Johnny Cardenas enters his first season as assistant coach of the Lipscomb baseball program.
Cardenas is coming off a 16-year stint as head coach at Stephen F. Austin University, and his 293 wins are the most in program history. Joining the staff in 2005, he has coached 13 players selected to the Major League Baseball Draft in his time with the Lumberjacks.
His 2010 squad posted a 34-win season and was voted Southland Conference Coach of the Year.
Prior to his time at SFA, he served as a head coach in the Texas Collegiate League, was head coach at Greenville High School in Greenville, Texas and coached the Colbert High School baseball team in Oklahoma.
The Amarillo, Texas native began his collegiate playing career at Seward County Community College then transferred to Texas Christian University and graduated in 1998.
Playing in 51 games during the 1993 season for the Horned Frogs, Cardenas hit .329 with seven home runs and 42 runs batted in. Named the team MVP, he was also named a GTE Academic All-American.
He was drafted in the 46th round of the 1993 MLB draft by the Seattle Mariners and spent five seasons with the Mariners, Texas Rangers and Chicago White Sox organizations.
Cardenas is married to his wife, Natalie, and he has three children, Crews, Easton and Zoe.
