Josh Johnson - Softball Coach - Ball State University Athletics

Josh Johnson

Title:
Associate Head Coach
Email:
jsjohnson3@bsu.edu
Phone:
765-285-3703
Alma Mater:
Wisconsin-Stout '00

Josh Johnson, a six-year member of the US Men’s National Fastpitch Softball Team and an experienced NCAA Division I coach with Super Regional experience, enters his fifth season as the Ball State softball program’s pitching coach in 2020.

Johnson was an assistant coach for the Cardinals from 2016-2018, before being promoted to associate head coach entering the 2019 campaign.

"I could not be happier to promote Josh to associate head coach," head coach Megan Ciolli Bartlett said. "He is loyal, hardworking and intelligent. He has done an excellent job with recruiting and managing the battery over the past three seasons. Josh is an asset to me, as well as the program, and he has earned the title."

Over his first four seasons with the program, the Cardinals have compiled a 123-99 overall record and a 47-41 mark in Mid-American Conference play. He also helped Ball State capture the 2018 MAC West Division crown.

His pitching staff has registered 300-or-more strikeouts in each of the last three seasons, with all three totals ranking among the top five single season marks in program history. His staff’s ERA has also been below 3.00 in each of the last three years.

In 2019, Johnson took a relatively young staff and developed it into one of the nation’s best. With a starting rotation which featured two freshman, a redshirt sophomore and a senior, the Cardinals finished the year ranked second in the MAC and 69th nationally with a 2.82 ERA. The team’s 313 total strikeouts were also 55th among all NCAA Division I programs.

Freshman starter Sarah Venker was the first pitcher in the league to reach 10 wins in 2019 and finished the year ranked fifth in the MAC in ERA (2.85), eighth in wins (13) and ninth in strikeouts (98). Her classmate Tieghan Morio compiled a 6-3 overall record, 50 strikes and was third in the conference with a 2.56 ERA.

Junior Alyssa Rothwell continued to excel in the closer role, chalking up a new Ball State and MAC single season record of 14 saves. The total led the nation, tied as the third-best single season mark in NCAA history and raised her career total to 28 which is four shy of the current NCAA record. Rothwell finished the year with a 1.30 ERA and a .169 opponent’s batting average, both of which would have led the league if she had thrown enough innings to qualify, while fanning 44 batters.

Combined, Ball State’s pitchers threw 10 shutouts in 2019 with each of the team’s five pitchers having a hand in at least two. Redshirt sophomore Darice Huber, who battled injury for much of the year, helped combine for two of the shutouts and posted a 2.20 ERA and a .223 opponent’s batting average over 11 appearances.

Despite the loss of the team's ace to injury prior to the start of the 2018 season, the short-handed Cardinals finished the year with a league-low 2.48 ERA. Ball State's three pitchers helped guide the program to 37 wins, the fourth-highest single season total in program history, and the MAC West Division championship.

Junior starter Aeshia Miles, who had just 53.1 collegiate innings under her belt prior to the 2018 season, took over as the team's ace and became just the sixth player in program history to reach 20 wins in a season. A First Team All-MAC honoree, Miles ranked second in the MAC in both wins (20) and innings pitched (189.0), while holding the third spot in both ERA (2.00) and strikeouts (159).

In addition, Rothwell chalked up what was both a Ball State and MAC single season record 11 saves at the time. The 11 saves ranked second in the country and were the sixth-best single season total in NCAA Division I history at the time. Rothwell also finished the year ranked second in the MAC in both ERA (1.63) and opposing batting average (.188).

Overall, Ball State's 2.48 ERA in 2018 was the program's best mark since the 2010 season, as was the staff's 328 total strikeouts. All three Cardinals pitchers finished the year ranked in the top 15 in the league in opposing batting average and strikeouts.

The 2017 season saw Ball State’s pitchers finish the year with a combined 2.99 ERA, the program’s best mark since the 2013 squad finished the year with a 2.74 ERA. In addition, Ball State's pitchers chalked up 307 strikeouts in 2017 to rank third in the conference.

Junior pitcher Carolyn Wilmes led the way for the Cardinals with a career-high 129 strikeouts, nearly doubling her career total entering the season. The effort ranked sixth in the MAC and was the 18th-best single season total in program history. She also threw her first career no-hitter versus Toledo (April 21) and lead the team with four complete game shutouts.

