Mississippi State University Head Baseball Coach John Cohen named his new pitching coach just one week after former pitching coach Butch Thompson decided to take the head coaching position at Auburn University.
Amongst the rumors of many potential hires, Cohen landed a superstar in Wes Johnson. Johnson decided to bring his talents to Starkville to coach the Bulldogs after serving a four-year stint with the Dallas Baptist University baseball team.
Johnson informed everyone that Cohen contacted him a little over a week before he took the job. When asked why he picked Johnson over the other fine options, Coach Cohen stated, “This is about who is going to fit. We agreed that Johnson would be a better fit.”
Johnson, who is very excited to be joining the staff, was introduced at a press conference Friday afternoon. “This is the best place in the country to play baseball,” Johnson said. “The support here is phenomenal.”
Coach Johnson is an exceptional coach, as he has proved in the 18 years he has been coaching. One of his most exceptional years was this past season when he was the pitching coach at Dallas Baptist. He helped lead them to 46 wins, as the squad hosted a regional.
Statistically, his DBU squad had a team earned run average that was over a whole run lower than MSU’s last season (3.32 compared to 4.51). His squad also had five shutouts in the season compared to Mississippi State’s zero.
Johnson, known for his development with pitcher’s velocity, will have a very pleasing time with the Mississippi State pitching crew. Of the staff, 16 Bulldogs throw 90 MPH or higher. “We can have one of the best pitching staffs in the country,” Johnson said.
Coming in at a strange time, with fall practices almost over and the team already strongly developed, Johnson thinks it is a great time to jump into the program. “We are going to have a chance to get our guys in there, implement a system and send them home to work on that system. Then we will bring them back and jump right in,” Johnson said.
Johnson believes in his pitcher’s strengths and will reinforce those strengths to power past opposing hitters. He also believes in hyper-personalization and will work his pitchers into a system that keeps them comfortable and enhances their strengths.
Mississippi State will look forward to this season with Johnson, who is one of the most elite developing coaches in the nation. In the past eight seasons, he produced 24 pitchers who have been drafted. That also includes five pitchers from his staff this past season.
MSU is looking forward to Johnson joining, as he left from the press conference and went straight to the bullpens to watch his new pitchers. “We are pleased to welcome Coach Johnson to our staff,” Cohen said. “His background and resume speaks for itself. Wes is one of the premier pitching coaches in the country. His teaching skills and adaptability will make this transition seamless.”
The Bulldogs will play their first game on Feb. 19 against Florida Atlantic University.
