The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Johnson hired as Baseball assistant coach
07.24.2006 | Baseball
AUSTIN, Texas -- University of Texas head baseball coach Augie Garrido announced Monday the hiring of Skip Johnson as the new assistant baseball coach with the Longhorns baseball program.
Johnson, who has spent the past 13 years as the head baseball coach at Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas, replaces Tom Holliday, who accepted the associate head coach/recruiting coordinator position at N.C. State. Johnson now joins Garrido's staff as the club's pitching coach.
"Skip Johnson brings leadership skills not only in the area of pitching mechanics and techniques, but in the area of total team development to The University of Texas baseball program," Garrido said. "He is regarded by the most-knowledgeable baseball people in the state of Texas as the best teacher of pitching skills. Added to that is his longtime relationships with both the high school and select coaches throughout the state. Coach Johnson will have a leadership role on our team that is the baseball equivalent of a defensive coordinator in football."
Beginning his coaching career in 1993 as an assistant coach at Navarro College, Johnson quickly moved up the ranks by assuming the reigns of the Bulldogs' baseball program one year later in 1994. While he has compiled well over 400 wins at Navarro and led the program to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Regional Tournament four times, Johnson has also guided the Bulldogs to eight of the past 12 Texas Eastern Athletic Conference (TEAC) Championships (1994-98, 2000, 2004 & 2006). Notably, his 2006 squad, which won the TEAC title with a 38-15 overall record, headlined Region XIV with a team ERA of 3.09 and a team batting average of .342. Additionally, he served as the head coach of the Texas Collegiate League's Coppell Copperheads during the summer of 2006 and has tutored the skills of current Longhorns Clay Van Hook and Joseph Krebs as well as former Texas players Ryan Russ, Josh Smith, Jesen Merle, Sam Anderson, Chris Houser, D.J. Jones, Mike Pumo and Eric Tomlinson while at Navarro.
A standout baseball player at Denton High School, Johnson attended UT-Pan American and not only earned his bachelor's of science degree in 1990, but also lettered for the Broncs' baseball team in 1989. From there, he went on to receive his master's in education from UT-Tyler in 1993.
Johnson and his wife, Cathy, have two sons, Tyler and Garrett.
