Johnson Completes Academic Journey After Standout MLB Career
Friday, August 9, 2024 | Baseball, Otis Hawkins Center
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Gator great Brian Johnson was drafted by the Boston Red Sox with the 31st overall pick in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft on June 4, 2012.
On July 21, 2015, he made his MLB debut against the Houston Astros.
On Oct. 28, 2018, he became a World Series Champion with the Red Sox.
On Sept. 26, 2019, he faced the Texas Rangers in what would become his last game in the Bigs.
And on Aug. 10, 2024, he will receive a bachelor's degree in anthropology from the University of Florida.
It marked a span of nearly 5,500 days from when he first stepped onto campus as a freshman in the fall of 2009. But after three years in Orange & Blue and another four in Boston, Johnson called it a career and returned to the place that sparked his pro journey with one goal in mind: earn a diploma from Florida, the school he led to three-straight College World Series appearances as a player alongside head coach and mentor Kevin O'Sullivan from 2010-12.
"I always knew I would go back," Johnson said. "I put so much hard work and effort into school while I was there and honestly, the help from Ann Hughes was remarkable. She's literally the reason I got through this all… My mom and Ann are the two-biggest people that helped me."
It was no surprise that Hughes, who has worked at UF since 1981 and poured over 43 years into the program, was at the heart of the effort. Hughes walked Johnson through the completion of his degree every step of the way, a process the two restarted in January 2022 and culminated this past month.
"I decided early on in my career, once I started college, I was finishing no matter what," Johnson said. "I lost my father in 2020, so that gave me even more motivation, because he was big on school… He always said, you need to go back and get that piece of paper."
Hughes assisted Johnson in getting registered and set up for classes online, which was a necessity given his current position as head baseball coach at Cocoa Beach High School – his alma mater. With a UF diploma now in hand, Johnson's goal is to take on a full-time role at Cocoa Beach High as a teacher or other capacity, where he currently works as a monitor and assistant to the dean in addition to his coaching duties. While the new endeavor is a work-in-progress, Johnson's knowledge and understanding of the game of baseball has never been in question.
The name Jac Caglianone has become synonymous with UF Baseball for those who follow the Gators today, but before Cags graced the diamond at Condron Family Ballpark, there was another two-way star making headlines in Gainesville. While Caglianone became Florida's second John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year this past season, Johnson holds status as the first Gator (and only other) to win the award, doing so in 2012.
That honor highlighted three years of remarkable two-way work for Johnson. From 2010-12, the Lakeland, Fla. native went 22-12 across 49 games (46 starts) spanning 243 1/3 innings, delivering a 3.85 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 253 strikeouts. At the plate, Johnson played in 144 contests and batted .324/.383/.492 with an .875 OPS. He totaled 15 homers, 29 doubles, 91 RBI and 63 runs.
Following his time at UF, Johnson enjoyed a four-year MLB career with the Red Sox from 2015-19. The southpaw pitched in 65 career games highlighted by 26 starts, finishing with a 7-9 record, 4.74 ERA and 142 strikeouts against 73 walks in 171 frames.
Fast-forward to present day. On a normal morning, Johnson wakes up in the house he grew up in alongside his dogs with a perfect view of Banana River. As he prepares for a day of work at Cocoa Beach High, he reflects on all he has accomplished to this point: his first collegiate hit, a legendary Gators career, the day he was drafted in the first round, his Major League debut – the list goes on. But the college degree is as big of a deal as any of it, if not more, for it brought a decade-plus endeavor at UF full circle. Quite literally.
"It kind of hit home when you see Jac Caglianone show his emotions like that on live TV, about what the University of Florida meant to him, and it brings everything full circle," Johnson said, referring to Caglianone's postgame on-field interview after Florida's elimination from the 2024 College World Series. In that moment, Florida's pair of Two-Way Player of the Year honorees shared a common belief:
"The University of Florida is a special place," Johnson said. "You go to that place and that's part of the reason you want to go back, too, because it's such an awesome University in so many ways between academics and sports, and the bonds you make. When you're able to go there and you get a scholarship to play at the University, it's special."
