How Coach RAC Uses Baseball to Point the Next Generation to Jesus

Published: June 11, 2026

By Mallory Mattingly

RobertAnthony Cruz might be best known as Savannah Bananas star Coach RAC, but he’d rather be recognized for his faith in Jesus and love for his family.

If he knew Jesus was coming soon, he’d “spend my last hours playing my ukulele with my daughter and my wife, singing some worship songs,” Cruz told ChurchLeaders. “I think that’d be sweet.”

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Over the last several years, Cruz has combined baseball with his faith, which has turned into a movement the outfielder never saw coming.

“The baseball’s crazy,” he shared. “I mean, last night we were in Neyland Stadium. We played in front of 100,000 people. Yeah, the baseball’s nuts. It’s a lot to juggle.”

“As far as the faith stuff goes, it’s really like the lens through which I see everything,” he added. “Whether it’s playing on the field, it’s like I’m still spending time with God out there, whether it’s hanging out with my teammates in the clubhouse, it’s like spending time with God.”

For Cruz, baseball isn’t his priority.

“Faith [is] everything,” the left fielder declared. “Baseball is what I do on the weekends.”

His advice to young people? Seek Christ above all else.

“I would encourage the church today to enjoy the presence of God above all else,” Cruz added. “So many of my teammates have been feeling the same thing. It’s like we’re experiencing all these cool things we always dreamed of experiencing. [But] it pales in comparison to just sitting in the morning in quiet time with the Lord in worship.”

One of the ways Coach RAC helps the younger generation to seek Christ is through the Sandlot Revival worship nights. As the Bananas travel the country, Cruz and his teammates host worship nights for people to hear the name of Jesus.

“We want to start here in Savannah hosting worship nights and connecting people to their local churches,” Cruz explained in an Instagram video last year. “But we also want to be open to move wherever the Spirit leads. Picture this as we are going to a new city, and we’re going to potentially be playing that weekend. We have a worship night. We connect with some local churches in the area. Maybe we host a baseball camp, I don’t know. Want to worship God together in community, because that is where we found true peace and fulfillment and joy.”

In another social media video, Coach RAC explained the purpose of Sandlot Revival.

“The point is, the reason that we are getting together is to worship the one true God. Now I realize God can even use impure motives as people show up. He can use those for His is good, but as we plan these worship nights, we will never advertise who will be leading worship, who will be speaking that night,” he said. “The vision behind this worship night is to just focus in on giving glory to God, worshiping Him and hearing from people’s testimonies.”

Whether it’s fame, money or status, Coach RAC knows none of that compares to truly knowing Christ and living for Him.

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