Philadelphia’s newest sports superstar, Bryce Harper of the Phillies, surprised Jared Smith and Ryan Engroff, the co-founders of Victus Sports in King of Prussia, by holding the company’s bat with its logo prominently displayed on the cover of the latest issue of Sports Illustrated, writes John George for the Philadelphia Business Journal.

“It was great and surprising,” said Engroff.

And despite not having an exclusive deal with the player, Harper uses one of the company’s bats 70-80 percent of the time.

Smith and Engroff started Victus Sports seven years ago. It is one of three local bat manufacturers, along with Prowler Bats in West Chester and Chandler Bats in East Norriton, approved by Major League Baseball to make wooden bats for its players.

In 2018, the company had around 23 percent of the MLB bat market.

Then, due to its growth, the co-founders decided to sell the company to Marucci Bats, the market-share leader among MLB bat makers.

Victus Sports now operates as a division of Marucci and has expanded its product line, with batting gloves, metal bats, and other products due out later this year.

Read more about Victus Sports in the Philadelphia Business Journal here.

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