Brian Johnson (college baseball)
Encyclopedia
Brian Johnson is a sophomore All-American left-hand pitcher and designated hitter for the Florida Gators
baseball team. Johnson was part of the No. 1 recruiting class by Baseball America
and was named a freshman All-American by Baseball America, Yahoo! Sports
, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
, and Louisville Slugger in 2010. Johnson also played for the collegiate national Team USA
baseball squad in the summer of 2010. Johnson was one of only two freshmen in the entire country, the other being Gator teammate Nolan Fontana, to play for Team USA.
in the summer of 2010. Johnson finished second in appearances for the summer season with seven and he finished with the third-best ERA at 0.63 ERA. Johnson, the youngest player on the 23-man roster, finished with a 1-0 record, one save, 16 strikeouts, five walks and one earned run allowed in 14.1 innings pitched. Johnson helped lead Team USA to a second-place finish in the 2010 International University Sports Federation
World Baseball Championships. They fell to Cuba 4-3 in the championship game in Tokyo, Japan on August 7, 2010.
Gators baseball team in 2010. Johnson's pitching repertoire features a low 90's fastball, changeup, and curveball. Johnson turned down the Los Angeles Dodgers
to go to UF. He helped lead the Gators to their first College World Series
appearance since 2005. The Gators were ranked as high as No. 2 in the country by Baseball America
. Johnson was also named to the John Olerud
Two-Way Player of the Year Watch list. The award, given to the top two-way player in America, was won by Mike McGee of Florida State University
. The Gators were eliminated by Florida State University
8-5 in the CWS and finished with a regular season record of 47-17.
Johnson finished the season with a .405 batting average, five doubles, four homeruns and 21 RBI. In his pitching statistics, he finished with a 6-4 record in 14 starts, 14 walks, 51 strikeouts and 73.2 innings pitched for a 4.03 ERA.
in Cocoa Beach, Florida
in 2009 and was coached during his high school baseball career by Matt Kellam and Rich Coleman. Johnson was named First-Team All-State in Florida in 2008 and 2009. Johnson was a five-year lettermen for the Minutemen and was the Florida Today
Baseball Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009. (Previous POY's include Prince Fielder
in 2002 and Clint Hurdle
in 1975). Johnson finished with 352 strikeouts in 252.2 career innings and a career BA of .481 with 98 runs, 40 doubles, 21 homeruns and 95 RBI. Johnson also fired a 17-strikeout, no-hitter vs. Space Coast High School in his senior year. Johnson was the No. 84 ranked player in the USA by Baseball America
in 2009.
team. Johnson's older brother, Billy Jr., played four years of college baseball, finishing his career with Flagler College
. Brian's father, Billy Johnson, played football for Florida State University
in the 1970s Brian's uncle, Joe Williams (basketball coach)
, was the former head coach for Florida State University
, Furman University
, and Jacksonville University
. Williams led JU to the 1970 NCAA Championship game vs. John Wooden
-led UCLA.
Florida Gators
The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
baseball team. Johnson was part of the No. 1 recruiting class by Baseball America
Baseball America
Baseball America is a magazine which covers baseball at every level, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in high school, college, Japan, and the minor leagues. It is currently published in the form of a bi-weekly newspaper, five annual reference book titles, a weekly podcast, and a...
and was named a freshman All-American by Baseball America, Yahoo! Sports
Yahoo! Sports
Yahoo! Sports was launched on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc., employs various writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American sport...
, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association
The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association is an association of baseball writers, broadcasters, and publicists in the United States...
, and Louisville Slugger in 2010. Johnson also played for the collegiate national Team USA
Team USA
Team USA is a wrestling faction brought together as part of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's X-Cup Tournaments, which involved a team of X Division superstars from various countries representing their nation in an international wrestling competition.-America's X-Cup:Team USA was created and led...
baseball squad in the summer of 2010. Johnson was one of only two freshmen in the entire country, the other being Gator teammate Nolan Fontana, to play for Team USA.
