Strong leadership, ability to play all over infield lead Justin-Siena’s Johnson to sign National Letter of Intent to play for UC Davis
By Kyle Foster
Follow on X: @NapaKyle @NapaSportsNews
In order to move onto the next level, you have to have different traits that set you apart from others.
For Justin-Siena senior Everet Johnson, there are many traits that make him stand out. All of this led him to sign a National Letter of Intent on November 8th in the Clark Gym on the campus of Justin-Siena to play baseball at the University of California, Davis.
The main thing that stands out to his coaches is that he’s a good leader. The thing that makes this even more special is that he’s leading by example.
“I think a lot of people misunderstand what leadership is or can be,” Juston-Siena manager Jeremy Tayson explained. “I gotta talk, I gotta speak up. I gotta yell, I gotta do this and Everet isn’t just someone who wants to lead but he seeks out ways to lead. He wants to know ‘How can I do this better? What are ways I can do it?’ It matters to him that things are left better than when he found it.”
On top of that, Johnson is a very versatile player. Just last season, he proved how valuable he could be as he was one of the team’s top pitchers and played games at both third base and shortstop. His ability to play all over the infield made it possible to make the lineup deeper.
“I would just say a lot of work and time,” Johnson said of the reason he can be played all over the field. “When I’m not practicing taking care of my body. That’s in the training room with our new facilities with Will. I’m just always putting in extra work caring for my body, eating right, and always working on my strength.”
To be able to move all over the field, a player has to be available to play. This is something that hasn’t been an issue for Johnson. After all, he’s always penciled in the lineup.
“I use the cheesy line all the time, your best ability is availability,” Tayson continued. “Your second best one is reliability and Everet is incredibly reliable. And he’s so competitive. Not only does he want to reach lofty goals for himself, but also for the team. Winning is first with Everet, and you saw that in the postseason when he took the ball in every playoff game that we had, and he would have kept going had he been allowed to.”
On top of that, his defense translated between third base and shortstop. He was a vacuum in the infield as he finished the season with a .895 fielding percentage mark while only making 4 errors the whole season.
“A lot of it comes from the confidence he gets from the hard work that he’s put in,” Tayson added. “The other part of is there’s a lot of trust between him in the program, and he’s not assigning labels or anything to what needs to happen. But rather, he’s just saying, ‘Hey, wherever we need to be used, I want to be used there, and let’s make it work.’”
Another part of Johnson’s game that makes him such a well-rounded player is the great bat. Last season, Johnson hit .388 with 4 home runs, 21 RBIs, and 21 runs scored. He also had 9 doubles on the season. Johnson did all of this hitting from the second spot in the lineup. All of this led Johnson to be named the Vine Valley Athletic League offensive player of the year last season. In his time at Justin-Siena, Johnson has a career batting average of .382.
The final part of his game that makes him a good all-around player was the ability to stand out when on the hill. Last season, Johnson showed just how good he can be when called upon to pitch as he went 6-2 with a 2.13 ERA in 75 ⅔ innings of work. He also struck out 92 and walked just 19 on the season. He currently sits at a career ERA of 2.60 in his time as a Brave.
Maybe the biggest reason Johnson was able to get to this point was the fact that he had to from the start playing alongside the likes of Noah Young, Nick Andrews, and Dalen Tinsley who all taught him what it took to play at the varsity level.
“There’s another cheesy coaching line that a rising tide lifts all boats,” Tayson pointed out. “When you’re around a lot of good boats, you’ve got to put up (numbers) if you want to get in. So him being around the talent we’ve had in our program in the last couple of years has forced him to compete and nothing has ever been given to him.”
Besides Justin-Siena, Johnson has played for Sonoma Little League, Sonoma Stack, Trosky, Lamorina, FBK1, Area Code 707, and NorCal U.
When Johnson gets to UC Davis, he will be a corner infielder. His preference would be third base since that’s the position he’s played his whole life.
“I love the hot corner,” Johnson added. “I just love how like it’s quick reaction don’t really think much and it’s just my favorite position. I don’t really know how to explain it but I just love I fell in love with at a young age and I wish I could play forever.”
Another reason being an Aggie was something that Johnson wanted was the academic prestige the university has. It also helps that it’s close to home as well. All of this made UC Davis a perfect fit.
At UC Davis, Johnson is leaning towards studying viticulture. This is a perfect fit as Johnson lives in Sonoma and drives to Napa for school. During that drive, he sees the vineyards in between the Napa and Sonoma Valleys. Both regions are also known for their wine. The school is also known for viticulture.
“Driving through Napa on the way to school because I live in Sonoma it’s always beautiful seeing the vineyards and everything,” Johnson said. “It’s always like intrigued me.”
Last season, UC Davis went 17-37 overall and finished with a 7-23 mark in the Big West Conference. The Aggies’ best year recently was in 2019 when they went 19-31 with a 9-15 Big West mark.
The perennial power in the BWC is California State University Fullerton. While not the national power it once was, Fullerton is still one of the top teams in the conference. Another advantage to playing at UC Davis is the chance to play against PAC-12 schools. In recent years, UC Davis has faced Cal and UCLA.
Johnson still has one more spring season to go before getting to UC Davis as well.
Johnson was 1 of 5 seniors signing a National Letter of Intent in the ceremony held on November 8th in the Clark Gym. Other athletes signing that day were Reagan Broomfield, Anna Hanson, Lila Hefferman, and Kane Williams.
