Rawlings and COMBAT Bats: Boom it’s Working and Powerful!

The Rawlings and COMBAT bats relationship has made an impact. Walk into a college baseball dugout today and you’ll see a familiar mix of BBCOR bats—Louisville Slugger, Marucci, Easton, Victus—and increasingly, COMBAT.

For younger players searching for the best BBCOR bats, COMBAT might look like a newer brand. It’s not. COMBAT built its reputation years ago on high-performance composite bats, known for large sweet spots, hot barrels, and a feel that serious hitters trusted.

Then the brand seemed to disappear from the BBCOR bat conversation.

It didn’t—it just got quieter.

In 2013, Rawlings acquired COMBAT in what now looks like one of the smartest long-term moves in the baseball bat market. At the time, Rawlings already dominated gloves, helmets, and baseballs, but lacked a strong presence among the best BBCOR bat brands.

Instead of starting from scratch, Rawlings bought into proven bat technology.

COMBAT already had the engineers, composite expertise, and credibility with hitters. The real limitation wasn’t performance—it was scale. Compared to companies like Louisville Slugger and Marucci, COMBAT didn’t have the same distribution, marketing power, or retail presence.

Rawlings changed that.

Top 5 USSSA Baseball Bats 2025

If you’re playing in a USSSA-sanctioned league, having the right bat can make all the difference. Whether you’re a power hitter looking for maximum pop or a contact hitter needing a well-balanced bat, we’ve got you covered. Here are the top five USSSA bats for 2025, ranked based on performance, durability, and overall player feedback.

1. Easton Hype Fire USSSA

The Easton Hype Fire is a fully composite bat designed for explosive power. Its Thermo Composite Technology (TCT) delivers an incredibly hot barrel, and the ConneXion Max system reduces sting while maximizing energy transfer. This bat has a slight end-load, making it ideal for power hitters who want maximum force behind their swings.

2024 Easton MAV1 Bat: What’s New and Exciting for 2024?

Let’s be honest, for young players, a baseball bat can feel like an extension of themselves. It needs to be light enough to swing with confidence, but powerful enough to launch the ball into the outfield. The 2024 Easton MAV1 checks a lot of boxes, but with a caveat – it might not be the end-all, be-all bat for everyone.

2024 Easton Mav1 What’s New?

The big innovation with the 2024 Easton MAV1 is the XLD Optimized Barrel Performance. Translated from marketing speak, this means a thinner barrel wall across a larger area. The result? A supposed larger sweet spot for more consistent, harder hits.

New 2024 DeMarini The Goods Baseball Bat: Everything You Need to Know

The 2024 DeMarini The Goods is a BBCOR baseball bat that is designed for power hitters.

2024 DeMarini The Goods Review

The 2024 DeMarini The Goods epitomizes a BBCOR baseball bat catered specifically to power hitters. Notably, its key features encompass a large X14 Alloy Barrel designed to foster a broader sweet spot and enhance power upon contact. The barrel construction, resulting in a more robust sensation and elevated performance rigidity. Moreover, a new addition is the introduction of a novel metal compound knob. In the following sections, we will explore these differentiating factors in comparison to the 2023 DeMarini The Goods model in this review.

One of the key features of the 2024 model of The Goods is the Fortified Metal Compound Knob. Significantly, this knob is made with a combination of alloy and composite materials, which provides it with enhanced leverage. Consequently, it becomes stronger and more durable compared to traditional knobs.

Learn What’s New With the 2013 Rawlings Baseball Bats.

Here are reviews of the 2013 lineup of Rawlings youth and BBCOR baseball bats, including the Plasma, Velo, 5150 and Machine. Does Rawlings have a man crush on Louiville and are trying to emulate them because of this? Read on…

Rawlings has come a long way to make itself credible over the last few years. This is primarily due to the University of South Carolina baseball team winning back to back college world series titles with their bats. Guess I can no longer refer to them as the Rodney Dangerfield of baseball bats. They actually are getting some respect!

They are owned by K2 (the ski company) that also owns the Worth brand. So I’m sure a lot of the technology is shared between their baseball bats.

2012 Little League World Series (LLWS) Baseball Bats

Many have been watching the 2012 Little League World Series and have been wondering what bat models are being used. Here’s a brief explanation as to what is going on.

