Matt Johnson finished his fourth season as manager for the St. Joseph Mustangs. Under Johnson’s reign as manager, the Mustangs are 140-69 with a Central Regional championship in 2010, MINK League Championship in 2011 & 2012, a 4th place finish in the NBC World Series in 2010, a top 10 finish in 2011, and a 5th place finish in the NBC World Series in 2012. The former assistant at Northwest Missouri State, Johnson was the hitting and catchers coach and the recruiting coordinator. The Sawyer, ND native comes to the St. Joseph Mustangs after 4 years of profession baseball experience in the Independent Leagues. Johnson played 2 seasons in the Northern League for the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks and the Allentown Ambassadors and one season with the Washington Wild Things in the Frontier League as a catcher. He finished his career as a relief pitcher for the St. Joseph Blacksnakes of the American Association. Prior to his profession career, he was a four-year starter at Valley City State University in North Dakota. During his college career, he earned three All-Conference, one All-Region and one All-American honor along with being named Dakota Athletic Conference Most Valuable Senior. Johnson is currently a full-time faculty member in the HPERD department at Northwest Missouri State University. Johnson earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Valley City State University in 2001 and his Master of Science in Education from Northwest in 2004. He is currently working on his Doctorate in Philosophy. Johnson and his wife, Brenda, reside in Maryville. They were married in December of 2001 and have a 6-year old son named Jase and a 3-year old daughter named Brynlee.
In the summer of 2012, the St. Joseph Mustangs won the M.I.N.K. North Division by 3.5 games with an overall record of 28-17. The Mustangs won the 2012 M.I.N.K. Championship Series 2 games to 1. As a staff, the Mustangs had a team ERA of a remarkable 3.31, 28 wins, 17 losses, 6 saves, 266 strike-outs, 143 walks (almost 2-1 strike-out/walk ratio), 142 earned runs allowed, 386.2 innings pitched, 6 complete games, and 373 hits. During the M.I.N.K. regular season, the Mustangs batted .280 as a team with a .368 on-base percentage and a .380 slugging percentage.
Another year, another League Championship for Matt Johnson who is a true talent as a head coach and team administrator. His can-do attitude and exemplary work ethic are without equal in the B2R's opinion. I definitely see Matt being a very success NCAA head coach. Matt is also a small business owner having created a baseball academy in Maryville to teach proper fundamentals to the youth of the Northwest portion of the State. Only time will tell where Matt's collegiate head coaching carrer takes him. You can count on the B2R as a big fan of Matt Johnson.
Here is a recruiting video the St. Joseph Mustangs put together to attract talent. You'll quickly see why Matt is such a successful head coach.
Go Cats!!
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