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Beginning his eighth season with the Villanova baseball program is Rod Johnson, who is the senior assistant coach on Joe Godri's staff. In his role with the Wildcats, Johnson is the third base coach and works with the team's infielders. Well-known in the Philadelphia area for his baseball expertise, Johnson has helped Villanova develop into one of the top defensive teams in the Big East Conference.
The Wildcats have built a successful program around traditionally strong pitching and defense. The team has made great strides under Johnson's guidance and has posted a fielding percentage better than .960 in four of the past five seasons. In 2008, the team committed zero or one errors in 34 of 58 games and finished the year with a .958 fielding percentage. After opening the year with a 5-12 mark in conference games, Villanova went 7-3 down the stretch and qualified for the BIG EAST Championship for the second straight year. Proving they could play at their best when it counted the most, the Wildcats committed just three errors in four postseason games and posted a .977 fielding percentage in the BIG EAST Championship.
In addition to his involvement at the collegiate level, Johnson also spent several years as the head coach of the Paoli American Legion squad. He inherited a team that went 1-21 in the year prior to his arrival and promptly helped the team compete for the league championship in 1996. Johnson's 1999 team finished the season with a 37-7 record and won a league and playoff championship. In 2005, his team qualified for the National Regional Tournament.
Before taking over the Paoli team, Johnson was the American Legion head coach for the Spring-City team from 1983 through 1992. He accumulated two regional titles and 225 victories during his time with the Spring-City squad.
His coaching career and work in the community have merited Johnson numerous awards. He received the Tri-County Old Timers Ambucs Award for Meritorious Service to the sports community and was also the 1999 recipient of the House of Representatives Award for Community Service.
During his playing days, Johnson was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in 1979 after an All-American career at Temple University. He played in the Reds farm system from 1979-82 and was named the 1979 Minor League Rookie of the Year.
At Temple, Johnson played for the Owls from 1975-79 under legendary head coach Skip Wilson. He owned a .399 collegiate batting average and was elected into the Temple University Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. Johnson was a second team All-American, AACBC First Team All-East selection and the ECC Player of the Year in 1978. One year earlier, Johnson helped lead the Owls to the College World Series.
Johnson and his wife, Ginger, reside in Limerick, Pa.
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