Carmel catching prospect Johnson may be just getting started

By August, parents of school-aged kids often get anxious for summer break to end because they don't know how much more they can take of hearing "I'm bored."

Cooper Johnson's parents probably got a reprieve from that this summer.

Johnson, Carmel's senior catcher, wasn't in one place long enough to get bored. Including home.

"I was home for 15 days the whole summer. I was gone every single weekend," Johnson said. "I was in North Carolina, California, Texas, Florida, and then Taiwan and Japan.

"I was all over the place. A lot of flights. (Coming home from Japan), I had 17 hours of flight in one day."

As the frequent flier miles piled up, so did the appreciation for Johnson's game.

He started the summer at elite camps and showcases and finished it by making the coveted USA 18-and-under national team that recently competed in the WBSC World Cup in Japan.

Only 20 kids made the team.

"I was so stoked when I got the call that I made the team," Johnson said. "I mean, it's the best 20 players in the country. And it was the best baseball experience of my life so far. To represent your country is just incredible."

Johnson helped Team USA win the championship, beating teams from all corners of the globe in the process. The team returned from its two-week trip on Tuesday with a huge trophy and gold medals in tow.

Meanwhile, Major League Baseball scouts got the chance to get to know Johnson even better than they did already. And with the way Johnson performed in the Cup, insiders believe he has the chance to be a first-round draft pick in next spring's MLB draft.

"Cooper is on everyone's radar," said Todd Fine, who has coached with Team USA, has been a major league scout and owns Top Tier Baseball as well as Prep Baseball Report, which has Johnson ranked as the No. 1 catcher in the country for the Class of 2016. "He's been seen by every possible person who needs to see him (for draft purposes). And there's pretty much no bigger honor for an 18-year-old baseball player in this country than to make the USA baseball team.

"I've worked with a lot of really good catchers, and Cooper is at the highest level. His ability to catch and throw is as good as anyone we've ever seen. Same with his leadership (behind the plate)."

Amazingly, Johnson only started playing catcher the summer before his freshman year. He has been playing baseball since the age of 8, but was almost always an infielder or pitcher.

One day, his travel team was short on catchers. So he stepped to the plate, so to speak.

"I kind of took it on, I liked it and I thought to myself, 'Maybe I should make this my thing,'" Johnson said. "I caught every game that summer and that was it. I just really liked it."

Johnson was a quick study, and has been impressing coaches and scouts all through high school.

This summer, before making the USA national team, Johnson played in the prestigious Area Code Games as well as the Under Armour all-American game that was held at Wrigley Field.

"I've been a coach in the Under Armour game and last year I brought Cooper in to be a bullpen catcher," said Fine, who has coached Johnson at Top Tier since Johnson was 12. "I told the other coaches there, 'This kid is going to be playing in this game next year.'

"Cooper came to us as kind of a pudgy kid, not that athletic; and he has really put the work in on his body and his game, countless of hours just grinding away. He's got so much hunger and drive."

It's likely those very qualities that got Johnson through Team USA's vigorous tryout process.

Team USA started by inviting the top 108 high school prospects in the country, all recommended by pro scouts, to its training complex in Cary, N.C. For a week in mid-July, the players competed in games and drills and were evaluated at every turn. That pool then got narrowed down to 40 players, then to 28.

Then, in early August, the remaining 28 prospects went to a tryout in Fullerton, Calif., where the final team of 20 was selected.

"The whole time, you're playing really awesome baseball against the best players in the country," Johnson said. "It was really fun."

In late August, the team traveled to Japan and Taiwan for its tournament. Team USA defeated the Czech Republic, Mexico, Australia, South Korea, Cuba, Canada and then finally Japan for the gold medal.

The awards ceremony had an Olympic feel to it.

"We all stood on the platform and they went down the line and gave us all our gold medals and then this huge trophy," Johnson said. "It was awesome, the coolest feeling ever. They played the national anthem. I definitely got goose bumps, and a little teary-eyed."

Johnson missed the first three weeks of school at Carmel to participate in the World Cup with Team USA. He's looking forward to returning to a calmer routine before the heat gets turned up again in March, when the high school baseball season starts and his games will be crawling with scouts again.

He has already committed to the University of Mississippi and is a top MLB prospect, but his performance in the spring could help further improve his draft odds.

"The season with Carmel will be a little more laid back because it's about the team and being with your friends and trying to win together," Johnson said. "But those scouts will be there, and there's always that thought of trying to make a name for yourself for the draft. You know you have to show what you can do many, many times before they draft you.

"That's important to me, too. (Playing in the major leagues) has been my goal since I started playing. I love baseball. The first year I did it, I fell drop-dead in love with it."

Seems that baseball has loved Johnson right back.

pbabcock@dailyherald.com

Follow Patricia on Twitter: @babcockmcgraw