparel that they’re producing,” he said, “I’m proud and excited to see this partnership happen.”
Scott Paulson, Wilson director of college baseball, said that the personal service is part of the process. From custom Wilson gloves to custom DeMarini bats and custom EvoShield protective gear, doing custom uniforms fits the mantra.
Hackett says he knows every company is going to say they design with the athlete in mind, but for EvoShield, they come to the apparel from an equipment perspective with a performance point of view that focuses on only one sport: baseball. Add in the personal service, and teams are interested.
“Baseball and softball are in our DNA from the very beginning,” he said. “It is natural for us to be developing this kind of clothing.”
EvoShiled uses the know-how of parent company Wilson, which has been sourcing fabric and material for sports for decades, to lead the performance side. The design comes from a collaboration between brand and school.
Virginia started a relationship with EvoShield over a year ago. The connection to DeMarini was already strong, with most of the team’s players having swung the bat in high school. O’Connor said making the decision to take the partnership to the next level with on-field uniforms and off-field training gear with who he believes is the leader in the industry really solidified the strong partnership the two have.
“We, at the University of Virginia, feel very fortunate that they made the decision to align with our baseball program,” O’Connor said.
By signing Virginia, Hackett said it will open the eyes of the baseball community, one ready for something new in the uniform space. Paulson said adding Virginia to the brand’s lineup was special.
“We are in pretty much every area of the sport, but we didn’t have that one collegiate team that we needed,” he said. “This is the one school that we needed. I think the attention we have given to them and the quality we will give them will be a home run for us.”
O’Connor said the move will have a far-reaching impact, from the fans to the donors to the players.
“Everything they are wearing is EvoShield,” he said. “That is really exciting.”
Tim Newcomb covers gear and business for Baseball America.