Rothwell proved to be one of the toughest pitchers to hit in the country as a freshman, as she surrendered just 50 hits over 73.1 innings of work for a 4.77 hits-allowed-per-seven-innings average. It was the second-lowest average in the MAC and ranked 33rd nationally. She also finished the season ranked third in the MAC with a .192 opponents’ batting average and fourth in the conference with a 6.87 strikeouts-per-seven-inning average.

Huber threw a pair of complete game one-hitters in her debut season, while ranking fourth in the MAC and 129th nationally with a 2.26 ERA. A MAC All-Freshman Team honoree, Huber threw one complete game shutout and combined with Rothwell for two more. Huber also finished the year ranked 14th in the MAC with 70 strikeouts, making Ball State the only league school to have three pitchers ranked in the top 15 in the league in strikeouts.

The 2017 season also saw sophomore Miles make her collegiate debut in the circle, including earning a save in her first collegiate appearance against DePaul (Feb. 10). Overall, she made 20 trips in the circle, posting a 3-3 record and a 3.02 ERA over 53.1 innings of work with 36 strikeouts.

In his first season on staff, Johnson helped senior pitcher Nicole Steinbach earn four MAC West Division Pitcher of the Week awards and end her career as a two-time NFCA All-Great Lakes Region Third Team honoree. A four-year starter for the Cardinals, Steinbach concluded her playing days as Ball State’s all-time saves leader (9), and was third in program history in career victories (64), fourth in career shutouts (15) and fourth in career strikeouts (514).

Johnson, who started his fastpitch softball career in 1995, has been playing at the Major level of the North American Fastpitch Association (NAFA) since 2004 as both a pitcher and an outfielder. A 16-time NAFA All-World Team selection, Johnson was inducted into the NAFA Hall of Fame in 2013 and was the association’s most valuable player in 2014. He has also competed in numerous tournaments for the US Men’s National Fastpitch Softball Team, most recently playing in the 2015 Pan American Games held in Toronto, Ontario (July 12-18).

During the summer of 2015, Johnson played in 23 games for the US Men’s National Team, including helping the squad to a ninth-place showing at the 14th Annual Men’s World Softball Championships held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (June 26-July 5). He finished the season with a 6-1 record in the circle, allowing just seven earned runs over 44.0 innings of work for a 1.11 ERA. He also struck out 65 batters, including a season-high 13 in a complete game victory over the Netherlands (June 29). In the batter’s box, Johnson finished the year with a .231 batting average, seven RBI and a pair of home runs. He also drew 16 walks to finish third on the team with a .446 on-base percentage.

Johnson is no stranger to the world of women’s collegiate softball, serving as the primary pitching coach at the University of Texas at El Paso in 2014. Prior to his one season at UTEP, Johnson served as the top assistant and pitching coach at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette for the 2013 season, which saw the Ragin' Cajuns advance to the NCAA Ann Arbor Super Regional after winning the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional. Under his guidance, the Ragin’ Cajuns pitching staff increased its strikeout total by 122 from the previous season, with Jordan Wallace ranking third nationally with 382 strikeouts.

Before arriving at Louisiana-Lafayette, Johnson spent three seasons as the head coach at Faulkner State Community College (2010-12) where his 119-60 career record makes him the winningest coach in program history. His Sun Chiefs players would earn 14 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-America honors, while breaking every team and individual batting, base running and pitching record in program history. His teams posted the two highest finishes in program history, including the school’s first state championship appearance.

As a student-athlete, Johnson was a four-year letterwinner and 1998 First Team All-Conference selection in baseball at the University of Wisconsin-Stout, where he earned his Bachelor’s in Psychology in 2000 and his Master’s in Applied Psychology in 2003. Johnson also earned letters in cross country and track & field at Wisconsin-Stout, finishing his athletics career as the only 14-time varsity letterwinner in school history. He continues to hold the Blue Devils’ program record in the indoor 1,000m run, at 2:31.92.

A native of Oregon, Wisconsin, Johnson earned his Ph.D. in Sports Psychology from Florida State University in 2008. He currently resides in Muncie with his wife, Jenny and son Jake.