Wes Johnson shares statement on new job as Georgia head coach

Georgia Baseball officially has its newest head coach. The Bulldogs hired LSU pitching coach Wes Johnson on Monday after just one season for him in Baton Rouge. His resume includes stops at both the collegiate and professional levels before spending the year at LSU with the Tigers.

“I am looking forward to leading the University of Georgia baseball program and want to thank President Jere Morehead and athletic director Josh Brooks for their support and this tremendous opportunity at one of the premier institutions in the SEC,” Johnson said in a statement shared Monday night. “Being the head coach at Georgia is a dream come true. I can’t wait to meet and start working with our amazing student-athletes and developing our plan to compete for SEC and National Championships. Also, I’d like to thank Scott Woodward and Jay Johnson at LSU as we pursue a national championship this season and for supporting me and my family as we embark on this incredible journey to lead the Bulldogs.”

Johnson, a native of Sherwood, Ark., began his coaching career at the high school level, leading Abundant Life High School to consecutive state titles in 2006 and 2007. Then, in 2008, he made the move to the college level at Central Arkansas where his pitchers set school records for ERA, WHIP, strikeouts, opponent batting average and fewest walks. That stop lasted one year before another one-year stop at Southern Arkansas (2009) and two years back at Central Arkansas (2010-11).

In his lone season at Southern Arkansas, Johnson worked with Chicago Cubs first round pick Hayden Simpson. His staff also set a Gulf South Conference record with 499 strikeouts.

In 2012, Johnson made a move to bigger college baseball at Dallas Baptist. He spent four years (2012-15) working with the Patriots’ pitchers including five chosen in the first 12 rounds of the 2015 MLB Draft. Dallas Baptist made an appearance in an NCAA Regional in three of four seasons while Johnson was there, and the 2014 staff set school records for strikeouts (506) and opponent batting average (.248).

Johnson’s resume also includes a pair of previous stops in the SEC at Mississippi State (2016) and Arkansas (2017-18). In 2016 with the Bulldogs, Johnson produced six pitchers that were taken in the MLB Draft, most notably Dakota Hudson – the No. 34 overall selection.

After winning just eight SEC games the season before Johnson’s arrival, Mississippi State captured the 2016 SEC regular season title and advanced to an NCAA Super Regional. In 2018 at Arkansas, Blaine Knight posted a 14-0 record and helped lead the Razorbacks to a national runner-up finish at the 2018 College World Series.

Johnson spent three and a half seasons with the Minnesota Twins from 2019 to June of 2022 when he was hired by LSU. His first Twins staff set a club record with 1,463 strikeouts, helping the team to back to back AL Central Division titles in 2019 and 2020. The 2020 staff set a club record for strikeouts per nine innings while Kenta Maeda was a runner up for that year’s AL Cy Young Award with a 2.70 ERA and a 6-1 record.

Over the course of his time coaching collegiately, 30 pitchers of Johnson’s have been drafted by MLB teams with even more expected to be taken in this year’s draft. LSU ace Paul Skenes is a finalist for the Golden Spikes Award and the Dick Howser Trophy, both of which go to the top player in the country. He is widely projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft coming off of a single season at LSU that saw him go 11-2 with a 1.90 ERA in 16 appearances.

“We are extremely excited to welcome Wes Johnson and his family to Athens and the University of Georgia,” Georgia athletics director Josh Brooks said of the decision to hire Johnson. “Wes has a proven track record of developing student-athletes while helping teams achieve impressive results. We aim to compete for postseason success and championships, and Wes has done that throughout his coaching career at every level, from high school to college and up to the Major Leagues. We are confident he will make Georgia Baseball one of the premier programs in the country.”

Johnson will finish his duties with LSU as the Tigers, the No. 5 overall seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament, advanced to a Super Regional against Kentucky with the winner of the three-game series set to go to Omaha for the College World Series.