Jesus & Baseball
We believe faith was never meant to stay off the field.
Baseball gives us a platform, a clubhouse, teammates, and opportunities to make Jesus known. Project .300 exists to help players live their faith boldly, compete with purpose, and use the game they love for something greater than themselves.
Through apparel, devotionals, stories, and community, we want to equip baseball players to carry the Gospel wherever the game takes them.
The goal is simple: Jesus in every clubhouse.
Meet the Founders of Project.300
(University of Hawai'i at Hilo, Red vs Black World series) November 2020)
Project .300 was founded by Mikey Valadez and Casey Yamauchi, best friends and former roommates who met while playing baseball together at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo.
Our college baseball careers couldn't have looked more different. Casey went on to break and hold multiple hitting records at the university, while Mikey finished four seasons at Hawaiʻi Hilo with a grand total of six at-bats. Two teammates. Two completely different experiences with the game.
After college, our paths continued in different directions. Casey began his journey through professional baseball, pursuing the dream of reaching the Major Leagues. Mikey stepped away from playing and found his calling as a youth pastor and hitting coach.
Through it all, we remained best friends. And somewhere between conversations about hitting, baseball, life, and Jesus, we realized there was something we both wished we had done differently.
We wish we would have brought Jesus into our baseball journeys more.
We were both believers in college, but neither of us was living a life fully surrendered to Christ. Baseball had such a huge place in our lives, yet we missed countless opportunities to use the game to point people toward Jesus.
Today, we're experiencing the game from two completely different perspectives. Casey is still inside the lines, experiencing the love of Jesus while navigating professional baseball. Mikey is now outside the lines, pouring into the next generation of players and students.
And we're both genuinely thankful for where God has placed us.
We've learned that God's calling on our lives doesn't have to look the same. Our platforms are different. Our baseball stories are different. But our purpose is the same.
Be great friends. Love Jesus. And bring as much of Him into the game of baseball as we possibly can.
That's Project .300.
The story behind the name
Before Project .300 was a brand, it was a text between two best friends.
While Casey was playing, we would dissect his at-bats after games, talk through pitchers, and almost every night look ahead at who was starting on the mound the next day.
At one point, a coach told Casey that if he wanted to make it to the big leagues, he needed to hit .300 at every level.
So instead of texting each other “good luck” before games, we started saying something different:
Project .300.
At first, .300 represented the goal. Keep hitting. Keep climbing. Keep chasing the dream of becoming a Major League Baseball player.
But something unexpected happened.
You would think our conversations became more mechanical—swing decisions, approach, timing, adjustments, the mental side of hitting. Instead, our conversations increasingly became about Jesus.
How do you pursue becoming a successful baseball player without allowing baseball to become your identity?
How do you chase the big leagues while still chasing Jesus first?
How do you use the game instead of letting the game use you?
And somewhere along the way, Project .300 started meaning something much bigger than a batting average.
THEN WE THOUGHT ABOUT GIDEON.
In Judges 7, God takes Gideon's army and reduces it to just 300 men.
From a human perspective, it didn't make sense. Gideon needed more soldiers, not fewer. But God wasn't interested in creating a situation where Israel could take credit for the victory. He wanted it to be unmistakable that the victory belonged to Him.
That's what the .300 means to us now.
It started as a number representing baseball success.
Today, it reminds us that our success, our platform, our careers, and our opportunities belong to God.
If God can use a baseball career, a conversation in a clubhouse, a devotional sent to a teammate, or even a shirt someone wears to point one person toward Jesus, then the project is working.
Gideon's 300 weren't chosen to make their own names known.
They were chosen so there would be no question who deserved the glory.
Neither are we.
That's Project .300.
Quality You Can Feel
We source premium fabrics and partner with trusted manufacturers who share our commitment to quality. Every item in The Project .300 lineup is designed to hold its shape, color, and message — wash after wash, season after season.
If you're wearing The Project .300, you're not just wearing a shirt. You're carrying a standard.
The goal is simple: Jesus in every clubhouse.