Johnny Johnson, a native of Arlington, Texas, enters his second year as an assistant coach for the Broncs.

On the field, Johnson has gained the respect of the coaches and players. He has been handed the reigns to all responsibilities that concern the pitching staff for the upcoming season. Johnson also is serving a vital role in recruiting for the 2001-02 season and is helping to build the future of Bronc baseball by signing new and promising talent. The Broncs signed a pair of players in the early signing period and look to add several more players later this year.

"I think how comfortable Reggie (Tredaway) and Mike (Brown) made me feel last year, especially being a young coach, was really important," said Johnson. "Reggie gave me more responsibilities than most people could expect in their first year at a new school."

Last season Johnson was an integral part of the coaching staff that helped UTPA post a 5.35 earned run average. Four Bronc pitchers won at least six games and Scott Fowler not only won six games, but had a school-record tying six saves as well. As a staff, the Broncs had 13 saves, also a school record. But the best should be yet to come as the Broncs return their top five pitchers from last year and add several new arms to the staff.

"I think that it was fun to watch how well they performed last season," Johnson said of his pitching staff. "The bullpen kept us in a lot of games over the course of the season. It is exciting for the team to see how we’ve developed from last year and now have a complete staff from top to bottom."

Prior to his time at UTPA, Johnson spent two years as an assistant at Texas Wesleyan University in Ft. Worth, Texas. During his time at Texas Wesleyan, he helped lead the Rams to their first playoff appearance under head coach Willie Gawlik. Gawlik is a Pan American graduate and was part of the 1971 team that played in the College World Series.

Johnson is a former pitcher, and played his college baseball at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas. While at St. Mary’s, he was part of three Heart of Texas Conference Championships, two Southwest Regional Championships, and participated in two NAIA World Series.