Wilson Acquires EvoShield

Wilson Sporting Goods has added another brand to its growing roster. After bringing Louisville Slugger into the fold in March of 2015, the company moved to acquire EvoShield, a leading brand of protective gear for baseball and softball.

“The addition of the EvoShield brand to our growing baseball and softball business is exciting and represents how we are accelerating our presence at every level of the game,” Wilson president Mike Dowse said in a release. “EvoShield is the most prominent and relevant protective brand in baseball and softball today, and this marriage is another step in ensuring we deliver only the best performance products to athletes of every age.”

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Privately held EvoShield was established in 2006, originally under the name All Sports Armour, in Athens, Ga. It currently counts Pirates outfielder Andrew McCutchen, Cardinals catcher Yadier Molina, Astros shortstop Carlos Correa and Royals left fielder Alex Gordon as clients.

“EvoShield fits so well within the DNA of Wilson Baseball and Softball, and bolsters our offerings in protective gear in a very meaningful way,” Wilson general manager Jim Hackett said. “We are continually looking at ways we can better serve our players, coaches and teams, and EvoShield will be a key way we do that moving forward. In turn, we believe that our global resources, infrastructure, research and development programs and network can catapult EvoShield on many fronts and grow this brand in ways not possible before.”

Beyond Louisville Slugger and EvoShield, Chicago-based Wilson also owns the DeMarini and ATEC brands. DeMarini produces bats for baseball and softball, and ATEC manufactures training tools like pitching machines, tees and practice nets.