SEYMOUR, Tenn. (WVLT) – The best story in East Tennessee college baseball this season is being authored by the Johnson University Royals.
Former Tennessee head coach Dave Serrano has steadily improved the once-struggling program each year over his three seasons at the helm in Seymour.
Serrano took over a team that went 5-44 the year before he arrived and led them to a 19-win improvement in his first season.
Last year, the Royals made their first NAIA national tournament appearance, receiving an at-large bid.
This year, JU is 35-8, ranked fourth in the country and in line to host an NAIA regional.
“To say in three years, we’ve gone from a program that was not thought about to a program that’s now on the national stage is pretty remarkable,” admits Serrano, who’s been pleasantly surprised with how quickly the program has built itself. “It’s the people, and it’s the kind of players we’ve brought into this program.”
One of those players is California native Travis Hobbensiefken, who joined the program ahead of Serrano’s first season.
Hobbensiefken is batting .349 with 49 RBI three years after nearly quitting the sport, before Serrano offered him a spot at a small school in Seymour, Tennessee, thousands of miles from home.
After getting a taste of the national stage a year ago, squaring off against eventual unbeaten national champion LSU-Shreveport in the NAIA tournament, Hobbensiefken says this team isn’t satisfied with a top-10 ranking. They want more.
“Dave pushes us every day like we’re not ranked,” Hobbensiefken says. “When it comes down to a two-game elimination, it doesn’t matter if you’re ranked No. 4 all year.”
While the Royals may not pay attention to that No. 4 ranking, it is where they’re ranked headed into the final week of the regular season. It’s exactly where the Royals thought they could and would be when the season began.
“We kind of expected something really cool was going to happen this year,” said pitcher Colby Reynolds, a Carter High alum. “We have some really good pitchers, some really good hitters, and we play really good defense. You put all that together, and it probably leads to success.”
Johnson plays its final regular season series this weekend against Milligan. The Royals and Buffaloes sit at the top of the AAC standings with the winner taking home the regular-season title.
If the Royals bring the trophy back to Seymour, it will be another box checked in the program’s climb to becoming a national power.
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