Rio Rancho baseball player, local family starts apparel company

RIO RANCHO — Every young baseball player’s dream is to have their own signature gear someday.

But for Rio Rancho sophomore Leland Molinari, he is already one step ahead of the game.

“Most of the people I know and that I have played with have been supportive, telling people about it, buying and just supporting me overall,” Leland Molinari said.

Maverick Merchandise, a baseball gear and clothing company started by Leland and his parents Jennifer and Nick, started out just a few months ago as a passion project for the Molinaris.

“We started the business for Leland last year,” Jennifer Molinari said. “He started with hoodies and T-shirts and that kind of thing. But he really wanted to do something baseball related, because that’s his whole life. So we started with batting gloves.”

Following the venture into the baseball world, a family clothing brand quickly turned into a hot spot for batting gloves.

“They ended up being amazing. People love them, as far as the material and stuff like that,” Jennifer Molinari said. “God put it on my heart to put ‘Philippians 4:13’ on the inside, and then that took off; people love that. It was something unique, right? It sets you apart.”

Maverick Merchandise now has two baseball facilities in Texas that sell its gear, along with two locations here in New Mexico. You can also find them at local tournaments and other baseball events with a stand set up.

For Leland, marrying his passions of baseball and clothing not only made sense personally, but from a business standpoint. Maverick offers a high-quality batting glove that is half the cost of the average competitor.

“Clothing came before batting gloves. But, companies like Bruce Bolt and other brands like that, they are more expensive,” Leland Molinari said. “So I decided we’ll try that and see how it goes.”

You can find faith elements in all of Maverick’s designs, but now as an established seller, the family is also focused on wanting to give back as the company grows.

“Our goal that we’re reaching for is doing a sort of nonprofit organization that will help young athletes with their scholarships and such,” Jennifer Molinari said. “That’s where we would like to go with it, but also the faith base. I want to continue faith and baseball as we expand.”

As a family that has deep roots tied to Rio Rancho, Maverick Merchandise aims to put the City of Vision on the map. You can find Leland and his family at the local batting cages or the fields with the young ballplayer heading into his second season at Rio Rancho High School. Visit hotmaverickmerchandise.com for more information.

“We’re gonna make it big,” Jennifer Molinari said. “His goal is the MLB, so I feel like that’s kind of what we’re also striving for as a business. We (Maverick) can go to the MLB, too. I feel like there’s no end to what we can do.”