A Durango native will be looking to make his mark on the Southeastern Conference come the 2015 baseball season.
Sean Johnson, son of Durango’s Lori and Mike Johnson, recently signed on to continue his college career as a pitcher at the University of Mississippi once he wraps up his final season of junior-college ball.
“It’s going to be a whole new experience,” Johnson said in a telephone interview with The Durango Herald. “I’m used to having about 20 or 30 fans at our games right now. ... (And Ole Miss) is averaging 8,000 fans per game.”
Johnson, who attended Fountain Valley High School in Colorado Springs, spent last year pitching at the junior-college level at Iowa Western Community College, where he’ll compete this year as a sophomore. His numbers were impressive enough to catch the eye of the Rebels’ coaching staff. He was 5-2 with a 2.21 earned-run average as a freshman, starting 10 games and throwing a total of 41 innings. He struck out 42 batters against just 16 walks.
This year, he’s hoping to continue to climb the ladder by improving his command.
“Mainly just filling up the strike zone,” the 6-7 right hander said. “My coach and I just talked (Friday). I can’t get it in my head that I’m going to Ole Miss. I just have to focus on I’m a junior-college pitcher right now and just focus on what’s at hand.”
Ole Miss has a solid history of producing results on the diamond in one of the better Division I baseball conferences. The Rebels count 2009 National League Rookie of the Year Chris Coghlan, St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Lance Lynn, Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Drew Pomeranz, former major league pitcher Jeff Fassero and longtime Chicago Cubs shortstop Don Kessinger as alma mater.
The Rebels have played in 10 of the last 12 NCAA Tournaments, bowing out last year in the regional round.
“It’s going to be an eye-opening experience,” said Johnson, a former player in the Durango youth hockey scene.
If all goes well, Johnson could join that list of MLB-caliber talent. He’s already caught the eye of major league scouts to the point where the Cubs drafted him in the 31st round in the 2013 MLB Draft in June, although he opted to continue his college career in lieu of signing a low-end deal.
“That was awesome,” Johnson said. “I was getting phone calls from a bunch of teams, and they were asking a lot of questions I never even thought they would’ve asked. Like they asked, ‘If you could have one job that had nothing to do with school, what would it be?’ I had to say I would want to be an Evel Knievel kind of guy.”
Johnson has been thankful for the opportunity afforded him by Iowa Western C.C. to chase those dreams, and he said the more lax practice restrictions at the junior-college level have helped him grow as a pitcher.
“You’re able to work a lot more on your game. So for a guy on the verge of going D-I who probably isn’t going to play much his first or second year, I think it’s a really good opportunity to come into junior college and get that experience,” Johnson said.
rowens@durangoherald.com
