Experience: Eighth Season at Vanderbilt
Honors: * 2004 National Pitching Coach of the Year *
Alma Mater: Eastern Illinois '94
E-mail: derek.johnson@vanderbilt.edu

2008-09: Derek Johnson is now in his eighth season as an assistant coach for the Commodores and is widely considered one of the top pitching coaches in the country. Four of his last six staffs have led the Southeastern Conference in ERA while also being ranked nationally at No. 15 (2003), No. 7 (2004) and No. 17 (2005) and No. 13 (2007), respectively.

He is known for developing pitchers during their time at Vanderbilt with 18 pitchers drafted over the last eight seasons (10 over the last three) including three first round selections.

Last season Johnson's staff was comprised mainly of sophomores and freshmen. They finished sixth in the nation in strikeouts per nine innings at 9.13. Redshirt freshman Caleb Cotham was third among SEC starters in strikeouts per nine innings while sophomore Mike Minor led the league in innings pitched (103.0). Redshirt freshman Russell Brewer made the switch from infielder to closer and finished third in the league with eight saves.

Johnson's 2007 crew led the SEC in eight statistical categories including ERA (3.55), strikeouts (632), opponents batting average (.238), complete games (7) and runs allowed (266). Vanderbilt hurlers also threw a school record 606.2 innings in 67 games with 13 saves.

Six pitchers were drafted and signed into the professional ranks, led by No. 1 overall pick David Price (Tampa Bay Rays) and the No. 8 overall pick Casey Weathers (Colorado Rockies). Price (the consensus National Player of the Year) shattered the school's single season and career strikeout records in just three years and Weathers, just two years removed from playing the outfield in junior college, developed into the top closer in the country in 2007 with 10 wins in relief.

Southpaw Mike Minor (9-1, 3.09 ERA) was a first-team Freshman All-American and was named the Southeastern Conference Freshman of the Year by SEBaseball.com.

Johnson's 2006 staff led the SEC in strikeouts with 574 in 65 games, an average of nearly nine a game. Also in 2006, nine of his pitchers combined to record a school record scoreless innings streak of 38.2 innings over a span of five games in March.

Going into his eighth season, Johnson has developed the Commodores pitching staff from one that had a 6.45 ERA in 2001, into one that has consistently been around the 3.5 mark, including a low 3.34 in 2004.

The 2004 ERA was second best in school history, while all four regular starters finished with ERAs below 3.50. That VU staff struck out a then school-record 518 batters and had 17 saves led by Ryan Rote's school-record 11. Jeremy Sowers became the third Commodore pitcher to ever win at least 10 games in a single season.

Johnson's efforts earned him the 2004 Collegiate Baseball's National College Pitching Coach of the Year sponsored by JC Video but were nothing out of the ordinary in what quickly has become a distinguished career, which has included stints in the collegiate and summer league ranks.

In 2003 Vanderbilt's Jensen Lewis earned Freshman All-America honors and extended to five the number of consecutive years a player under Johnson's guidance was so honored. In 2005, David Price joined this group becoming the sixth pitcher to earn the honor under Johnson. Sowers (2002) and Stetson's Jack Collins (2001), Andy Wilson (2000) and Lenny DiNardo (1999) all likewise were honored. That same year four Commodore pitchers (Lewis, Nick Pilkington, John Scott and Matt Buschmann) combined to pitch the first perfect game in Vanderbilt history and only the eighth in SEC history, a 4-0 victory at Western Kentucky.

Sowers capped his career in 2004 when the Cleveland Indians made him the No. 6 overall selection in the Major League Baseball draft. At Stetson, DiNardo ultimately developed into a third-round choice of the New York Mets in 2001 and was a two-time All-American and a member of the USA Baseball national team.

Before he came to Vanderbilt, Johnson spent four years as pitching coach at Stetson. During that time his team's won one Atlantic Sun Conference championship (2000) and earned two NCAA Tournament berths (2000 and 2001).

He began coaching at Eastern Illinois in 1994, one year after he was an All Mid-Continent Conference pitcher at the school. In 1995 he was hired by Southern Illinois, where he worked for three years as a pitching coach. He also has had summer stints as manager of the Decatur Blues in the Central Illinois Collegiate League (1994 and 1995) and pitching coach for the Anchorage Glacier Pilots (1996).

A native of Normal, Ill., Johnson is married to the former Tasha Huster. The couple has a five-year old son, Teague and a one-year old daughter, Taite.