Jonathan Johnson

Jonathan Kent Johnson (born July 16, 1974) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for six seasons. He played for the Texas Rangers from 1998 to 2001, the San Diego Padres in 2002, and the Houston Astros in 2003.

In 2018, he was named the first head coach of the new college baseball program at Columbia International University.

High school and college career Johnson attended high school at Forest High School in Ocala, Florida. In his senior year, he committed to playing college baseball at Florida State University and was considered to be "clearly the most dominant pitcher" in his region. After graduating from high school, he spent three seasons with the Florida State Seminoles baseball team.

In his freshman season, Johnson finished the year with a 10–1 record, a 1.68 earned run average (ERA), and 124 strikeouts in innings pitched. He was named Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Rookie of the Year and was named to Baseball America's All-Freshman team. The following year, Johnson finished his sophomore season with a 12–1 record and 137 strikeouts, and earned third-team All-America and second-team All-ACC honors. In his junior year, Johnson finished the season with a 12–3 record, leading Florida State to the ACC Championship. He also participated in the 1995 College World Series, and was a finalist for the 1995 Golden Spikes Award, as well as being a Baseball America first-team All-American.

Johnson was admitted to the Florida State University Hall of Fame in 2006. He spent the next few seasons in the minor leagues until he made his debut on September 27, 1998, making the start and allowing four earned runs in innings. He spent two seasons with the Richmond Braves before being released.