Collegiate awards and honors
- 2011 - First Team Southeastern ConferenceSoutheastern ConferenceThe Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
Designated-Hitter selection - 2010 - First-Team Southeastern ConferenceSoutheastern ConferenceThe Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
All-Freshmen Team (as pitcher and designated hitter) - 2010 - First-Team Baseball AmericaBaseball AmericaBaseball America is a magazine which covers baseball at every level, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in high school, college, Japan, and the minor leagues. It is currently published in the form of a bi-weekly newspaper, five annual reference book titles, a weekly podcast, and a...
Freshmen All-American - 2010 - First-Team Yahoo! SportsYahoo! SportsYahoo! Sports was launched on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc., employs various writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American sport...
Freshmen All-American - 2010 - Second-Team National Collegiate Baseball Writers AssociationNational Collegiate Baseball Writers AssociationThe National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association is an association of baseball writers, broadcasters, and publicists in the United States...
Freshman All-American - 2010 - Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-American
- 2010 - Southeastern ConferenceSoutheastern ConferenceThe Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
Academic Honor Roll - 2010 - Member of the Baseball AmericaBaseball AmericaBaseball America is a magazine which covers baseball at every level, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in high school, college, Japan, and the minor leagues. It is currently published in the form of a bi-weekly newspaper, five annual reference book titles, a weekly podcast, and a...
No. 1 recruiting class - 2010 - College World Series participant
- 2010 - MVP of the Gainesville Regional
- 2010 - Two-Time SEC Freshmen of the Week
- 2010 - Member of the National Collegiate Team USATeam USATeam USA is a wrestling faction brought together as part of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's X-Cup Tournaments, which involved a team of X Division superstars from various countries representing their nation in an international wrestling competition.-America's X-Cup:Team USA was created and led...
baseball team - 2009 - 27th round draft pick by the Los Angeles DodgersLos Angeles DodgersThe Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
Team USA
Johnson played for Team USATeam USA
Team USA is a wrestling faction brought together as part of Total Nonstop Action Wrestling's X-Cup Tournaments, which involved a team of X Division superstars from various countries representing their nation in an international wrestling competition.-America's X-Cup:Team USA was created and led...
in the summer of 2010. Johnson finished second in appearances for the summer season with seven and he finished with the third-best ERA at 0.63 ERA. Johnson, the youngest player on the 23-man roster, finished with a 1-0 record, one save, 16 strikeouts, five walks and one earned run allowed in 14.1 innings pitched. Johnson helped lead Team USA to a second-place finish in the 2010 International University Sports Federation
International University Sports Federation
The Fédération Internationale du Sport Universitaire , based in Brussels, Belgium is responsible for the organisation and governance of worldwide competitions for student-athletes between the ages of 17 and 28...
World Baseball Championships. They fell to Cuba 4-3 in the championship game in Tokyo, Japan on August 7, 2010.
University of Florida
Johnson served as the No. 2/3 starting pitcher for the University of FloridaUniversity of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
Gators baseball team in 2010. Johnson's pitching repertoire features a low 90's fastball, changeup, and curveball. Johnson turned down the Los Angeles Dodgers
Los Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
to go to UF. He helped lead the Gators to their first College World Series
College World Series
The College World Series or CWS is an annual baseball tournament held in Omaha, Nebraska that is the culmination of the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship, which determines the NCAA Division I college baseball champion. The eight teams are split into two, four-team, double-elimination brackets,...
appearance since 2005. The Gators were ranked as high as No. 2 in the country by Baseball America
Baseball America
Baseball America is a magazine which covers baseball at every level, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in high school, college, Japan, and the minor leagues. It is currently published in the form of a bi-weekly newspaper, five annual reference book titles, a weekly podcast, and a...
. Johnson was also named to the John Olerud
John Olerud
John Garrett Olerud , is a former American first baseman in Major League Baseball. Olerud played with the Toronto Blue Jays , New York Mets , Seattle Mariners , New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox ....
Two-Way Player of the Year Watch list. The award, given to the top two-way player in America, was won by Mike McGee of Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
. The Gators were eliminated by Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
8-5 in the CWS and finished with a regular season record of 47-17.
