Self described as a more elusive, but less powerful Tim Tebow, Sinclair Community College baseball player Byron Johann was so good at high school football that he earned a full scholarship to Ohio Dominican University. There was one problem though; his heart wasn’t in the sport.
“Growing up I always played baseball and football,” Johann said. “But I mainly focused on football throughout my high school career (at Pickerington North) because my older brother was a college quarterback and I wanted to be a lot like him (because) he was my role model.”
With 1,842 total yards, Johann broke Pickerington North’s record for total offense in a single season in 2007, which earned him a full scholarship to ODU. But after redshirting his freshman season, Johann had a revelation that took him back to baseball.
“I woke up one day and just didn’t feel the urge to go make myself better at what I was doing,” Johann said. “I kind of checked myself right there. It was like am I really in love with what I’m doing, do I really want to be here right now, would I rather be somewhere else?”
Johann added: “I think it was that day I was like my heart is not into it, I got to find a different path.”
That path led him to a tryout for Sinclair’s baseball team this spring, which was set-up by his former high school baseball coach Tim Thomas. Thomas knew Sinclair baseball coach Steve Dinataman because the Sinclair coach tried recruiting one of Pickerington’s North players the year before. Dintaman said he had never seen Johann play prior to the tryout.
“I called a couple people I knew out of Columbus and one of the guys coached him during summer ball,” Dintaman said. “The coach said that Byron was one of the top-3 hitters in Columbus his senior year in high school, but no one really heard about him because he played so much football.”
Dintaman was impressed by Johann’s tryout and said he knew right away that Johann was a player he wanted as part of his program.
“(Johann’s) very, very talented,” Dintaman said. “He’s got good speed and he’s got a cannon for an arm.”
Through hard work, Johann earned a spot as the starting right fielder for Sinclair. He said the work ethic he developed in football helped him earn his spot.
“In football there’s a lot of hard work that goes into it,” he said. “I’ve always said things like ‘I’d never let anyone outwork me.’ I thrive on competition, beating somebody out (for a spot) is what I like doing most. It makes me a better player all round.”
As of April 16, Johann lead’s the team in hits (58), batting average (.443) and doubles (14) as the primary two-hole hitter for the No. 5 ranked Tartan Pride. He said while his choice to leave ODU was rough, he’s very happy with his decision.
“It was a really tough decision (leaving ODU) because I knew I was giving up like $100,000 (in scholarships) to come play baseball instead,” Johann said. “My parents didn’t really pressure me or anything; they said do whatever makes you happy. I’m a lot happier here than I was there.”
