Portions of this release were used from lmulions.com

BATON ROUGE - Marucci Sports introduced Loyola Marymount University, the 2019 West Coast Conference Tournament Champions, as a new college partner Thursday.

“Coach (Nathan) Choate has a great vision of where the program is headed and was an integral part of LMU’s previous championship season,” said Marucci VP of Team Sales Kyle Achord. “We look forward to being part of their continued success and are grateful for the opportunity to work alongside Coach Choate as he leads the Lions.”

As part of the partnership, Marucci will provide the Lions with BBCOR bats, custom wood bats and fielding gloves and other assorted equipment.

“We are extremely excited about our partnership with Marucci. Our guys are very excited to be using the best products in the game,” said Choate.

Fresh off the heels of a WCC Tournament victory for the first time in school history and their fifth appearance in the last seven seasons since the tournament’s institution in 2013, the Lions are poised to build on an NCAA postseason appearance that saw them advance to the Regional Finals with victories over Power 5 programs including Baylor and top-ranked UCLA.

Under the direction of Choate the Lions produced the WCC Pitcher of the Year in Codie Paiva and the pitching staff boasted the WCC’s best ERA, allowing 3.50 earned runs per game, which ranked 14^th in the nation.

Another standout under Choate's tutelage was sophomore right-handed pitcher Nick Frasso. Frasso, was named to the Collegiate National Team roster by USA baseball, becoming the fifth Lion in program history to be associated with the team.

Based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Marucci was founded in 2004 by two former Major Leaguers and their athletic trainer who began handcrafting bats in their garage for some of the best players in the game. Today, that dedication to quality and understanding of players' needs has turned Marucci into an All-American success story.

The Marucci Player Advisory Board was formed to give some of the game's best players an opportunity to lend their expertise and feedback into designing equipment for other players to excel. Major Leaguers Albert Pujols, Jose Bautista, Chase Utley, David Ortiz, Andrew McCutchen, Anthony Rizzo, Francisco Lindor and Buster Posey invest their time and resources into serving on this advisory board where they inspire, test and approve all Marucci products.