Johnson finished the season with a .405 batting average, five doubles, four homeruns and 21 RBI. In his pitching statistics, he finished with a 6-4 record in 14 starts, 14 walks, 51 strikeouts and 73.2 innings pitched for a 4.03 ERA.
High school
Johnson graduated from Cocoa Beach High SchoolCocoa Beach High School
Cocoa Beach Jr./Sr. High School is a public high school in Cocoa Beach, Florida. It was founded in 1964, and is one of two Brevard County high schools to offer the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. In 2006, it ranked 46th on Newsweek's Top 1000 High Schools list. In 2008, US News and...
in Cocoa Beach, Florida
Cocoa Beach, Florida
Cocoa Beach is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 12,482 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau estimates of 2008, the city had a population of 11,920...
in 2009 and was coached during his high school baseball career by Matt Kellam and Rich Coleman. Johnson was named First-Team All-State in Florida in 2008 and 2009. Johnson was a five-year lettermen for the Minutemen and was the Florida Today
Florida Today
Florida Today is the major daily newspaper serving Brevard County. The Gannett corporation bought the paper in 1966.In addition to its regular daily publication, Florida Today publishes four weekly and eight biweekly community newspapers which are tailored for distinct neighborhoods within Brevard...
Baseball Player of the Year in 2008 and 2009. (Previous POY's include Prince Fielder
Prince Fielder
Prince Semien Fielder is a Major League Baseball free agent who plays first base. He is currently listed at 5' 11" and . He was selected by the Brewers in the first round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft out of Eau Gallie High School in Melbourne, Florida.He is the son of former Detroit...
in 2002 and Clint Hurdle
Clint Hurdle
Clinton Merrick Hurdle is a former Major League Baseball outfielder whose 10-year career was spent with the Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets, and St. Louis Cardinals. After retiring from playing baseball, Hurdle became a manager...
in 1975). Johnson finished with 352 strikeouts in 252.2 career innings and a career BA of .481 with 98 runs, 40 doubles, 21 homeruns and 95 RBI. Johnson also fired a 17-strikeout, no-hitter vs. Space Coast High School in his senior year. Johnson was the No. 84 ranked player in the USA by Baseball America
Baseball America
Baseball America is a magazine which covers baseball at every level, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in high school, college, Japan, and the minor leagues. It is currently published in the form of a bi-weekly newspaper, five annual reference book titles, a weekly podcast, and a...
in 2009.
Personal
Johnson's sister, Brooke, was a four-year lettermen (2006–2009) for the Florida Gators softballFlorida Gators softball
The Florida Gators softball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of softball. The Florida Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Southeastern Conference...
team. Johnson's older brother, Billy Jr., played four years of college baseball, finishing his career with Flagler College
Flagler College
Flagler College, is a private four-year liberal arts college in St. Augustine, Florida, USA and celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2008.The college has been named in recent years by US News & World Report as one of the southeast region's best comprehensive liberal arts colleges, and is included on...
. Brian's father, Billy Johnson, played football for Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
in the 1970s Brian's uncle, Joe Williams (basketball coach)
Joe Williams (basketball coach)
Joe Williams is a retired college basketball coach. He was head coach of the Jacksonville University men's basketball team from 1964 to 1970, Furman University from 1970 to 1978 and the Florida State University from 1978 to 1986. He notably led Jacksonville University, to the Finals of the NCAA...
, was the former head coach for Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
, Furman University
Furman University
Furman University is a selective, private, coeducational, liberal arts college in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Furman is one of the oldest, and more selective private institutions in South Carolina...
, and Jacksonville University
Jacksonville University
Jacksonville University is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida, on the banks of the St. Johns River. The school was founded in 1934 as a two year college and was known as Jacksonville Junior College until 1958, when it shifted its focus to four-year university degrees and adopted its...
. Williams led JU to the 1970 NCAA Championship game vs. John Wooden
John Wooden
John Robert Wooden was an American basketball player and coach. Nicknamed the "Wizard of Westwood", he won ten NCAA national championships in a 12-year period — seven in a row — as head coach at UCLA, an unprecedented feat. Within this period, his teams won a record 88 consecutive games...
-led UCLA.