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On July 21, 2015, he made his MLB debut against the Houston Astros.
On Oct. 28, 2018, he became a World Series Champion with the Red Sox.
On Sept. 26, 2019, he faced the Texas Rangers in what would become his last game in the Bigs.
And on Aug. 10, 2024, he will receive a bachelor's degree in anthropology from the University of Florida.
It marked a span of nearly 5,500 days from when he first stepped onto campus as a freshman in the fall of 2009. But after three years in Orange & Blue and another four in Boston, Johnson called it a career and returned to the place that sparked his pro journey with one goal in mind: earn a diploma from Florida, the school he led to three-straight College World Series appearances as a player alongside head coach and mentor Kevin O'Sullivan from 2010-12.
"I always knew I would go back," Johnson said. "I put so much hard work and effort into school while I was there and honestly, the help from Ann Hughes was remarkable. She's literally the reason I got through this all… My mom and Ann are the two-biggest people that helped me."
It was no surprise that Hughes, who has worked at UF since 1981 and poured over 43 years into the program, was at the heart of the effort. Hughes walked Johnson through the completion of his degree every step of the way, a process the two restarted in January 2022 and culminated this past month.
"I decided early on in my career, once I started college, I was finishing no matter what," Johnson said. "I lost my father in 2020, so that gave me even more motivation, because he was big on school… He always said, you need to go back and get that piece of paper."
Hughes assisted Johnson in getting registered and set up for classes online, which was a necessity given his current position as head baseball coach at Cocoa Beach High School – his alma mater. With a UF diploma now in hand, Johnson's goal is to take on a full-time role at Cocoa Beach High as a teacher or other capacity, where he currently works as a monitor and assistant to the dean in addition to his coaching duties. While the new endeavor is a work-in-progress, Johnson's knowledge and understanding of the game of baseball has never been in question.
The name Jac Caglianone has become synonymous with UF Baseball for those who follow the Gators today, but before Cags graced the diamond at Condron Family Ballpark, there was another two-way star making headlines in Gainesville. While Caglianone became Florida's second John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year this past season, Johnson holds status as the first Gator (and only other) to win the award, doing so in 2012.
That honor highlighted three years of remarkable two-way work for Johnson. From 2010-12, the Lakeland, Fla. native went 22-12 across 49 games (46 starts) spanning 243 1/3 innings, delivering a 3.85 ERA, 1.23 WHIP and 253 strikeouts. At the plate, Johnson played in 144 contests and batted .324/.383/.492 with an .875 OPS. He totaled 15 homers, 29 doubles, 91 RBI and 63 runs.
Following his time at UF, Johnson enjoyed a four-year MLB career with the Red Sox from 2015-19. The southpaw pitched in 65 career games highlighted by 26 starts, finishing with a 7-9 record, 4.74 ERA and 142 strikeouts against 73 walks in 171 frames.
Fast-forward to present day. On a normal morning, Johnson wakes up in the house he grew up in alongside his dogs with a perfect view of Banana River. As he prepares for a day of work at Cocoa Beach High, he reflects on all he has accomplished to this point: his first collegiate hit, a legendary Gators career, the day he was drafted in the first round, his Major League debut – the list goes on. But the college degree is as big of a deal as any of it, if not more, for it brought a decade-plus endeavor at UF full circle. Quite literally.
"It kind of hit home when you see Jac Caglianone show his emotions like that on live TV, about what the University of Florida meant to him, and it brings everything full circle," Johnson said, referring to Caglianone's postgame on-field interview after Florida's elimination from the 2024 College World Series. In that moment, Florida's pair of Two-Way Player of the Year honorees shared a common belief:
"The University of Florida is a special place," Johnson said. "You go to that place and that's part of the reason you want to go back, too, because it's such an awesome University in so many ways between academics and sports, and the bonds you make. When you're able to go there and you get a scholarship to play at the University, it's special."
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