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Polk State baseball player working to make his dreams a reality
Kevin O'Donnell reports
EAST LAKE, Fla. - Wade Johnson was not one of the 11 Bay Area athletes to hear his name called during the MLB draft. However, this was expected.
Johnson knows that he will have to continue working for the attention of MLB scouts but believes that his dream is beyond the horizon.
"It’s definitely a drive for me," Johnson told FOX 13 Sports. "I feel like it will become more of a reality next year when I actually get out into that whole scouting world and see what’s going on. I think it will definitely hit me, and I’ll want it even more."
Pinellas County’s Class 6A Player of the Year is taking his game to the next level at Polk State Junior College.
Johnson succeeded both in the field and on the mound as a two-way star. He believes that the JUCO route will allow him to reach his dreams as he sees fit.
He was in talks with some D1 schools like Florida State and South Florida, but both schools saw him as a pitcher.
At Polk State, Johnson will compete for playing time as a freshman. He hopes to show the baseball world what he can do as a hitter and a pitcher.
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"Growing up, I’ve always been the kid that played everywhere on the field, and wherever I would get called, I’d get called and play that position," Johnson said. "I don’t like sitting on the bench. It’s not my favorite thing in the world. I mean, I’m probably going to have to get used to it eventually, but for me, being able to play every day is the goal."
Being a backup is not something Johnson plans on doing again. He did too much of that during his first three years of high school at Calvary Christian while sitting behind players who were eventually drafted.
Even with his teammates' wild success, Johnson believed he had the skills to compete with these players. He just needed the opportunity to prove it.
"Sophomore and Junior year, I thought I was good enough to be on the field with them, but I just never got the chance to," Johnson said. "I had to fight through all that, I had to fight through the chaos of being with guys who are draft prospects, and I was going to go to the field and not play or be put in shorts because they didn't need another roster spot. That was the hardest part."
Despite the adversity he faced in his first three years in high school, Johnson's drive and determination pushed him to become one of the top players in the State of Florida.
"It was the idea of college baseball [that kept me going]," Johnson explained, "That has always been my dream, is to play college baseball. I didn't care at that time; I didn't care what level it was as long as I was helping my family out in paying for it."
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In his senior year, Johnson transferred to East Lake High School, where he immediately found success. Johnson boasted an astonishing 0.45 ERA on the mound, ranked as the eighth-best in the state. During 61.2 innings pitched, Johnson struck out 80 batters on the way to a 7-1 record on the season.
At the plate, Johnson was just as lethal. He boasted a team-high .392 batting average with 19 RBI and four home runs. Johnson knew that he had the talent, but being able to put it on display confirmed what he knew to be true for years.
"It really opened my eyes to how good the field is around me and how I was able to keep up and sometimes even excel," Johnson said. "I’m going into college knowing what I can do as a player and knowing that I can keep up."
Wade will be the second person in his family to wear a Polk State uniform. His older brother, Brian, pitched for the Eagles in the early 2010s before transferring to Florida Southern to round out his collegiate career.
Only time will tell how far Wade will go in his journey to the major leagues. With his dreams of playing college baseball already a reality, the sky is the limit for the Bay Area's newest MLB prospect.