First you need to know Easton is the Official Team Equipment Supplier at the 2012 LLWS, hence you’re seeing Easton being used almost exclusively. They’re having every player experience their HIT LAB which, they claim, features an interactive batting system that uses swing “analytics” to custom fit players’ swings to the “correct” model. Participants will receive feedback and statistics based on their swing, helping them choose the right bat for unique swing characteristics. This is the same technology Easton utilizes for their NCAA Division I teams. Since this is the first time Easton’s new Power Brigade will be swung in the LLWS they are pushing each player to either the S1 or XL1 model with the HIT LAB. So these are just about the only models you’ll see being used. The 1’s are their 100% composite bats.

Continue reading “2012 Little League World Series (LLWS) Baseball Bats”

Who’s Swinging What Baseball Bat in the 2012 College World Series?

The best way to know what baseball bat is hot is to know who’s swinging what in college baseball. Here’s a fun article from Baseball Express, Who’s swinging what in the 2012 College World Series

All eyes will be on Omaha this weekend as the 2012 College World Series gets underway.

The field is set, and some of the usual suspects are back again. The SEC leads the way with three teams, including South Carolina, gunning for its third consecutive national championship.

Now that we know who’s in, what are they swinging? Here’s a look at the baseball bats that all eight teams will be using.

Continue reading “Who’s Swinging What Baseball Bat in the 2012 College World Series?”

2012 BBCOR Baseball Bat Recommendations

My 2012 best baseball bat reviews and recommendations are sorted by the composition of the bat and the price. I believe this simplifies a complex decision making it easier to pinpoint the bat that’s right for you. I’ve only listed BBCOR certified bats. These recommendations are for all model levels: Youth, Senior and Adult.

My Baseball Bat Recommendations for the 2012 model year are:

100% COMPOSITE BATS

High Cost Recommendation:

Easton 2012 BB11S1 S1 (-3) BBCOR Adult Baseball Bat

Easton 2012 BB11X1 XL1 (-3) BBCOR Adult Baseball Bat

2012 Power Brigade S1 or XL1:
First here’s the difference, the SL1 has a low MOI (claims to be the lowest on the market) and balanced design. The XL1 has a higher MOI, is slightly end-loaded and has a longer barrel. Otherwise they are made with the same material and design. Choose the XL1 if you’re a power hitter and the SL1 if not. These are two-Piece bats with flex handles made from Easton’s new IMXTM composite material. Easton has always been the leader in composite bats and the 2012 model year is no exception. The Adult -3 model retails for $399.

Low Cost Recommendation:

2012 Easton Omen
A two-piece bat made of 100% composite material with a stiff handle (95). It’s made with Easton’s older IMX composite and is slightly end loaded (MOI rating of 80). It was the first approved BBCOR composite bat on the market but Easton quickly came out with, and focused on, the Power Brigade bats. This bat is very similar to the Easton Speeds, but made to BBCOR specifications. This design has been extremely popular bat for experienced players at every level. The Adult -3 retails for $249 or lower which is a great price for a 100% composite bat! Continue reading “2012 BBCOR Baseball Bat Recommendations”

2012 Easton Reviews

Easton is far ahead of the competition when it comes to BBCOR baseball bats, especially with 100% composite bats. Easton has always been the leader in composite bats and the 2012 model year is no exception. They continue to push their two-piece design in their top tier Power Brigade bats. They were the first to release a BBCOR approved composite bat, the Omen, and then quickly followed that up with new models (Power Brigade S1 and XL1). They are known for offering many options (sometimes so many its dizzying) to appeal to just about any player. Easton is the most popular bat brand in the market and it’s difficult to go wrong with one of their bats.

Here’s their youth and BBCOR offerings for the 2012 model year: Continue reading “2012 Easton Reviews”

2012 Louisville Slugger BBCOR Baseball Bats

Louisville has a long and respected history in the baseball bat industry and was considered the holy grail of baseball bats. That distinction has long since faded and they are trying to catch up. Unfortunately, it’s going to be a long recovery as they were slow to get out of the BBCOR bat gate.

For 2012 they’ve made significant changes to their line-up. They’ve discarded the poor selling multi-piece bat design of the last few years and have gone back to their core, a one piece bat design (say bye-bye to the Triton and H2). Not to say I told you so, but these were my comments regarding their 2011 models: “They need to decide if they’re going to jump into the multi-piece bat market or not. If you’re coming out with a multi-piece design tell me it’s a multi-piece design and why that makes sense, or come out with a one-piece design and tell me why it’s better. Stop with the “bonded to be a one-piece bat”, nobody believes it and that is why sales are lagging.”

Louisville needs a strong entry in the 100% composite category to b Continue reading “2012 Louisville Slugger BBCOR Baseball Bats”