Kel Johnson

Photo by: Todd Drexler

Photo by: Mitch Robinson

Photo by: Mark Powell

Photo by: Ken Lanese

Photo by: Noah Harbuck

Awards/Accolades

Season-by-Season
2019 (Gr.)

Ranked among national leaders with 23 home runs during final collegiate season
His 23 home runs were the second most in a single season by a Mercer player
Started all 63 games he played in, primarly in right field
Opened the year with a 42-game reached base streak
Batted .290 (70-for-241) with 65 RBI, 33 total extra-base hits & 53 runs scored
Drew a team-leading 40 walks & posted a .389 on-base percentage
Led Mercer with a .622 slugging percentage
Batted .357 (10-for-28) with one home runs & four RBI in the SoCon Tournament (May 22-26)
Hit a solo home run vs. FAU in the NCAA Athens Regional (June 1)
Tallied three multi-home run performances, all in a six-game span in March
Set a career-high with six RBI twice vs. Indiana State (March 8) & Binghamton (March 16)
Earned All-SoCon First (coaches) & Second (media) Team honors at the end of the regular season
Named SoCon Player of the Month for March & the SoCon Player of the Week on March 18
Transferred to Mercer as a graduate senior

Before Mercer
2018 (Georgia Tech) (Sr.)

A 2018 Senior CLASS Award candidate
Awarded the Weaver-James-Corrigan Award, a postgraduate scholarship from the ACC
Missed most of the season due to a shoulder injury
Played in 14 games, starting 10 as the designated hitter
Hit .263 with two home runs & eight RBI in limited action
Added seven runs scored
Posted a .421 slugging percentage & .349 on-base percentage
Went 2-for-5 with a home run & two RBI vs. Dartmouth (Feb. 24)
Went 1-for-1 with a pinch-hit home run vs. Virginia Tech (March 16)
Drew four walks in win at Georgia State (March 7)

2017 (Georgia Tech) (Jr.)

Played in & started 49 games for the Jackets before missing last six games due to shoulder injury
Split time at designated hitter & first base
Hit .269 with 10 home runs & 11 doubles
Ranked third on the team with 10 home runs
Drove in 40 runs & added 52 hits & 31 runs scored
Posted a .482 slugging percentage & .345 on-base percentage
Hit four home runs & drove in 14 RBI in ACC play
Posted 13 multi-hit games & was tied for the team lead with 10 multi-RBI games on the season
Recorded a season-high nine-game hitting streak & posted a season-high on-base streak of 23 games
Had a career day with three home runs (3-for-5) & four RBI at Georgia Southern (Feb. 21)
Posted an extra-inning two-run walk-off home run to defeat No. 9 North Carolina (March 18)

2016 (Georgia Tech) (So.)

Started 61 total games for Georgia Tech as a sophomore
Made 41 starts in the outfield & 20 as the designated hitter
Finished fourth on the team with a .319 average
Had 16 doubles, two triples, 11 home runs & 54 RBI
One of three Tech players named First Team All-ACC
Amassed 21 multi-hit games, tied for fourth on the team
12 multi-RBI games, tied for second on the team
Went 3-for-5 with a home run & three RBI vs. Western Michigan (Feb. 20)
Recorded a 22-game hitting streak, tied for the eighth-longest in school history
Also led team with 24-game reached base streak
Went 3-for-4 with a home run & career-high five RBI vs. Virginia Tech (March 20)
Hit a home run in four straight games – at North Carolina (March 26), Georgia Southern (March 30), Duke (April 1) & Duke (April 2)

2015 (Georgia Tech) (Fr.)

Earned Freshman All-America honors by both Louisville Slugger & D1Baseball.com
Also a Freshman All-ACC pick
Competed in the TD Ameritrade College Home Run Derby in July 2015 & reached the semifinals after belting a Home Run Derby record 17 home runs in the first round
Hit .298 for the season (.314 in ACC play) with nine doubles, a triple & 10 home runs
Was off to a red-hot start & among ACC leaders with a .379 average (.467 in ACC play) before suffering ankle injury on March 21
Slugged .570 for the year, drove in 34 runs & scored 24 runs
Pounded out four hits including a double & home run in his first collegiate start on opening day
Earned ACC Player of the Week honors following opening weekend, becoming first freshman to win ACC Player of the Week honors on opening weekend since Mike McGee of Florida State in 2008
Hit his first career grand slam at Georgia Southern
Went 7-for-12 in three games vs. Notre Dame
Recorded his first career multi-home run game vs. Presbyterian (May 3)

High School

Five-year player for the Home Plate Citadels, a home-school team coached by Esteban Maldanado
Served as the team captain in both junior & senior seasons
Selected to Team USA U17 roster in 2013
Won gold medal in Taiwan with USA U17 team
Played summer seasons with East Cobb Baseball, winning a total of seven national championships
Named East Cobb Baseball 17U MVP & Offensive Player of the Year
Recognized as a 2014 Perfect Game All-American
Maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout his high school career

Personal

Full name is Jeremiah Kel Johnson
Born on July 8, 1995 in Palmetto, Ga.
Son of Rhonda & Lee Johnson
Has an older brother, Jason, & a younger sister, Summer
Uncle, Eddy Taylor, played college baseball & aunt, Leah Taylor, was an All-American softball player at Kennesaw State
Graduated from Georgia Tech in biology & pre-med
Transferred to Mercer for final year of collegiate athletic eligibility & to pursue Masters Degree