‘I really liked where our team was headed’: Arizona coach Jay Johnson on what might have been for ’20 Wildcats

Selection Monday isn’t always a happy occasion for Arizona Wildcats baseball coach Jay Johnson, but it’s always eventful.

Twice during his tenure here, Johnson has learned on Memorial Day morning that his team had qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The past two seasons, Arizona just missed the cut.

Johnson felt extremely confident that this year’s team would make the 64-team field. We’ll never know.

The coronavirus pandemic wiped out most of the 2020 season, leaving college baseball coaches, players and fans across the country to wonder what could have been.

Although Johnson mostly has moved on to the offseason and whatever lies ahead, his mind still wanders to that place on occasion — especially over the holiday weekend.

“For sure,” Johnson said. “It’s natural, because there’s so much invested in that process, not just with the six or seven months we were together. You can go back five years from the day that I was hired here … then getting to Omaha (in 2016) and allowing us to recruit some of these players because of that success.

“So there’s certainly some disappointment in that, that we’re not having the opportunity to compete in this year’s postseason. I really liked where our team was headed … in every phase.”

Arizona had a 10-5 record when the season was halted in mid-March. The Wildcats won three of four games during the final week of competition, and the early returns on the program’s investment in new pitching coach Nate Yeskie were overwhelmingly positive.

Johnson discussed the 2020 squad, the abbreviated ’20 MLB draft, future scheduling and other topics in an interview with the Star. The conversation has been lightly edited for context and clarity.

Do you believe the 2020 team was on track to make the postseason?

A: “Hundred percent.”

What leads you to that conclusion?

A: “A few things. Offensively, I don’t feel like we had hit our stride yet, but I felt like we were starting to. That just tells you how high the expectation is there; we were averaging close to eight runs a game (7.53), and we felt like there was more in the tank.

“The last week we had kind of gotten the pieces in order defensively of how we wanted to move forward and created a good foundation there, so I feel like our best baseball as a defensive team was in place.

“On the pitching side of it, two things: We were striking a few more people out, so that was taking some pressure off of the defense; and just simply, we weren’t giving away as many free bases, so we were really controlling the strike zone.

“And then just kind of the makeup of the team. We weren’t perfect. But anytime we didn’t play well, we followed it up and played well the next day. (The ’20 Wildcats never lost two games in a row.) We were not going to be a team that was going to go into any long rut, because each phase of the team could win a particular game.”

Would you say that you’re over it at this point? Or will that never be the case?

A: “Honestly, you have to get on to the next thing. That’s how I’ve always approached it. So the answer is yes, because it doesn’t matter whether I am (over it) or not. We have new challenges and new processes of developing the program in front of us.”

What’s your take on MLB reducing the 2020 draft from 40 rounds to five?

A: “It’s a big change. In a lot of ways it’s good, because maybe the guys that are supposed to go to professional baseball or have a real purpose in being in professional baseball are going to go, and it’s probably going to keep more guys in school that should finish college and should get a degree. So I think it’s a win-win.

“Does it hurt some guys’ chances of maybe checking a box or fulfilling a dream that they were in professional baseball? Sure. That’s definitely impactful and important, but I think it is probably going to slot more guys where they should be.”

Your catcher, Austin Wells, is projected to be a first-round pick, so we’ll call him a lock. What about utility man Matthew Dyer and outfielder Donta Williams? Where do they fit in a five-round draft?

A: “I don’t know. I’ve certainly fielded questions from teams on both of them. And they certainly are professional players, in my opinion. I think the professional baseball industry will decide if that’s this year or next year.

“I’ve heard rumors of no minor-league season. So if you think about it, the guys that sign in this draft won’t really play a competitive game until after the college season’s over next year. So there’s really no advantage from a timing (standpoint) by signing in this draft.

“So if it doesn’t make sense, or they don’t get drafted, there’s really nothing to feel bad about, because the guys that are getting drafted aren’t really gaining any time on them relative to when they would start their pro career. By coming back, they’re just exchanging a full college season for spring training. That’s really the only tradeoff.”

Are you thinking about roster construction for next season in the usual manner? Or is it different because you’re probably going to get more guys coming in from high school as well as a couple of guys who would have left coming back?

A: “It’s a fluid situation. It’s on my mind every day, trying to figure out what’s best for the team, what’s best for the individual players both in the program and the incoming players. We’ve made some headway on it. It’s moving in the direction of where it’s gonna be. There’s still some unsaid things relative to the NCAA granting us relief in terms of the roster size and the numbers of players that can be on scholarship.

“We do like the core of our team that most likely is returning. I’m really excited about the best-case scenario of it kind of merging together like this.”

Bowling Green and Furman decided to drop baseball to save money amid the pandemic. What was your reaction to that?

A: “That’s disappointing. You talk about a roster of 35 players (apiece) that chose those schools and programs for a reason, like it fit good into their life plan and their life structure, so that’s a big rug to be pulled out. And there’s six or more people that basically lost their job because of those decisions, and that impacts a lot of people. It’s unfortunate. I heard some things that Bowling Green was trying to rally some support to keep it alive. My hat’s off to those people for trying to do that.”

Schools are trying to cut costs and boost revenues. What are some of the things that you and your fellow coaches have been talking about specific to baseball?

A: “I can only speak to our situation specifically, and I feel very supported by our administration. We have to kind of buckle our chinstrap, so to speak, in the immediate, but in terms of scheduling guarantees, protecting us to build the schedule we need, to build the proper RPI to develop our team, I feel very supported in those things at Arizona right now. That’s been really positive.

“As coaches throughout the conference, we really want to try to protect … the full 56-game schedule. We want to protect the ability to schedule the way that we want to.”

Your boss, Dave Heeke, said recently that there’s a push for more regional scheduling in all sports. Could you put together what you would consider to be a competitive schedule under those restrictions?

A: “You have to be creative. … For instance, next year, we’re going to go to the Tony Gwynn Classic (in San Diego), but we’re going to play two teams from outside the West. I think it’s Creighton and Villanova, so we’re staying in the region but playing teams out of the region. We have a great facility, so we can bring teams into Tucson for two of the four (non-conference) weekends.

“You go to UCLA, and you play Cal State Fullerton on a Wednesday or Long Beach State. We’ve done those things, and my guess is we’ll just continue to do that.”

Inside pitch

Arizona had four seniors, all right-handed relievers, who gained an extra year of eligibility to return in 2021. Johnson said Preston Price and Vince Vannelle are expected to be back, while Nate Brown and Davis Vainer are not. Vainer, a graduate transfer from Alabama, pitched only one inning as a Wildcat, securing what turned out to be the final three outs of the 2020 season.
The June 10-11 draft will have 160 selections, and three of Arizona’s ’20 signees rank in Baseball America’s top 120: outfielder Chase Davis (57), infielder Nick Yorke (87) and catcher Daniel Susac (117).