2015 Perfect Game College Baseball Preview Index | Marshall, Smith draw big crowd


A blink-and-you'll-miss-it town, Marianna, Fla., sits along I-10 in the state's upper panhandle, about 60 miles northwest of Tallahassee. It is home to Chipola, a Junior College noted for its recent state hoops championships and NJCAA Hall of Fame basketball coach Milton H. Johnson.

The school counts Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter (who played there in the 1970s) as its most recognizable alumnus, but it took the arrival of Coach Jeff Johnson in 1997 to put the Chipola Indians' baseball program on the map.

Under Coach Johnson, the Indians have won seven Panhandle Conference championships (2001-03, 2005-07 and 2011) and have played in the State and Region VIII Championship Game in seven of the last 13 years. And in 2007, he led Chipola to its first National Championship while earning the NJCAA National Coach of the year honor.

In 18 years at Chipola, Coach Johnson has coached 11 Major League players, including three All-Stars: Toronto Blue Jays' outfielder Jose Bautista and catcher Russell Martin, and Arizona Diamondbacks' pitcher Patrick Corbin. Bautista and Martin led the Indians to a NJCAA Region VIII runner-up finish in 2001 on a squad Coach Johnson calls the best team he's ever coached.

This year, Coach Johnson's young group includes several players with big league aspirations. Three of them already know what it's like to play in a Major League ballpark, as outfielders Isiah Gilliam (2014) and Reese Cooley (2013), as well as lefthander Mac Marshall (2013) are former Perfect Game All-Americans.

Marshall recalls his experience at the Perfect Game All-American Classic with a sense of appreciation.

“Perfect Game put me on the big stage,” Marshall told Perfect Game over the phone last week. “Being able to play at Petco, it's the best of the best at that point. There's not a bigger game in my mind than that one.”

Following PG's annual event at Petco Park in San Diego last year, Gilliam and Cooley began their collegiate careers at Chipola. Marshall, however, was committed to Louisiana State. But five weeks into the fall semester, he had a change of heart. Seeking eligibility for the 2015 draft, Marshall transferred to Chipola, joining his PG All-American teammates.

“I've always known that Chipola is a top-10 program,” Marshall said. “I talked to the guys about (Coach Johnson) and knew he's a great pitching mind, so learning from him would be a great benefit to me.”

2013 PG All-American Reese Cooley is one of three Chipola players ranked among PG's top 10 junior college prospects.