The underdogs? Southern Miss catcher with Coast roots is ready to make some noise.
Southern Miss catcher Blake Johnson has come a long way from his roots at Gulfport High School.
An illustrious career as an Admiral led to two years at the junior college level, and now an opportunity to play Division I baseball for the Golden Eagles.
Johnson made his mark in his first season at USM last year, beating out Andrew Stanley — the top catching prospect from the state of Arkansas — to earn a role as the starter.
Then a sophomore, he quickly earned a reputation for being one of the better defensive catchers in the conference.
The junior’s value behind the plate cannot be understated. Johnson threw out 52.4% of the runners who attempted steals on him a year ago, good for third best among Conference USA catchers who saw at least 20 runners attempt a steal.
For context, Louisiana Tech’s Jorge Corona threw out just five of 53 runners in 2021.
Johnson’s defensive ability didn’t come naturally, though. He told to the Sun Herald he was an average defensive catcher coming out of Gulfport.
It was coaching he received at Jones College and in Hattiesburg that has elevated his presence behind the plate.
“When I was at (Jones), coach (Wes) Thigpen was there,” Johnson said. “He caught at Mississippi State so he was kind of the first person to share with me some of the things I needed to know with catching. Once I got here, I got lucky. Both of our volunteer assistants have been catching coaches so they’ve really helped me develop the defensive side of my game.”
Johnson experienced more of his growing pains standing next to the plate. He says he focused too much on trying to pull his swings in order to get more power on the ball.
By the end of the year, Johnson had the worst OPS in the starting lineup at .691 and just eight of his 33 hits went for extra bases. Fans can expect a different approach out of him this season.
“Throughout the fall we just kind of worked on spraying the ball around the field a little bit more,” Johnson said. “Since we’ve been back in the spring, it’s actually starting to work out pretty well. I’m starting to consistently hit more barrels.”
It also helps to have some new competition on the field. Southern Miss added Western Oklahoma State transfer and Gabe Montenegro’s brother Rodrigo Montenegro into the fold at catcher.
The younger Montenegro has drawn good reviews from his coaches and teammates following a strong junior college stint that saw him log a career 1.039 OPS. In 71 games over two seasons, Montenegro got on base on 51.4 percent of his plate appearances.
Montenegro’s addition created instant competition at catcher for Johnson, but the second-year Golden Eagle has embraced Montenegro’s attitude.
“He’s a great kid. I love hanging out with him,” Johnson said. “Drill work is a lot more fun when you got someone you enjoy doing it with.”
The two will be catching a new-look pitching staff that’s filled with competition, from the bullpen to the rotation.
Johnson said two pitchers who got some work out of the pen in 2021 have stood out to him on the mound. Both of them are vying for spots in the starting rotation this spring.
“Tanner Hall has looked really good,” Johnson said. “He got a couple of innings under his belt last year. He’s looked a little bit more consistent this spring and last fall. Hurtson Waldrep is going from a closer role to competing for a spot in the weekend rotation. He’s looked really good.”
Johnson and coaches alike also had high praise for graduate transfer Hunter Riggins.
“(Riggins) has been really good,” Johnson said. “He’s been really consistent for us. It looks like he has a lot of pitches and he locates the ball really well.”
Johnson and the Golden Eagles are flying under the radar thanks to losses in the staff and in center field with the departure of Reed Trimble.
Despite five straight trips to regionals and 311 wins across those seasons, USM does not show up in anybody’s preseason top 25.
Johnson believes there’s plenty of opportunity to make some noise with a difficult conference schedule that includes non-conference games against South Alabama, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Alabama.
The goal is still the same for USM: host a regional for the first time since 2017.
