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.

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 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.

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.

Johnson and his wife, Geri, were married in December, 2001.