By John Goolsby, Prep Editor
TRUSSVILLE – Hewitt-Trussville’s Ed Johnson is fulfilling his dream of playing professional baseball.
Johnson, who played collegiately at Auburn, Tennessee Tech, and Alabama, is currently playing for the Florence (KY) Y’alls of the Frontier League.
Johnson’s baseball journey has seen the highs and lows of the sport. It is fitting that he finds himself in the Frontier League as he continues on that journey.
In Johnson’s first game with the Y’all’s on July 26, a 17-4 win over Quebec, he went four of six at the plate with three singles, three runs, a double, and an RBI.
The Frontier League is a 16-team independent baseball league that is an MLB Partner League. The League stretches 1,200 miles from Quebec, Canada to St. Louis, Missouri.
Johnson was a star baseball player for Jeff Mauldin at Hewitt. He was ranked as the number three shortstop in Alabama and the number 26 player in the state as a senior in 2018.
Johnson committed to his dream school, Auburn, as a sophomore. Johnson then spent two years at Auburn, seeing limited action, before transferring to Tennessee Tech.
One would think that going from a top SEC program like Auburn to a mid-major program would disappoint Johnson, but that was not the case.
“It’s a different atmosphere coming from an SEC school to a school without all the bells and whistles, but I was overwhelmed by the community there that was so supportive,” he said.
Johnson gained much more than an opportunity to play baseball at Tech.
“I grew up in the Bible Belt where we all say we are Christians,” he said. “Tennessee Tech is where I found Jesus on a more personal level.”
“That was huge for me on the field and off the field. That’s where I grew as a man.”
After two years in Cookeville, Tennessee, Johnson got the opportunity to get back to the SEC. This time it was with his Tiger’s rival—the University of Alabama.
“It being close to home and being able to spend time with my family; it was a good fit,” he said.
“With my family being Auburn graduates and fans and me growing up an Auburn fan, it was a tough decision.”
“Ultimately my family supported my decision, and it was a blessing to have their support.”
“I was blessed with the facilities at Alabama and the graduate program I was in and I was able to get a second degree” Johnson said.
“I’m just beyond thankful for what the University of Alabama was able to do for me academically and athletically,” he said. “It was just a huge blessing.”
“We had a good year and a good run and got to a Super Regional,” he said. “
“It was heartbreaking to go down, but it was definitely a season and a team that I was glad to end my college career on. I’ll forever be thankful for it.”
“I got the opportunity to come up here and play for Florence, and it has really been fun,” he said. “We have a lot of fans, and we get to play every day. The people here are great, and when I come up to bat, I hear Roll Tide.”
Johnson feels that his strengths as a player are his speed, ability to make contact, ability to steal bases, being diverse as a defensive player, and his ability to consistently putt the ball in play.
Naturally, Johnson wants to improve his skills as a player to be able to take the next step in his journey, more importantly, he wants to grow as a Christian and positively impact others. “It is about Jesus,” he said.
Johnson’s time as a Husky means a lot to him and he thinks fondly back to those days. “Winning the state championship in 2016 was amazing and we made it back to the championship my senior year.”
“Just getting to play with great Hewitt players and play for coaches that taught the game the right way was amazing,” he said. “The things they taught me were bigger than baseball.”