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During his first three seasons, Johnson served as Texas-Pan American's pitching coach. This year, Johnson will work with position players, as well as serving a vital role in recruiting. A native of Arlington, TX, Johnson
graduated from Lamar High School in 1994. He played both football and
baseball at LHS, earning All-District and All-Area honors as a pitcher,
while leading his team in victories in each of his final two seasons.
He was undefeated during the regular season in his senior year. Johnson played collegiate baseball
at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, TX for three years. While
at St. Mary’s, Johnson helped lead his team to three Heart of Texas
Conference championships, two Southwest Regional titles, and two trips
to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics World Series.
An elbow injury and a coaching opportunity guided him into the next
phase of his career. After three successful seasons at St.
Mary's, Johnson began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Texas
Wesleyan University in Fort Worth, TX. “From the time I was a bat
boy for the Texas Rangers, I always knew that I wanted to coach,”
said Johnson. “I was pretty aware that I didn’t have the kind
of natural ability to make it to the big leagues, but I still had a
passion to be part of the game.” At TWU, Johnson spent two years as
an assistant coach while completing his bachelor’s degree in Exercise
and Sport Science. He helped the Rams go to the playoffs for the first
time under Gawlik, his future boss, who played on the Bronc team that
reached the College World Series in 1971. UTPA was Johnson’s next
stop. “Coach Gawlik and (former Head) Coach (Reggie) Tredaway played
here together, and I met (former Assistant) Coach (Mike) Brown while
I was recruiting, and I knew they were losing a graduate assistant,”
said Johnson. “I needed a place to go to grad school and keep coaching.”
Johnson joined the Bronc staff as a graduate assistant, and earned his
master’s degree in Kinesiology in May, 2001. In the summer of 2001, Johnson served
as pitching coach of the Edinburg Roadrunners. In their inaugural season,
Edinburg posted a league record 2.97 earned run average, tied the league
record with 10 shutouts, and won the league championship with a 69-33
overall record. Johnson was then named the first full-time pitching
coach at UTPA.
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Johnny
Johnson is a man with a plan. And his plan has taken him exactly where
he thought it would, as he is now the veteran of the baseball coaching
staff at The University of Texas-Pan American. Johnson is entering his
fourth year as a member of the staff, although this will be his third
under new Head Coach Willie Gawlik.
In
his first year at UT Pan American, Johnson coordinated a pitching staff
that posted a 5.35 earned run average, with four pitchers winning at
least six games, the team posting a 31-19 record, and the staff totaling
13 saves. In 2001, three Bronc pitchers signed with professional baseball
organizations. Scott Fowler was named Rookie of the Year in the Texas-Louisiana
League, Levi Frary pitched for Tri-Cities (WA) in the Colorado Rockies'
organization, and Mike Cox pitched for the Brooklyn (NY) Cyclones, an
affiiliate of the New York Mets. In all, five former Bronc pitchers
signed to play professional baseball in the last five seasons. Last
year, UTPA's staff recorded four shutouts, including two by Frank James,
as well as a complete-game victory at Texas A&M by Justin Bogy.
