Alex Navarrete works out while wearing The Missile Brand shorts and shirt. Photo courtesy of The Missile Brand

By: Eric Pacheco

It’s a warm summer day in the Dirty Riv at the Riverside City College Evans Sports Complex, Alex Navarrete digs his cleats into the mound rubber as he prepares to throw his first bullpen in a year and a half. He winds and fires his patented fastball, his arm coming through in a low three-quarter slot and pounds the catcher’s mitt. The sound of leather meeting leather creates a loud popping sound. Despite the fears and doubts Navarrete had battled in his head, there’s no pain, each throw coming out smoothly as he gains confidence with each impending fire. The dream of playing Division I baseball for him was now more alive than ever. 

Riverside City College pitcher, Alex Navarrete, 27, celebrates after recording a strikeout during the 3C2A Regionals at Panther Field on May 3. Photo by Eric Pacheco.

Navarrete underwent Tommy John reconstruction surgery to repair a torn Ulnar Collateral ligament in his right pitching elbow in January 2022. This injury can be seen as a death sentence for many baseball players, especially those like Navarrete who are just beginning their journey at the next level as he was in the fall of 2021 at Long Beach State University — the school he committed to when he was a sophomore in high school. 

The recovery from Tommy John usually takes 12-18 months, the latter of which is how long it took in Navarrete’s recovery. The rigorous process, which includes completely rebuilding the range and motion in that patient’s arm, can take a toll on the patient’s physical and mental health. Which was another challenge Nav had to endure in his recovery process. 

“I felt like everything I had worked for was gone,” Navarrete said. “I was really depressed, and it felt like I lost it all.” 

Alex was in a hole and at a crossroads in his life with his future in baseball hanging in limbo, he turned to something he always knew, hustling. 

“In high school, I was always trying to make a little bit of money in my own way,” he said. 

While he was at Colton High School, he began training other players and sold shirts to help promote his small business. 

“Even if I wasn’t making a good profit, I was always proud to see someone wearing my shirts,” he said.

With a lot more time on his hands, as he recovered from surgery, Nav decided to start his brand dubbed “The Missile Brand” after his signature fastball. It began with designing shirts and shorts with his logo, but when the brand really began to take off is when he started making arm sleeves for baseball. The brand is run independently by Alex as he designs, edits, uploads, and packages all the products himself.

Alex Navarrete models the latest drop of The Missile Brand shirts. Photo courtesy of The Missile Brand.

While going through training therapy one day in the early summer of 2023 at the Empire baseball club facility in Riverside, Alex reconnected with a former coach of his, Chris Rabago, who had played in the Colorado Rockies organization. While discussing his rehab from surgery, Nav informed Rabago of his brand, which prompted Rabago to ask him what his goals were for that year.

“I just want a pro to rock my stuff,” Nav said. “I know I’m asking a lot, but I think I could make it happen.”

Rabago would put Alex in contact with his best friend Alan Trejo of the Colorado Rockies, an infielder of Mexican descent. Nav composed a package from Trejo and sent it out, not knowing if he would really wear it or even notice him. 

That next weekend while Alex was working his phone began to blow up with text notifications which he ignored until he had gotten home to see that Trejo did indeed wear his arm sleeve in his game that day. 

“Seeing that felt the best, this brand means so much to me because of everything that I have gone through in the past two years,” Nav said. 

From that moment he began to truly love his brand which he described as a “painkiller” while going through his recovery. He began to see that the vision was there and created a list of players he wanted next and atop that list was a relief pitcher for the Boston Red Sox Brennan Bernardino, a California native and another player of Mexican descent. 

Navarrete, who is of Mexican descent, touched on how much it meant to him to have the first players to wear his brand be Mexican.

“Seeing them wear my sleeves in a game meant the world to me because they didn’t forget where they came from,” he said. “I look up to those guys because we don’t really see that many Mexican players in the big leagues.”

From then on, the ball was rolling for The Missile Brand with players such as Alex Verdugo, world series champion Eddie Rosario, Mickey Moniak, MJ Melendez, and Isaac Parades –who Nav noted is one of the biggest supporters of his brand– amongst many more wearing his arm sleeves in games. The sleeves were largely displayed by his fellow teammates during RCC games this past season. 

Major League baseball players MJ Melendez, (Royals) Isaac Parades, (Rays), and Eddie Rosario (Braves) wear The Missile Brand sleeves during their games. Photos courtesy of The Missile Brand.

“It was not only awesome to see so many players wear The Missile Brand gear in the baseball community but (on) our team,” Tigers associate Head Coach Dave Martinez said. “It was easy for them to support Alex when he does everything right and has a work ethic second to none.”

The success of the brand helped show Alex that there are different paths in baseball beyond just playing but his dream of playing Division I baseball was still there. After spending a year and a half away from baseball Nav came to RCC with a goal to simply pitch on the mound again in hopes of garnering attention from top universities once again.

Riverside City College pitcher Alex Navarrete, 27, fires a pitch during the 3C2A Regionals at Panther Field on May 3. Photo by Eric Pacheco.

That attention came during the fall of 2023 during a sophomore showcase in front of many Division I scouts. After completing an emotion-filled first competitive outing on the mound in nearly two years, Martinez notified Nav that the University of Las Vegas was interested in him. A week later, after a phone call and campus visit, Nav decided to commit to UNLV. 

“I knew I had the talent, but everything that I had gone through was affecting my mentality,” he said. “I enjoyed everything about UNLV. I knew it was for me, they offered me, and I took it.”

After a 2024 season with the Tigers that included some ups and downs Nav now feels he is in a better place physically and mentally to handle any adversity thrown his way. He hopes to carry that mindset into his play at UNLV this fall.

“The biggest growth I saw in Alex was his ability to handle adversity,” Martinez said. “He never wavered in his preparation and stayed the course.”

He plans to continue The Missile Brand and hopes to inspire those who wear the brand to continue their grind and to wear his gear with pride. 

“My goal is to make the pros, and when it comes to my brand, I want it to be the next Nike,” he said.