Lake City grad Johnson drafted by Angels
As the final rounds of Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft passed by Wednesday, Lake City High and recent Washington State graduate Kyle Johnson did everything from play video games to hanging mini-blinds around the house.
By the afternoon - he was an Angel.
Johnson, an outfielder, was selected by the Los Angeles Angels in the 25th round and 777th overall. He expects to be sent to the Orem Owlz, a Pioneer League rookie team in Utah.
"I was really anxious all day today," Johnson said. "I was watching all the names go by of guys I knew and didn't know. I might be more relieved now that it's over. I really just tried to forget about it and played some video games and watched movies and did everything I could think of not to overthink it."
Johnson led the Pac-12 with 17 stolen bases in the regular season and helped the Cougars to a conference-high 74 steals in the regular season. He hit safely in 24 of his last 30 games, including 11 multi-hit games to raise his batting average nearly 100 points to finish the season at .309.
"I think the more I played, the more comfortable I got," Johnson said. "As a senior, and having more knowledge about the game, it finally slowed down this year. As you get older and more experienced - it just started to slow down."
“As a kid you always dream of being drafted,” Johnson said. “It was about halfway through this season when it started to click. That’s when it really finally began to feel real.”
Johnson added that the San Francisco Giants, Kansas City Royals, Tampa Bay Rays and Milwaukee Brewers also showed interest.
“None of them were really talking to me during the draft,” Johnson said. “But I had some talks with them during the season. I could tell by the end of the season that Los Angeles was going to be the best opportunity for me.”
Cougar second baseman Tommy Richards (24th round/Baltimore Orioles) was also selected Wednesday and joins first baseman Taylor Ard (seventh round/Seattle Mariners) and outfielder Derek Jones (eighth/Colorado Rockies), who were selected Tuesday.
“I’m really excited and grateful for all the coaches I’ve had,” Johnson said. “Cory (Bridges) getting me ready to play at a college level was big for me. I especially want to thank Donnie Marbut, Spencer Allen, Michael Naughton and Gregg Swenson for giving me the opportunity to play college baseball.”
He is the sixth Cougar to be selected by the Angels, joining John E. Olerud (1965), pitcher Brian Sajonia (1987), first baseman Casey Kelley (1998), pitcher Jayson Miller (2008) and pitcher Seth Harvey (2009).
“I’m really just looking forward to playing pro ball,” Johnson said. “I just wanted the chance to continue playing after my senior year. Once you get that chance, it’s all on you. With my personality, I’m going to work as hard as I can to play as long as I can.”