SFA Baseball Completes its Staff
8/18/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Aug. 18, 2005
NACOGDOCHES - Stephen F. Austin Lumberjack baseball coach Donnie Watson completed his staff Thursday afternoon by naming Johnny Cardenas and Chris Connally as assistant coaches. Cardenas will focus on defense and work with the Lumberjack catchers, while Connally will be the team's hitting instructor.
"I'm very pleased to have Chris and Johnny joining our staff," said Watson. "They are the equivalent of two first-round draft choices. With the quality of the recruiting class we have coming in, Chris and Johnny are the top two recruits. They are great teachers of the game and come to the park everyday with a smile on their face. Our kids will learn a lot from our two assistants. I believe the future of Lumberjack baseball is very bright."
Cardenas has spent five seasons as a head coach at the high school level. During that time he also served as an assistant coach with the Texoma Titans of the NBC summer league. As a head coach, Cardenas has coached his teams to four spring championships, three fall district titles, three regional titles and two state semi-final appearances. He was also named the 2002 SEOBCA Eastern Region Coach of the Year and the 2003 Bryan County Conference Coach of the Year. During his eight years as a head coach, Cardenas has produced eight athletes that have played at the collegiate level.
After earning All-Southwest Conference and team MVP honors at TCU, Cardenas enjoyed a six-year career in professional baseball. Cardenas spent time in the Chicago White Sox and Seattle Mariners' organizations before breaking into the major leagues with the Texas Rangers in 1997.
Connally spent three seasons as an assistant baseball coach at the Trinity Valley School where he focused on hitting and fielding. Following his time with TVS, Connally went to the Westside Baseball Academy where he served as the hitting director as well as facilitating camp and clinic opportunities. In 2000, Connally served as an assistant coach with the TCU Horned Frogs.
During a star-studded collegiate career at TCU, Connally was a two-time All-Western Athletic Conference athlete who earned All-America honors in 1997. He set the school's single-season homerun record in 1997 and followed that up by setting the TCU's single-season mark in runs batted in the year. After college, Connally spent two seasons with the Chicago Cubs organization.
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