Another Shelbyville Central Golden Eagles’ baseball star signed to continue his baseball career at the next level on Friday as Nick Johnson signed with LaGrange College.

Nick Johnson started every game for the Golden Eagles this past season, and was the team’s best and most explosive hitter. In 126 plate appearances, Johnson’s splits were .387/.516/.763 with a team-high OPS of 1.279. An elite OPS represents how great of a hitter Johnson was this season, and it was helped out by his 11 doubles, 3 triples, and 6 home runs. He also led the team with 36 RBI. 

Johnson was patient at the plate, drawing 22 walks to 22 strikeouts. That is an impressive ratio considering his insane slugging percentage among his other high-level hitting statistics. 

Nick Johnson (center, signing) led the Golden Eagles in OPS his senior year.

LaGrange College, a Division III school in LaGrange, Georgia, went 26-17 and made it all the way to the Collegiate Conference of the South – or CCS – Tournament Championship. They had to win both games, but fell to Maryville College in game two to come up one game short of the NCAA Tournament.

Johnson played the majority of the season in the infield, and was the only Golden Eagles’ hitter to surpass 30 RBI on the season. For a small-ball team, Johnson was the biggest slugger that Shelbyville was able to count on both this season and last after he helped lead the Golden Eagles to the third game of their state sectional series, falling one game short of a historic state tournament appearance. 

He leaves behind a massive hole in the lineup and the locker room moving forward. Of course, that isn’t a knock on head coach Chase Jones; rather a reminder of how essential Johnson has been to the Shelbyville Central baseball program in his time wearing the blue and gold.