Ole Miss starting catcher excited to be done with showcase circuit
OXFORD | Cooper Johnson has been a goldfish for years.
The Ole Miss freshman spent the majority of his high school career at Carmel Catholic (Illinois) performing for scouts and constantly being reminded of June 2016 when a team would select him in the MLB First Year Player Draft.
The summers and offseason weekends were more of the same, as he traveled to events around the country and played in wood bat tournaments with other elite prospects — all playing a team game but having individual competitions that were more important.
By his junior season he was considered the top defensive catcher in the country for his class, and some Draft experts tagged him as the best receiving catcher of all draft-eligible players. Perfect Game rated him 10 out of 10 on its scouting scale and said this in its report: "Outstanding defensive catcher. About as good as they get defensively."
He’s spent countless games dealing with the pressure of his talent.
That is until now. He’s Ole Miss’ starting catcher when the Rebels face East Carolina on February 17, and for the first time in a long time, he can just play. Money talk will wait three years. For now, he’s just a college baseball player.
“It’s humbling, taxing, tiring and even annoying at some points,” Johnson said of the process he’s completed. “I’m so glad to be over with that. For so long in high school I had to travel here and there and play for myself. You’re showcasing your skills and it’s a beautiful thing I’m part of now with all these 35 other guys and I’m on a team. I’m not playing for myself.”
Johnson fell to the Reds in the 28th round because of signablity. He almost took an offer very early in the Draft but stuck to his number, giving Ole Miss another weapon in its No. 1 signing class.
The 6-foot, 205-pounder has never been anything but elite defensively, but during the fall ball practices at Ole Miss, he was effectively offensively, as well. Hits and quality at-bats came at a higher clip than at other points of his career, and he said he’s “seeing the ball” at the plate as well as he was behind it.
Johnson is quick to keep things in perspective since it’s just practice, but he’s comfortable and free at the plate. There’s the chance all he dealt with as one of the nation’s top prospects caused him to tighten up with the bat in his hands.
“I did well in the fall considering my hitting career throughout high school,” Johnson said. “That was the biggest question mark. Finally I came in here and wasn’t pressing. I was able to have fun again. The fall I had the most fun I’ve had playing baseball in so long… Obviously we’re running a group that’s a business but we’re here to have fun. It’s so nice to step away from that pressure and money talk and just play and hit.”
One of Johnson’s draws to the Rebels is the coaching staff with three former catchers — head coach Mike Bianco and assistants Carl Lafferty and Mike Clement. The Rebels have had two Johnny Bench Award finalists in the last four seasons including Stuart Turner’s win in 2013. Despite all the accolades, Johnson’s maturity has been a positive topic around the program.
“Everybody talks about his talent and certainly he’s talented but the remarkable thing is his work ethic and hunger to be better,” Bianco said. “From the day he stepped on campus he’s had that thirst. I’m proud of him for his steps forward offensively and defensively. That’s why you come here, to get better.”