June 3, 2022

Jeff Johnson inducted into NJCAA Coaches Association Hall of Fame

GRAND JUNCTION, Col. - Chipola head coach, Jeff Johnson, was inducted into the NJCAA Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame during the JUCO World Series banquet.

Coach Johnson recently completed his 26th season at the helm of the Indians. Johnson’s squad won the Panhandle Conference championship for the 14th time in his tenure and won 41 games. Following the 2022 season, Johnson is 41 wins shy of 1,000 victories at Chipola.

Over the years, Chipola has been home to many a successful Canadian led by the likes of Canada’s all-time best C Russell Martin (Montreal, Que.), second overall pick LHP Adam Loewen (Surrey, BC), OF Rene Tosoni (Coquitlam, BC) RHP Jason Green (Port Hope, Ont.), C Cole Armstrong (Langley, BC), INF Ivan Naccarata (Montreal, Que.) and many others.

This year, he has three Canucks in RHP Cedric De Grandpre (St. Simon, Que.), RHP Drew Howard (Whitby, Ont.) and INF Brando Leroux (Markham, Ont.).

With police marshalling at Queen’s Park and fans in the 500 Level throwing beer cans, RF Jose Bautista restored peace and happiness in the valley. with his game-winning homer off Sam Dyson.

And you may have heard of former Chipola slugger, the two-time major-league home run champion OF Jose Bautista, who could flip a bat like no one else, during his Toronto Blue Jays days. Bautista should be the next name to be posted on the Rogers Centre Level of Excellence.

Future pros to call Marianna, Fla. home included. C Steve Clevenger, LHP Patrick Corbin, C Tyler Flowers, INF Mat Gamel, OF Hosken Powell, INF Eric Yelding, OF Charlie Dees, INF Tom Kotchman and three-time manager of the year Buck Showalter.

Along with the 14 conference championships, Johnson’s teams have won six FCSAA/NJCAA Region VIII Championships, including three consecutive titles from 2017 to 2019.

In 2007, the Indians won their first National Championship with a 7-3 win over New Mexico Junior College. It was the first time a Florida team had won the National Championship since 1988.

With a 15-6 victory over San Jacinto College-North in the final game of the 2017 NJCAA World Series, the Indians won their second National Championship. Chipola set a new single tournament record for total runs with 85 and belted 21 home runs.

The Indians won the National Championship again the next season with a 10-7 victory over Walters State Community College. Chipola lost their opening game of the series and avoided elimination in six consecutive games to win the title, becoming just the fourth program in tournament history to achieve the feat. The Indians became the first team to win back-to-back championships since Grayson in 1999-2000.

Johnson is sixth in all-time wins at the NJCAA World Series with 19. He has been named NJCAA Coach of the Year three times and FCSAA/NJCAA Region VIII Coach of the Year six times.